The campaign by York professor David Noble to change his university’s current policy of not holding classes on Jewish holidays, like Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah, has picked up steam this month. Increased media coverage and an appeal to Queen’s Park for government involvement have focused attention on the broader issue of a university observing non-statutory holidays.
York, with one of the largest Jewish student populations in Canada, is thought to be the only school in Canada that cancels class on Jewish holidays. In response to Noble’s argument that canceling classes violates school policy toward not forcing any religious observances on any student, York has upheld its thirty-year practice. While most York students are happy to be “Jewish for a day” if it means more time off, this practice raises an interesting question of precedent.
Is it fair to cancel classes on religious holidays that are not observed by all? And how far should we go with that? Take the two most commonly known holidays, Christmas and Easter, as test cases. One could rightly say that Christmas is a holiday so ingrained in our cultural tradition as to be enjoyed by all, even if non-Christians do not appreciate its religious significance. But one couldn’t say the same about Good Friday, which is along with Easter Sunday one of the most important dates on the Christian calendar.
Putting aside the fact that the Easter holiday is statutory, it’s hard to see how taking off Good Friday—a holiday not observed religiously by all citizens-is different than York canceling classes on Yom Kippur, a holiday that has no spiritual meaning for more than two-thirds of its student body.
If it’s alright to keep these less-universal Christian holidays, who’s to say that Jewish holidays should not also be observed? To go further, the demographics of Toronto’s campuses are shifting increasingly towards students with backgrounds outside of the Judeo-Christian tradition. Many students at U of T, for example, would welcome and actually benefit in a spiritual way from a university decision to observe the Chinese New Year or Id-ul-Fitr.
The catch in York’s current policy towards Jewish holidays is that the administration could have no real objection if Muslim or Hindu students, representing large and growing student populations, demanded their religious holidays off as well. Being too inclusive and embracing too many faith traditions could lead to so many days off that little work would get done.
It doesn’t look like Christmas and Good Friday’s statutory status will be changing anytime soon, dashing the hopes of those, like Noble, who wish to see all religious holidays taken off the public calendar.
The political climate may be at its ripest for such a change, considering the provincial Liberals’ recent decision to abolish all legally binding faith-based arbitration. But tampering with citizens’ holidays is quite another story. Christmas sure isn’t going anywhere, and it is doubtful that McGuinty would deprive Ontarians of a long weekend in the spring.
What’s left, then, is the potential addition of new holidays to the academic calendar. If students take some action, we could soon find ourselves donning many religious caps in the name of some time off.
