Classes on Good Friday

[Laura_Ic]

My sister in law attends a state university not far from her house and the university has classes on Good Friday. This is the first year the school has done that. They no longer give students time off for Easter. She wanted to attend a small Catholic college but the costs were too much and that would mean she would have to move into a dorm. She decided to attend this state university because she can still live at home and work and the tuition is affordable. So she is saving on room and board and she is able to take out minimal loans because she’s able to work and go to school at the same time. She hates to miss class but at the same time, she wants to attend services and the Stations of the Cross, which conflict with her classes. The only time she misses class is when she is really sick or when the weather is bad. I told her to tell her professors she won’t be able to attend classes due to religous reasons. We are all outraged that the school no longer has Easter break.

 

[grandiosa]

Secular school, secular rules. Get over it.

She should inform her professors that she will miss class that day. She is not obligated to give a reason, but she may if she chooses.

Then she should practice her faith, honor this holiest time of the year, and then go back to class on Monday and make up the work she missed.

No outrage necessary.

 

[CatholicSam]

Secular school, secular rules. Get over it.

Gosh, a little politeness wouldn’t hurt, grandiosa.

It’s not just *any *“secular school with secular rules”. It’s a secular school that has always had Good Friday off in the past. I can see why many Christian students there would be outraged, or annoyed at the very least. To have to choose between honoring your faith and getting good grades and attendance is not a position anyone wants to be put in.

 

[SMHW]

Secular school, secular rules. Get over it.

I agree with this. It’s sad, but then so are are lots of things that are part of life. Where I live it is very mixed as to whether schools (from the primary level on up to universities) have Good Friday off or not. Most don’t unless this just happens to be spring break. I don’t recall getting Good Friday off from my university back in the late 1970s/early 1980s. The break between quarters seldom came at the right time.

And around here most parishes have evening Good Friday services for students and employees who cannot attend services during the day. That has been the case for as long as I can remember.

 

[newf]

Secular school, secular rules. Get over it.

She should inform her professors that she will miss class that day. She is not obligated to give a reason, but she may if she chooses.

Then she should practice her faith, honor this holiest time of the year, and then go back to class on Monday and make up the work she missed.

No outrage necessary.

I totally agree. And this person also could’ve chosen her classes NOT to fall on Friday.

I think getting outraged over this is a little over the top.

 

[SMHW]

It’s also the case that public schools usually pick the days for holidays which students and/or teachers will usually take off anyway. Areas with heavy populations of a given religion will tend to give holidays unique to that religion off.

The fact that Good Friday is not a day off from university is probably an indication that not many teachers or students are expected to care enough to take the day off.

 

[ack]

I totally agree. And this person also could’ve chosen her classes NOT to fall on Friday.

How in the world could have they done that? At most universities, this would have excluded at least 50% of the available course choices. That would be ridiculous.

When I was taking classes, most of my Catholic classmates would just skip class on Friday. Skipping one class isn’t that big of a deal anyway.

 

[Laura_Ic]

Sorry if I meant to be outraged. I didn’t mean to come across like that. Unfortunatly, the only time her class is held is Monday, Wed, and Friday. She did talk to her professor and she will be missing class and was ok with it.

 

[Abiien]

Haha many people here are insensitive to the fact that Good Friday and school are both very important to the catholic Students and the Parents.

Missing class is totally different in college than High Schools (1 college class is nearly like a week of highschool class), If i were taking classes now, I would miss class if it interfered with my spirituality, calling to mind the death and crucifixion of our Lord. You can be mindful of that in classes, and if you want to skip class for Stations, go ahead, students always should tell their teacher, and it’s simple and usually the teachers are lenient. Obviously the teacher wasn’t a complete jerk having let your kid off.

I think being at secular universities can be as spiritually enriching as being at Catholic universities, though you do not get knowledge of the faith so easily taught, the holiness can be pursuited regardless! I think that thinking of it like a family is similar.

