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Coming to college is a disorienting experience.
For many, it includes moving to a new city, attempting to figure
out how long it will take to walk from Dickson to Hershey Hall,
waiting in line to buy books, navigating the streets of Westwood,
and trying to find friends to join in on the journey.
Zero Week provides new students with the time to do all these
things and more. On top of that, it’s a time to wave good-bye
to parents, unpack boxes in crowded dorm rooms ““ and to
tackle the bigger project of facing the next stage of their
“adult” lives.
For returning students, it’s a time to settle into new
apartments and establish a sense of place and order before delving
into academics.
The university must not deny students these important
benefits.
This year, classes were scheduled on Tuesday and Wednesday of
Zero Week to allow Jewish students and professors to observe Yom
Kippur during the latter half of the week. The university’s
respect for culture and religion is appropriate, but altering the
schedule does a disservice to all students by denying them the
opportunity to settle into their new surroundings.
There are countless religions represented on campus. It’s
impossible to accommodate the religious needs of every student,
faculty and staff member in a manner that’s fair to
everyone.
This is a public university, and as a state institution, it
needs to be kept separate from religion.
The administration should not prioritize one person’s
religious beliefs over another’s. The role of the
administration should be limited to ensuring all students, faculty
and staff can observe their particular holidays without fear of
academic backlash or punishment.
The choice to sacrifice academics for religious purposes should
be made by individuals. This choice should not be made by the
university in a way that displaces everyone.
Unfortunately, we can not get this year’s time back. But
hopefully the administration will see students’ discontent
and take it as a sign of how important this week is to us.
Even though we may call it “Zero Week,” it’s
hardly a week of nothing. For UCLA students, and especially new
freshman and transfer students, this precious time is
everything.