Rev. Anthony Strouse places the Eucharist in the palm of Deacon Jim Kasprzak during mass Thursday at the St. John Church and Student Center, 327 M.A.C Ave. The mass was held for Holy Thursday, during which Strouse washed the feet of 12 parishioners in a mandatum, or mandate from heaven. Danyelle Morrow/The State News
With Easter weekend fast approaching and Passover ending next Tuesday, some MSU community members feel the university should consider taking days off to celebrate the religious holidays. But for many students, the current religious policy is enough.
According to MSU’s Religious Observance Policy, professors and staff should be sensitive and not greatly disadvantage any students who have to leave or miss class because of religious commitments.
Rev. Mark Inglot, pastor of St. Thomas Aquinas Parish and St. John Church and Student Center, 955 Alton St., said having the university shut down for Easter weekend would be good for students and faculty, but MSU is doing well with its current setup.
“We probably have 12,000 out of the 47,000 students that are Catholic, and for them, that would be great,” Inglot said. “For students who ask professors to miss class for this reason, most professors are very accommodating.”
Marketing freshman Rachel Hatt said not getting days off is OK with her.
“It doesn’t bother me that we don’t get days off, and I’m Christian,” Hatt said. “Easter is on a Sunday, too, so that is not a problem. There’s plenty of time outside of class to celebrate Good Friday and Passover.”
Even if students have the day off, there would not be much of a decrease of students attending mass on Easter, Inglot said.
“A lot of students, especially out-of-state students, stay here for Easter, so we don’t see that much of a decline on Easter Sunday,” Inglot said.
“Another option is that some students like to stay here because they like our community, but then go home after for Easter dinner.”
Passover will end Tuesday and Rabbi Yosef Weingarten, rabbi director in Chabad House of Western Michigan, in Grand Rapids, which has a station in Lansing, feels the break from school for students could be beneficial.
“Getting days off would help Jewish students overall,” Yosef said. “It is important for the students (who are) observant Jews to be able to observe these holidays without having to go to school.”
Mathematics senior Yaser Aljohani recognized that to be able to accommodate all students’ religious celebrations would be very difficult.
“As you know, here in the U.S. it’s multicultural, but if you count all religions … it would be so many days off,” Aljohani said.
“If you talk with your professor and tell them you want to practice your holiday, you are excused by MSU policy.”
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