Sinziana Stanciu, ‘20

March 2019

Would you like some more school holidays that accurately reflect the student population? Well, the New York State Senate has heard your calls! Recently, they have proposed a new bill in which, based upon the population of districts, new holidays could be added to the calendar (CBS). The sole purpose of this bill is, “establishing Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha, Diwali, Vaisakhi, Good Friday and Onam as school holidays” (New York State Senate). This means that in NYC, we could have four more days off of school for the new holidays. This is an amazing recognition of more religions, but it brings to mind the question of why this hasn’t been implemented already. Ultimately, it all depends on if it gets passed or not, but it is important to consider the diversity of NYS and necessary representation for all.

BHSEC is most definitely a school that would welcome these changes. Considering the diversity in the student body, acceptance of all religions would be more than ideal. BHSEC is centered around the creation of a place to think, but beneath that lies creative students willing to explore all of their peers’ cultures. By being more inclusive from an early age regarding the religions around our world, we are shaping more students to become as accepting as they should be.