March 2, 1995: Vol26n19: Report calls for phaseout of religious holiday observances

By STEVE COX
Reporter Staff
A commission appointed by President Greiner to review UB's academic
calendar presented a report to members of the Faculty Senate Executive
Committee which calls for phasing out the observance of many religious
holidays by 1997.
	Calling the calendar revisions "appropriate for (a) major
public university held in public trust," the commission moved to
condense the semester by a week and remove religious observance
holidays. At the same time, the university would promulgate a policy
which excuses students from classes without penalty on significant
days of religious observance and no examinations would be scheduled
for those days or on Saturdays.
	"State law encourages us to be sensitive to religious
holidays," explained Robert Palmer, vice president for student
affairs, who chaired the 15-member commission. However, he added, the
commission viewed it more important to move toward a schedule more in
line with that of most other institutions.
	The report, which was forwarded to President Greiner, will
likely be discussed by the full Faculty Senate as well, according to
Faculty Senate Chair Peter Nickerson. "The calendar and parking are
probably two of the most contentious issues on campus, so we will
consider it and offer our comments to the president before he makes a
final decision," explained Nickerson.
	This fall, undergraduate classes will begin on Monday, Aug. 28
and holidays will be observed on Labor Day (Sept. 4), Rosh Hashanah
(Sept. 25), and Yom Kippur (Oct. 4), as well as Thanksgiving break
(Nov. 22-24). Exam period will run from Dec. 15-22, but no exams will
be scheduled on Saturdays. The spring semester will begin Monday, Jan.
22 and the only break will come the week of March 18-22. Spring exams
are slated for May 9-16. Future spring semesters will follow this
format.
	Under the commission proposal, the fall 1996-97 academic
calendar
 will observe only Labor Day (Sept. 2) and Yom Kippur (Sept. 13), as
Rosh Hashanah falls on a Friday, beginning at 6 p.m. Then, in the fall
of 1997, classes will not begin until Sept. 2, the day after Labor
Day, giving students an extra 10 days of summer. The only fall break
will be at Thanksgiving, with exams ending Dec. 19.
	In other matters, Provost Aaron Bloch reported to the group
that UB had officially been assessed just under $3 million as its
share of current year budget cuts mandated by Gov. Pataki. He
explained that this sum would be met by using $1 million of reserve
funds and through cost-cutting measures implemented through academic
deans, including deferring any new appointments. "Preliminarily," said
Bloch, "there is enough out there to meet this without serious
dislocation. Students and faculty really won't feel its effects."