CORRECTION: A new version of this story has been posted due to a factual error that is listed at the bottom of the article. The Justice regrets the error.I realize this is a potentially unpopular position for a student to take, but Brandeis has had too many days off this semester. Since the first day of instruction, we have had (including this week) three weeks of instruction uninterrupted by some kind of holiday. Out of the first eight weeks (not counting the first Thursday and Friday at the end of August), four of them will have been broken up.

The first of these is Labor Day and the rest are Jewish holidays. I should not have to explain how this presents at least some degree of confusion and disrupts the momentum of instruction. Two of my midterms, for example, had to be rescheduled to accommodate these holidays.

Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah are, I am told, two of the most important Jewish holidays. Many communities, including some public school districts in Massachusetts, recognize at least one of these holidays. Sukkot and Shimini Atzeret are, by any measure, more obscure.

The Brandeis Mission Statement and Diversity Statement contain the word "nonsectarian" three times between them. Accordingly, the Brandeis University Registrar's Academic Calendar says "religious holy days will not be the sole factor in determining days on which classes will be held or suspended." I am not sure what other factors determined why I can't learn on Shimini Atzeret.

The next part of the policy dictates "that students be encouraged to observe their appropriate religious holy days; that instructors strive to facilitate this by allowing absence from classes for such purposes and by trying to insure that no examinations, written reports, oral reports, or other mandatory class assignments are scheduled for or due on such holy days; and that instructors provide ample opportunities for such students to make up work missed on such occasions without penalty."

The language so far is religiously neutral, although the next sentence is a helpful reminder that "Jewish holidays begin at sundown of the previous evening and end at nightfall of the day listed."

Thus, Brandeis is a "nonsectarian institution" that pressures professors not to assign work on Jewish holidays and thus does not have class on Jewish holidays. Brandeis has to bend over backward to reassure different parties: it must profess a nonsectarian ethos but still cater to a minority of very religious Jews. In political jargon, it must appease its base, but it must also pretend that it is not interested in doing so.

The fact that Brandeis has, in the past few years, decided to observe more obscure Jewish holidays should indicate where its priorities lie. The prospective student looking at Brandeis might be justifiably perplexed by the cognitive dissonance inherent in an institution pledging nonsectarianism and suspending instruction on obscure Jewish holidays. I'm a junior here and this still perplexes me. It's no secret that Brandeis is intensely competitive with its peer schools. Catering to a small minority of religious Jews must in some way influence people's perception of Brandeis.

I realize many people reading this will object to the word obscure and will tell me about the importance of these maligned holidays. However, the word is accurate: Sukkot and Shimini Atzeret are devoutly observed by a minority of Jews, who represent a small minority of the population of the world, even if a majority of people at Brandeis.

The practice of religion is, or ought to be, voluntary: if you choose to devoutly observe Judaism, you must accept that this, at some point, will place you at odds with contemporary society. This means you are not being discriminated against if you are allowed less than "ample" time to makeup work because of a holiday you have chosen to observe.

This, combined with my above argument, reinforces my suspicion that too many people at this institution of higher learning believe that religious beliefs are automatically worthy of my respect.

I was attracted to Brandeis for many reasons, and, as an atheist, was reassured by their initial pledge of nonsectarianism. Education is a higher and more important value than religious observance, and Brandeis should reflect that in its schedule.

Correction: The article incorrectly stated originally that Brandeis did not give students Sukkot and Shimini Atzeret off before 2003.