With spring break shortly around the corner, I always think of Easter and attending church with parents. As I was planning a trip home for Easter weekend, I am surprised and a little perplexed on not having Good Friday off as a holiday. Why do we celebrate the day Jesus was resurrected but not the day he gave his life? I look at the two and ponder why or how one could be more important than the other. Without the first monumental act we would have never had the second act, the resurrection. Who decides which is more important and which one becomes a holiday? I look at the holidays we now celebrate and try to weigh them against Jesus giving his life for our sins. I think of holidays such as New Year's Day and wonder why that is a national holiday over Good Friday. When in reality, we are celebrating the start of a new year and new things to come; almost a fresh start from the previous year. Isn't this what Jesus gave us too?
You might be thinking how many students Good Friday will actually affect. According to active students involved in Campus Crusades, more than four hundred students attend our meetings regularly. Good Friday is a day where I want to give my remembrance and thanks to Jesus Christ and we should not be expected to attend class. Good Friday is an appreciated, valued and respected holiday more so than Labor Day, where many students are not even aware of what they should actually be celebrating. Some may argue that Good Friday is not a representation of every student's religion, but neither is Christmas and schools across the country give every student, regardless of what they believe, the day off school. According to Brian McCollister, the director of Campus Crusades, 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.
I believe that Ohio University should permit students the option to celebrate religious holiday without the fear of being penalized academically. Many schools permit students practicing Judaism to take holidays, without penalty. Good Friday is a way for Christians to remember Jesus Christ's death and the meaning behind that. Many believe he was the greatest of historical figures whose teachings have made the most significant impact on our nation. At Ohio University we honor Martin Luther King and others, why not Jesus for his day of sacrifice?
Alison Goldschmidt is a sophomore studying organizational communication. 4
Opinion
