The Acceptance of Diversity, or As You Like It

Yesterday, Tuesday the 5th of October, I began a new class. It is a sociology class called "Multi-Cultural Societies" and we will be studying diversity on campus and in macro-sociological environments. I received a forward from professor, Jim Cramer, today that read, "Here's an example of how the University takes diversity into account - - FYI." The attached memo is from our Chancellor, Larry N. Vanderhoef, and the Chair of the Academic Senate, Daniel L. Simmons.

The first half of the memo reads:
"UC Davis is committed to providing students, faculty, and staff with an
environment that furthers their educational and career pursuits. Each year
we write to remind all members of the UC Davis community of our commitment
to avoid, when possible, the scheduling of campuswide events, retreats, and
meetings that conflict with religious holy days. The precise dates of these
holy days may vary from year to year, but they are usually indicated in
contemporary datebooks and calendars and may be found at
http://diversity.ucdavis.edu/html/calendar_holiday.html. We ask you to be
mindful of the Academic Senate resolution stating that "UC Davis seeks to
accommodate any student who, in observance of a religious creed, encounters
an unavoidable conflict with a test or examination schedule...." That
resolution may be found in the 2004-2006 General Catalog on page 63.
"In addition, as an educational institution, we can play a role in fostering
an awareness of, and respect for, the various spiritual and cultural beliefs,
practices, and needs of our community."
The second half of the memo describes how to tastefully decorate for the December holidays without offending anyone.

I decided that this hypocriticalism should be pointed out. So I wrote the following e-mail back to Prof. Cramer:

Dear Dr. Cramer,
This year, like every year, there were two move-in days for those living in the dorms. The first of those two days fell on Yom Kippur, arguably the holiest day of the year for the Jews. On this day, those observing the day are required to fast and some very observant Jews won't do labor of any sorts. That means no driving, lifting, etc.
For those with the move-in day of Saturday, September 25, they moved in on Yom Kippur. Does it seem odd to you that the University would put this message out after it had violated the policy itself?
Respectfully,
Jeremy Gimbel


We'll just have to wait and see what happens.