When a student is sick and obtains a doctor's note, professors typically allow the pupil to make up any missed class — sans penalty.
However, religion, which is often ingrained soon after birth, sometimes ranks lower than a temporary illness and has caused conflict between instructors and their students.
ASMSU has created a bill that would revise MSU's current Religious Observance Policy. Professors would be prohibited from penalizing students for observing religious holidays.
"Shoulds" and "mays" would be changed to "wills" and "musts," forbidding professors from working their way around the policy.
The revision makes sense. So much sense, in fact, it's a wonder it didn't come sooner. However, should the amendment pass, students should maintain the maturity to address their professors at the beginning of the semester, bringing their concerns for religious observances falling that term. Professors also should be prepared to work around such dates.
Students also should be required to get their work in beforehand to address unfairness issues. Other students may be concerned that students observing a religious holiday will be allotted extra time to study for a test or prepare a homework assignment. Those students would then shift curved tests, or even obtain a better grade due to the additional time.
By requiring students to turn in work before the holiday, the students show their commitment to their religion, as well as playing fair with their peers.
Professors wouldn't have to veer too far from their desks to work with religious students. Office hours would be a perfect time for them to obtain any missed work from their pupils — before the work is due.
Instructors should be considerate and conscious of personal religious backgrounds. While Christianity, Judaism and Islam may be the three most prominent religions at MSU, lesser known religions should receive the same concern regarding days off.
It also must be noted that students shouldn't abuse the policy. Adopting the Sikh religion simply to "celebrate" the martyrdom of Guru Tegh Bahadur — and "coincidentally" missing a massive exam — is not only inappropriate, but also disrespectful to Sikhs who participate in the holiday.
While this most definitely should be an addition to the current policy, it should be applied as a general rule. Exceptions always should be considered, especially if the student refrains from notifying their professor well ahead of time. This change in the policy won't cure every case.
Professors need to acknowledge the religious holidays of students with as much respect as they would their own. Religion is an entrenched belief — certainly profound enough for instructors to stay around for office hours.
