Skip to main contentSkip to footer content
 

Office of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity & Access
Interfaith & Holiday Guidelines

ESF is a community of diverse cultures and faith traditions. 

ESF respects the religious diversity of our community and recognizes the importance of religious holy days and observances in the lives of campus community members.  To that end, we encourage faculty, staff, and administrators to be cognizant of major religious and cultural observances when planning course requirements and campus events, and to be sensitive to potential conflicts.

Academic Religious Accommodations

ESF acknowledges each person’s right to freedom of religious expression, and right to observe religious holidays under New York State Education and labor laws. Faculty must abide by these laws.  Additionally faculty must include specific notification procedures which comply with these policies in course syllabi (see template).

Requesting a Course Accommodation

If a religious holiday hinders a student's ability to fully engage in class activities, they are advised to request a Religious Accommodation prior to the semester's deadline. More specifically:

  • For ESF courses, please contact each instructor directly by email to request an excused absence from any regularly scheduled ESF classroom, lab, or studio activities and/or to discuss modifications. Requests should be placed prior to the Academic Drop Deadline.
  • Courses offered at Syracuse University are governed by their Religious Observances Policy. Students should register expected absences for these classes through MySlice (Student Services/Enrollment/My Religious Observances/Add a Notification), prior to SU's Religious Observance Notification Deadline/Drop Deadline.

Please note that important Indigenous religious observances may not be determined by community leaders until after specified deadlines. Also, Muslim holidays may shift slightly from calendars due to local moon phase variations. Please work with these students to help them participate in observances while continuing to make academic progress in your classes.

Any student who believes they have been unreasonably denied an educational accommodation due to religious beliefs or practices while taking an ESF course should complete a Bias Incident Reporting Form.  Similarly, for SU courses, report through Stop Bias.

Requesting a Work Accommodation

Employees holiday observances should abide by their contractual obligations (charging leave accruals or flexing time) and (for Instructors and Instructional Staff), course objectives and requirements. Employees (including student employees) should discuss anticipated absences with their supervisors. Faculty may be able to arrange for guest instructors (colleagues, graduate students), recorded lectures, or exams during periods when class schedules conflict with their observance needs.   As enrolled students may also need accommodations on these dates, instructors should consider means to meet their own needs as well as those of their students.

Providing Accommodations

Campus community members are expected to make reasonable efforts to accommodate religious beliefs, practices, and observances unless the accommodation creates undue hardship on ESF (e.g., significant impact on campus operations, substantially increased costs, or risk to health and safety). Campus community members should engage in conversation with individuals requesting accommodations to ensure they find solutions that are tailored to their observance needs.

Students should discuss individual needs with their instructors. Instructors are encouraged to consider options for make-up, alternative, or modified tests, access to recorded lectures, alternative lab/class meetings, or assignments.

Examples of  observances and adjustments that students may need could include:

  • Fasting may require an absence, or to sit, step out, rest heads as needed, or for scheduling oral presentations or tests earlier in the day, or submission of a recorded presentation.
  • Prayer or Religious Ceremony schedule- ability to step out, alternative due dates or lab sections (for classes with multiple sections), extended timing, alternate or excused assignments.

** These and other accommodations may be considered for a variety of religious and cultural observance practices which may impact courses and campus activities.  These examples are not exhaustive and can be applicable to multiple aspects of religious observances

References

Meeting dietary constraints

Daily:

Vegetarian and vegan options are available at Trailhead Cafe, Moon Cafe, as well as the dining centers at the AEC, CLBS and Ranger School campuses. 

SU meal plans include access to Halal, Vegan and Vegetarian diets, with labelled items available in all SU Dining Centers

Kosher meat meals are provided daily at Shaw Hall .

Holidays:

During Ramadan 2026, Sadler and Ernie Davis Dining Centers will have dedicated spaces for Iftar, to facilitate requests for extra to-go containers for suhoor (early morning meal), as well as snacks and pre-packaged meals available from designated refrigerators.  

In addition, Muslim Student Life will be hosting community iftars every weekday (with the exception of Spring Break) for up to 50 people each evening (one evening TBD will be significantly larger, and open to the community), beginning Wednesday, February 18. Visit MSA’s Instagram (@syracusemsa) for schedule, location, and RSVP links.

While Kosher meals are available daily at Shaw Hall, Shabbat, holiday and special events are most frequently served at the Winnick Hillel Center for Jewish Life.  First night seder is hosted in the Dome; visit Hillel’s Instagram (@syracusehillel) to RSVP (meal plan holders are asked to use meal swipes for seders). KfP meals lunches and dinners are available at the Winnick Center with a meal swipe, or can be purchased with a credit card or cash. 

Event planning:

Event planners are asked to avoid scheduling special events on religious or holy days whenever possible. Harvard Divinity School’s Multifaith calendar has been integrated into the myESF calendar (myesf.esf.edu).

Planners should consider meatless options year-round, offering to-go boxes during fast days (including, but limited to, Ramadan and Lent), and grain-free options during Passover.

For more information about planning inclusive events, and for obtaining Sustainable Event Certification, please review checklists in the Sustainable Event Certification Guide.

Interfaith Space

ESF’s temporary Interfaith Space (105B Moon) opened in February 2025, under the supervision of a newly formed InterFaith Advisory Council.  A more spacious space on the ground floor is planned as part of upcoming extensive renovations to that floor.

ESF personnel may also avail themselves of the programs, services, and facilities coordinated through the chaplaincies of Hendrick’s Chapel.   

Guidelines for Festive Décor

  1. For safety reasons, electrical decorations are not permitted in personal spaces.
  2. Seasonal, inclusive decorations that encourage an appreciation for all traditions are encouraged.
  3. Managers and supervisors should handle questions regarding the appropriateness of decorations.

Permissible or not?

Christmas Trees, Nativity Scenes and Menorahs

The display of Christmas trees on campus is generally permissible, provided the display meets applicable fire and safety codes.  Courts have recognized that Christmas trees have become a secular symbol associated with the winter holiday season.

The display of nativity scenes and menorahs has also been upheld by courts against legal challenges if they appear as part of a larger display with a secular purpose, such as the celebration of pluralism and freedom or the promotion of tolerance and respect for diverse customs. However, any holiday display with an overtly religious symbol (such as a nativity scene) should include at least one other religious symbol from a different religious tradition. The university is not required, however, to display any particular symbol of a religious nature requested by students, employees, or the public.

Religious Symbols and Décor in Employee Offices and Cubicles

Displays of religious décor and symbols inside employees' offices and cubicles are generally permissible. In fact, prohibiting the display of religious decorations and symbols may be deemed an infringement on an employee's constitutional rights of free exercise of religion and free speech. 

Public Forums on Campus

If the campus has a public forum designated for free speech purposes available throughout the year, the college cannot restrict its use to prevent the display of holiday symbols or messages.  However, college policies that reasonably limit use of public areas in time, place and manner still apply, including quiet hours during study and exam periods.

References

Décor Language excerpted with permission, University of Wisconsin System