From:
Patricia Price <patricia.price@qc.cuny.edu>
Date: Friday, September 1, 2023 at 5:11 PM
To: QC Chairs Fall 2023 <qcchairs@CUNY907.onmicrosoft.com>
Cc: Bobbie Kabuto <Bobbie.Kabuto@qc.cuny.edu>, Simone Yearwood <Simone.Yearwood@qc.cuny.edu>, Ekaterina Pechenkina <Ekaterina.Pechenkina@qc.cuny.edu>, Daniel Weinstein <Daniel.Weinstein@qc.cuny.edu>, Maria DeLongoria <maria.delongoria@qc.cuny.edu>, Jerima
Dewese <Jerima.DeWese@qc.cuny.edu>
Subject: Fw: September Religious/Ethnic Holiday calendar...
Dear colleagues:
Please see the information below re: September religious/ethnic holidays, and share with your faculty.
Thank you (and have a great long weekend!)
Patricia
Patricia Price, PhD (she/her/hers)
Interim Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs
Queens College, City University of New York
From: CUNY Academic Affairs <Academicaffairs@cuny.edu>
Sent: Wednesday, August 30, 2023 3:25 PM
To: abedford <abedford@brooklyn.cuny.edu>; Antoinette Coleman <acoleman@mec.cuny.edu>; allison.lichter@journalism.cuny.edu <allison.lichter@journalism.cuny.edu>; apease@jjay.cuny.edu <apease@jjay.cuny.edu>; Billie Gastic <bgasticrosado@lagcc.cuny.edu>;
Derrick Brazill <dbrazill@york.cuny.edu>; Erwin Wong <ewong@bmcc.cuny.edu>; G Everett <severett@gc.cuny.edu>; Gladys Schrynemakers <Gladys.Schrynemakers@slu.cuny.edu>; Jennifer Sparrow <jennifer.sparrow@cuny.edu>; Joanne Russell <Joanne.Russell@kbcc.cuny.edu>;
Jorge Silva-Puras <JORGE.SILVAPURAS@lehman.cuny.edu>; Linda Essig <linda.essig@baruch.cuny.edu>; Luis Montenegro <luis.montenegro@bcc.cuny.edu>; Michael Steiper <michael.steiper@csi.cuny.edu>; Manoj Pardasani <mp4009@hunter.cuny.edu>; Nicola Blake <Nicola.Blake@guttman.cuny.edu>;
Pamela Brown <pbrown@citytech.cuny.edu>; Patricia Price <patricia.price@qc.cuny.edu>; Phyllis Curtis-Tweed <Phyllis.Curtis-tweed@qcc.cuny.edu>; raquel.gabriel@law.cuny.edu <raquel.gabriel@law.cuny.edu>; roblin.meeks@mhc.cuny.edu <roblin.meeks@mhc.cuny.edu>;
SWANG <swang@hostos.cuny.edu>; Terry McGovern <Terry.McGovern@sph.cuny.edu>; Tony Liss <tliss@ccny.cuny.edu>
Subject: September Religious/Ethnic Holiday calendar...
Forwarding the below message on behalf of Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Denise Maybank. Please share the information with
your faculty. Thank you.
Dear Colleagues,
Below is the September Religious/Ethnic Holiday calendar. Please note that several holidays in this time frame include fasting or
other religious practices associated with
dietary traditions, including a sunset-to-sunset fast as part of Yom Kippur.
As a reminder, CUNY's policy on religious accommodation allows students to request and be granted academic and attendance accommodations
based on religious belief. A link to the policy is posted here: VI.
Religious Accommodations – The City University of New York (cuny.edu)
VI. Religious Accommodations
A. Requests for Accommodations
1. Students requesting a religious accommodation should contact the Office for Student Affairs at the College or unit in which they are enrolled. The Chief Student Affairs Officer,
or a designee, and the student will engage in an interactive process with the goal of finding an acceptable accommodation.
