Instead of attending her chemistry class Monday, Julie Mykoff, a biological sciences freshman, went to synagogue.
Her absence was excused -it had to be. She was celebrating Yom Kippur, which she said is the most important holiday of the Jewish calendar.
Observation of religious holidays is one of only eight reasons students can miss class and be excused.
It’s official school policy, spelled out in the LSU Catalog and the Student Handbook.
“Instructors will excuse any student who is unable to attend or participate in class or an examination on a religious holiday supported by the student’s religious beliefs,” the catalog states.
Students who anticipate observance of a religious holiday – whether Ramadan, a Muslim holiday of atonement and commemoration of the Quran, or Diwali, the Hindu new year – have to notify their professors in advance and have to be excused.
“If my professors wouldn’t have given me permission to miss class, I would have been offended,” Mykoff said. “And I would have missed anyway.”
The handbook’s reason for the policy is “As a matter of policy and commitment, Louisiana State University does not discriminate against any person on the basis of religion.”
This statement is a testament to the University’s commitment to accommodate students of all religions, said K.C. White, associate dean of students.
“As an institution, you don’t want to stand in the way of religious beliefs and practices,” she said.
The policy applies not only to students but also to faculty and staff.
Guy Golan, a mass communication assistant professor, has taken advantage of the policy – also to observe Yom Kippur.
Golan canceled his classes Monday to observe Yom Kippur. He spent the Jewish Day of Atonement in reflection and meditation. He also went to synagogue.
“We go to ask God for forgiveness,” he said.
Whether a Jewish person works or not on the holiday depends on the level of their religious observance, Golan said.
“But working on this day is considered disrespectful,” he said.
Golan, who is from Israel, said in that country, people don’t even drive on Yom Kippur.
At other universities, Golan, Mykoff and the rest of the student body would have had the day off.
At the University at Buffalo in New York and Brandeis University in Massachusetts, Yom Kippur is an official university holiday.
“My experience at other universities, including LSU, has been that a university’s holidays reflect the makeup of the student body,” White said. “LSU, for example, is the only university at which I’ve taught that observes Good Friday as a university holiday.”