In Monday's Post, John Spofforth wrote a letter that was far too ambitious for the space provided. Besides attempting to debunk the resurrection of Jesus and informing us about the origins of Christmas, he was also writing to respond to a letter to the editor dated March 12 in which he wrongly believed our organization was taking a particular stance.
Prior to the March 12 letter to the editor, I was contacted by a student who said she was writing an article for a class. She had strong feelings that students should be given Good Friday off and asked me my opinion. She used my thoughts to write a letter to the editor and to take a position that I myself was not willing to take. Here is a portion of my e-mail to her from which my quote was taken.
I believe that students should be given an open and clear opportunity to take the day off - and that this should be clearly publicized by the university. Professors ought to go out of their way to accommodate this. Whether the university chooses to hold classes that day is up to them as a state institution. In other words I don't know that the university is obligated
as a state institution to cancel classes or close the institution that day; however as a state institution the university ought to clearly make it known that a student will not be in any way penalized or held responsible for material covered on a day that conflicts with a religious holiday.
A state institution ought to go out of its way to encourage the free practice of religion
especially a state institution whose founders recognized the role that religion plays in its' establishment: 'Religion
morality and knowledge
being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind
schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged.'
Upon further reflection I feel that I may have gone a little too far on one point; a professor ought to allow a student to miss class but still hold her responsible for material covered on that day.
It seems that there is potential danger on either side of the First Amendment's establishment/exercise clauses. On the one hand, we must avoid state-established religion, but on the other, the state cannot inhibit the free practice and ought to rightfully recognize the role that freely practiced religion plays in the maintenance of culture and human flourishing. The university is in a tough spot and in my 18 years here it has sought to handle this responsibility with growing understanding. There has been a willingness to be open and even-handed with the great variety of religious interests represented at Ohio University. There is room for improvement but I have seen humility and wisdom in the way administrators and faculty have dealt with this delicate issue.
So, in the end, if it is best for the university community, keep classes on Good Friday, but don't penalize students who desire to set aside a day to freely worship on an important religious holiday in the communities that are dear to them. Will some students take advantage of this? Undoubtedly, but in the end we all get to uphold and appreciate a larger principle that marks a free society.
Brian McCollister is the director of Campus Crusade for Christ at Ohio University.
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Opinion
