Class vs. culture
Recognize other religious holidays

Do you know what Eid-Ul-Adha represents to those who believe in the Muslim religious doctrine?

Apparently, neither does the administration of TCU. Or at least they just don’t think it’s important.

Eid, one of two major holidays in the Muslim religion, celebrates Abraham’s submission to God when he was called to sacrifice his son Ishmael. The holiday began Monday and lasts three days.

Although many high schools across Texas count the celebration of Eid as an excused absence, TCU doesn’t follow suit. Instead, it asks Muslim students to attend class as though their religion isn’t as important as Christianity.

TCU grants days off for Christian holidays, like Good Friday and Christmas, which is cleverly disguised as “Winter Break.”

Yushau Sodiq, a professor of religion, said that in America, many Muslims won’t be able to celebrate with family because it’s a workday.

So TCU isn’t alone in its ignorance, but can’t we expect the university to be better than the norm?

Wouldn’t granting excused absences during religious holidays not pertaining to Christianity fit into the TCU mission statement?

Fahad Khan, a senior neuroscience major, said he has argued the legitimacy of missing class during Eid for three years, but TCU hasn’t changed its policy.

In fact, TCU believes class attendance is much more important than a lot of things.

According to the office of Campus Life, the death of a student’s mother only counts as an excused absence after going through the proper paper work.

As if a student who just lost his or her mother is in the proper mental state to fill out paper work regarding why a class had to be missed.
There are things much more important than class attendance. TCU’s recognition of that fact could allow it to maintain a more “classy” image.

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