2. Consistent with New York State Education Law § 224-a, students who are absent from school because of a religious belief will be given the equivalent opportunity, without
any additional fee charged, to register for classes or make up any examination, study or work requirements missed because of such absence on any particular day or days.
As a frame of reference for anticipating student requests for religious accommodations, CUNY's Interfaith Council has developed the
following "Religious & Ethnic Holidays Calendar," which is a helpful resource.
(https://www.cuny.edu/current-students/student-affairs/religious-ethnic-holiday-calendar/).
For questions about CUNY's policy on religious accommodations or to add additional observances, don't hesitate to get in touch with
Sophia McGee, Director of Intercultural Student Engagement and Dialogue, at
sophia.mcgee@cuny.edu.
Thank you for your support and enduring commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion at CUNY.
|
Religious Group |
Holiday |
Description |
Obligations/restrictions affiliated with the holidays |
Dates |
Traditions or Practices |
|
Muslim (Shia) |
Arbaeen |
Arbaeen marks the 40th day after Ashura, the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Hussein, the grandson of Prophet Mohammad. |
N/A |
9/6 |
Traditionally, Shia Muslims would memorialize by walking fifty miles
between the holy cities of Najaf and Karbala. |
|
Coptic Orthodox Christian |
Coptic New Year/Nayrouz |
A feast day that celebrates the beginning of the Coptic New Year. In addition, it memorializes both martyrs and
confessors in the Coptic Orthodox Christian Church. |
N/A |
9/11 |
Ritual meal in celebration of the new year. |
|
Jewish |
Rosh Hashanah |
Sometimes known as the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah commemorates the creation of the world and is the beginning of the Days of Awe, a 10-day
period of introspection. |
Refrain from work, using electronic devices, and driving.
|
9/15*- 9/17 *Jewish holidays begin at sundown. |
Rosh Hashanah is often celebrated with family. Festive meals are common and there are multiple synagogue services that usher in the holiday.
Many people attend religious services, spend time with family and friends, and refrain from work, using electronic devices, and driving.
|
|
Pagan/Wiccan |
Mabon |
Celebration marking the autumnal equinox in the Pagan and Wiccan religions. |
N/A |
9/21-9/29 |
Practitioners pick apples, which are a common symbol of the second harvest.
|
|
Jewish |
Yom Kippur |
The holiest
day of the
Jewish
calendar,
sometimes
known as the day of
Atonement,
marks the
culmination
of the Days of Awe. |
observed with a 25
hour fast. |
9/24-9/25 |
Observers
attend
services, and in other ways reflect on
transgressions of the past
year. Many
fast, refrain
from work or writing,
refrain from using
electricity or driving. |
|
Muslim |
Mawlid |
The celebration of the birth of the Prophet Muhammad in the Islamic faith |
N/A |
9/27 |
N/A |
|
Jewish |
Sukkot |
The first days of an eight
day long
holiday that
marks when
ancient
Israelites
would gather their fall
harvest and
bring
offerings to
the Temple in Jerusalem. |
Many
Jews observe the first two days of
Sukkot by refraining from work or school. During the following 6 days of Sukkot, one is allowed to pursue
normal activities. |
9/29-10/6 |
Observers
build
temporary
dwellings
outside
(known as a sukkah) and are
commanded to spend the festival
eating their meals and
sleeping
outdoors in the sukkah. The
intention is to connect
the abundance
of the
harvest to
the themes of gratitude and
hospitality. |
|
Hindu |
Pitru Paksha or Shraadh |
A 16-day period in the Hindu calendar in which ancestors are remembered through the offering of prayers, food and
water. |
N/A |
9/29 - 10/14 |
Rituals honoring the ancestors, feeding and caring for those in need. |
|
Jain |
Paryushana |
A festival about forgiveness and compassion.
|
Practitioners may engage in specific dietary restrictions including following a "sattvic" diet.
|
9/29-10/18 |
Daily meditation and prayer, daily "vyakhyans" or speeches, intentional practice of nonviolence, celebration on the final day (Samvatsari.) |
Office of Student Affairs
The City University of New York