A Poor family cannot afford religious books or items that could be enriching to your life, they cannot afford to do all of this, however the poor family could be better off than having material goods.

The cheaper school maybe not be so glowing and religious, however Christ is there just as much, and it just takes searching. Seek and you will find. Sometimes the trials of a secular school can mean the whole world to your spiritual life, it is through our trials and his Blood that we are brought closer. In the same way a muscle must tear and rip and hurt when you work out for it to grow, your spirituality and mind and heart will be hurt and pained and you will be stressed, but it’s a blessing.

I go to University of Florida, and God has been guiding our campus Catholic Church so much this past year and i hvae learned more about my self and about God in the past 2 years i have been here than my whole life (seeing as 2 of 3 of my years of being catholic have been here, but there is no place like home). I have seen the worst side of my life here, and the best side. There’s always someone trying to get at you. A priest once told me ‘It doesnt matter where you are, even if God doesnt want you there, he is still going to use you and make you grow’

I don’t know if any of this is helpful, but it is all coming from me, a student.

God bless ya

 

[lifeisbeautiful]

How in the world could have they done that? At most universities, this would have excluded at least 50% of the available course choices. That would be ridiculous.

I was thinking this too… Sometimes its hard enough to get all the classes you want, plus it might also make a load much more difficult if you have Fridays off and other days loaded (and at least at my college most classes were Tues/Thur or Mon-Wed-Fri).
I am glad she was able to work it out with her prof. I have had classes on Good Friday. and I just saw it as my job/duty as a student, and attended. Do people usually miss work (if their workplace is open) on Good Friday? Just wondering. I saw the local Credit Union is going to be closed Good Friday, good for them. Too bad they changed from not having classes on Good Friday to having them.

 

[grandiosa]

My husband works for a Christian organization and still doesn’t get Good Friday off! He will be there, fulfilling his duty as a Christian father to provide for his family. And then he will come home to said family, and if we can make it to the Good Friday service with all 5 kids between dinner and my job at 9:00 p.m., then we will. And we will be comfortable with it however it works out.

Making our faith a priority in our lives is our responsibility. It is not up to any organization to do that for us. And it is also not up to anyone to judge our commitment to our faith based on whether we do public, obvious things that they can see.

The people who care do the best they can with what they have.

 

[CatholicSam]

And this person also could’ve chosen her classes NOT to fall on Friday.

You must not know a whole lot about college.

If this school has always had Good Friday off, why is it so unreasonable for this young lady to be unpleasantly surprised when she (possibly just recently) found out that she’s expected to be in class this year?

I have worked a 12 hour shift on Good Friday and then rushed off to the evening service at our church (I had to arrange with my boss to leave 30 minutes early). I was pregnant and almost fainted at the service I don’t have a problem with having to work on that day. But to have to work and not be able to at least participate in some sort of service if you want to, then that’s a very just reason to be disappointed or upset. Sometimes that will happen and you will have to offer it up. But it won’t make the situation any less unfortunate.

My husband’s company is currently headed by an atheist and a secularist, and their company is closed on Good Friday. Praise God for that! What a blessing, and we thank God for this extra special gift every year. If it weren’t, DH would schedule to take a half-day’s vacation on that day.

 

[grandiosa]

Unpleasantly surprised, upset, disappointed… all reasonable.

Outrage? That’s a bit much, and the OP even conceded that.

I agree that taking only classes that will not fall on Friday would be ridiculously difficult to impossible, and silly when only ONE Friday out of the whole semester has an issue. Just miss that Friday. One class will not make you fail, nor will the professor care much. Everyone misses a class now and then.

Even if the school always had the day off before… the schedule for the semester has been out since before Christmas. Why is this a shock? If the students don’t pay attention to the calendar, who can they blame?

 

[Rolltide]

She should inform her professors that she will miss class that day. She is not obligated to give a reason, but she may if she chooses.

