On one of the holiest day in the Jewish tradition, Yom Kippur, which lasted from Sept. 24-25 this year, Ayva Sloo* (junior) was not attending synagogue nor fasting as she said she typically would. Rather, Sloo said she was studying for an upcoming test and attending classes.
“You’re supposed to take the day off and spend it atoning for your sins, and yet I was incapable of doing that because of all my schoolwork,” Sloo said.
While Occidental’s Academic Accommodations for Reasons of Faith and Conscious policy aims to prevent situations such as this one, many students, including Sloo, are unable to take full advantage, as the policy only allows students to take two days off a year. According to Sloo, several Jewish holidays are at least two days long. The spiritual time between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur alone — called the Time of Teshuva — spans 10 days.
The policy, created by former Chief Diversity Officer (CDO) Rhonda Brown in 2017, covers days of consciousness such as Transgender Day of Remembrance, Veterans Day and several cultural and religious holidays. A change to the policy was proposed last year to extend the number of days students are able to take off, according to Director of Religious and Spiritual Life Reverend Dr. Susan Young.
However, Young, former CDO David Carreon Bradley and former Faculty Council Chair Sharla Fett could not produce enough faculty votes to expand the policy. According to Young, she plans to pursue the same goal again this year.
Facing an uncooperative policy is not the only challenge religious students face, as many struggle to come to terms with their individual spirituality during their undergraduate years, according to Young. Sloo said her personal religious struggle was heightened by being apart from family, especially on the recent holiday.
“For Yom Kippur, it’s really much easier to fast when you’re doing it with people, because you’re able to support each other,” Sloo said.
According to Jewish Student Life Coordinator Ben Greenberg, students come to Occidental from backgrounds of varying religiosity, and it can be hard to continue spiritual practices in the same manner or frequency as they did at home.
“I think [students] can be wracked by feelings of guilt or conversely, might feel pulled for whatever reason at that moment in [their] life to want to actively seek more spirituality,” said Greenberg.
Sloo said making her own traditions and sharing them with her other Jewish friends was a challenge at first.
“It was an adjustment comparing what I did with what my friends did in the past with their families,” Sloo said. “It’s kind of interesting to find out how our traditions differed or were the same.”
This challenge is compounded by the fact that the majority of students on campus are not religious, according to Young, and may have complicated histories with organized religion.
“I understand that there are people on campus who have been hurt by religious tradition, and they have the right of opportunity to not be impacted by that, but then I know there are other students for whom their religious tradition is really important to them,” Young said.
No matter someone’s religion, Young said that isolation is a common problem for those trying to explore spirituality in college.
Greenberg said he can relate to this loneliness, remembering how sitting alone at a collegiate Shabbat dinner affected his religious experience. His role, he said, gives him the opportunity to prevent this alienation for current students through organizing holiday celebrations and leading fellowship. On the day of Yom Kippur, he said he brought students to the Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center to celebrate with the greater Jewish community.
“Sometimes you get so wrapped up in college life, you sort of forget that there’s a broader world out there,” Greenberg said. “So I think getting to celebrate the holidays, part of like a broader Jewish community felt very meaningful for the students.”
According to Cady Carr (first year), who made a similar trip to the Temple Sinai of Glendale for Rosh Hashanah, being at synagogue for the holiday provided her with familiarity, even in a new place.
“As a tourist here, it’s nice to have a remnant of my home life, and it made me feel close to my family and my extended family,” Carr said.
Carr said though it was the first time she attended a service without her mom and sister, being with other Jewish students helped her adjust.
“It was so much more special because we were all choosing to be there,” Carr said. “We all made the effort to get up and come — [it] wasn’t your mom telling you to get dressed and go.”
Carr is also a member of the Occidental Hillel which provides social, cultural and spiritual opportunities for students and staff members to explore and celebrate Jewish identity.
“Everyone is coming from a different place in their lives, and you get to come together with this really unique group of people over this shared value and this shared tradition,” Carr said.
According to Greenberg, maintaining any kind of spirituality may be the most important as a student, because college is a liminal space with lots of uncertainty and growth. Carr said that she uses her Judaic practices with these newfound difficulties in mind.
“You come to service no matter how your week was,” Carr said. “Whether it was good or it was bad, you just have this moment to sit and be with each other but also, be with yourself and reflect on things.”
According to Carr, it is the universal nature of her faith has proved to be invaluable during her transition to college.
“Everywhere I go, we all say the same prayers and sing the same melodies. It’s comforting to have that consistency,” Carr said.
For students who are looking for space and community to worship or meditate, the Chapel is open Monday through Friday as well as the Labyrinth, a form of walking meditation available on Wednesdays.
*Avya Sloo is The Occidental’s Business Manager
Contact Paige Thomas at pthomas2@oxy.edu
