In response to complaints of conflicts with Jewish holidays, the UC system approved calendar changes, resulting in a later starting date and a shorter winter vacation for Fall Quarter 2014

University of California Registrars have approved changes to the 2014–15 academic calendar in response to conflicts with the Jewish High Holy Days. All UCs operating on a quarter system will officially begin their fall quarter on Sept. 29 and start instruction on Thursday of Week 0, Oct. 2 — a week later than when Fall Quarter 2013 began. Additionally, this year’s winter vacation will be shortened to two weeks to compensate for the loss of classroom time, beginning on Dec. 20 and ending on Jan. 4.

According to a Jan. 14 Los Angeles Times article, the calendar change was enacted in accordance with the UC system’s “Policy for Addressing Religious Holiday Conflicts with Residence Hall ‘Move-In’ Days.” Implemented by former UC President Robert Dynes in 2007, it provides guidelines for addressing conflicts between campus move-in dates and major religious holidays, with particular focus on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

“Representatives of the Jewish community and members of the California Legislature have expressed a desire for the university to avoid the conflicts that have arisen between fall residence hall move-in days and the Jewish High Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur,” Dynes said in a letter to the UC Chancellors.

Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are the Jewish New Year and Day of Atonement, respectively. Traditionally, it is a time of prayer, reflection and repentance. Based on a lunar cycle, they begin on Sept. 24 this year, which would otherwise coincide with the beginning of Week 0.

Sam Hauss, president of the Union of Jewish Students at UCSD, explained that the High Holidays are a significant part of the Jewish calendar and that he, and other Jewish students, often struggle with balancing the holidays with the start of the school year.

“You reevaluate how you live — what can and can’t be done — and moving in and classes conflict with those guidelines,” Hauss said. “The university acknowledging the problem is something we’re happy about.”

The schedule change has been met with mixed reactions from the student body.

“[The conflict] gets difficult, especially during Week 1,” Vice President of UCSD’s United Jewish Observance Jonah Saidian said. “We can’t go to school, we can’t take notes. I thought [the change] was a great relief.”

Warren College junior Max Shen also agrees with the shift overall.

“I personally would be able to take better advantage of one more week of summer than one more week of winter break because I would be able to work harder, play harder and overall use the time better,” Shen said.

However, other students, like Warren College graduate student Jeffrey Yuan, are less happy with the calendar change.

“I guess that it’s a little inconvenient to have school start even later than it already does in September,” Yuan said. “Also, travel plans for winter break will definitely be tighter and more expensive because they’ll be closer to Christmas.”

Revelle College freshman Karen Medgyesy concurs.

“The problem with a shorter break for me is that I don’t get to see my family as much,” Medgyesy said. “A lot of students are in-state and can go home every weekend, but that’s not the case for me since I’m from Colorado. It’s already a hassle to travel and fly home, as well as a lot of money, so it’s a bummer I can’t see my family for as long.”
This is the first time that changes to the calendar have been made since the UC policy’s inception in 2007, and academic schedules should return to normal after 2014, given that they do not interfere with any other religious holidays.