As a college professor myself, I can tell you that although this is true, I would never give anyone an excused absence or credit for missed work without the student providing a legitimate excuse. That said, missing class for the celebration of a religious festival, service, or event would ALWAYS be considered a legitimate excuse, even by a secular university. I’ve had students of a variety of religions, including Judaism, Christianity, Islam, ask for days off to celebrate religious events, and I have always granted them the time and a way to make up the work.

 

[grandiosa]

As a college professor myself, I can tell you that although this is true, I would never give anyone an excused absence or credit for missed work without the student providing a legitimate excuse. That said, missing class for the celebration of a religious festival, service, or event would ALWAYS be considered a legitimate excuse, even by a secular university. I’ve had students of a variety of religions, including Judaism, Christianity, Islam, ask for days off to celebrate religious events, and I have always granted them the time and a way to make up the work.

Totally reasonable.

Even my most liberal professor was the same way. We agreed on nothing, he used to jokingly and publicly lament the brain damage that caused my conservatism, but he had the same kind of policy. He really was tolerant. He was one of my faves, too.

 

[CatholicSam]

Even if the school always had the day off before… the schedule for the semester has been out since before Christmas. Why is this a shock? If the students don’t pay attention to the calendar, who can they blame?

We’re all human and make mistakes every so often. I once took a semester in college with 26 credits. Things slip people’s minds sometimes, especially if they’re used to things being a certain way and if they are busy. If you get 14 chapters assigned to read in the first two days of school, do you think you’re going to pore over the syllabus to see if Good Friday is off again this year like it’s always been? :doh2: No, most likely you’ll just be scrambling to get your assignments done on time.

I know not everyone is the sweet and kind type, but I can’t help commiserating with this young lady even if she should have or actually has known from the beginning of the semester. I just don’t understand the “get over it” attitude. Not at all. It definitely would have put a damper on my Holy Week.

 

[grandiosa]

26 credits? How did you live through that?! :bowdown2:

 

[lifeisbeautiful]

We’re all human and make mistakes every so often. I once took a semester in college with 26 credits. Things slip people’s minds sometimes, especially if they’re used to things being a certain way and if they are busy. If you get 14 chapters assigned to read in the first two days of school, do you think you’re going to pore over the syllabus to see if Good Friday is off again this year like it’s always been? :doh2: No, most likely you’ll just be scrambling to get your assignments done on time.

I know not everyone is the sweet and kind type, but I can’t help commiserating with this young lady even if she should have or actually has known from the beginning of the semester. I just don’t understand the “get over it” attitude. Not at all. It definitely would have put a damper on my Holy Week.

I agree, in fact this year it took me until halfway through Lent to figure out the exact date for Easter Sunday . I had an idea because of the 40 days, but I didn’t know the exact date. When a semester starts in January its not the first thing that pops up to mind, especially if you might be taking for granted you will have it off like in previous years.

 

[CatholicSam]

26 credits? How did you live through that?! :bowdown2:

Thank goodness I only had to do it for half a semester. Then I figured out I didn’t need one of the courses I was taking ( :doh2::doh2::doh2: ) and could drop back down to 23. Taking 23 credits never felt so good! But I had an engagment ring to motivate me to get through school as quickly as I could…

Well, at Mass tonight I thought of another reason why it’s not nice for schools not to offer Good Friday as a day off. All the out-of-towners who would want to be with their families on Easter! I saw a few college kids back in town tonight with their families and it hit me that not having an extra day or two off would really prevent many families from being together during this most holy time of year. And all in the name of being politically correct (not offering time off near Easter). So sad! These colleges would rather offer time off on a different week that has no special significance for anyone, than be seen to “favor” Christianity by having time off around Easter.

I’m betting even many very secular families would have a family tradition of togetherness for Easter.

 

[psr13]

I wish I could have taken 23 units. Then I probably wouldn’t have taken a break from school. I had to get permission to take 18, and they wouldn’t let me. I guess my 3.8 GPA wasn’t high enough for that.