It has come to my attention that a certain group of SMU students were unhappy that there were Mid Terms held on the day of Deepavali. Now, I know I said that there are no breaks here in the premier school, but there’s a line that needs to be drawn. When the school erases that line, they effectively erase any sliver of a reputation of care and concern for their students. Not that I expected much more of them – the beast of a culture that they’ve inculcated, fitting more and more students in a single seminar room year on year – it’s quite clear that this school is run first and foremost a business and a brand. But as a brand, I’m surprised that they let something so clearly wrong slip, as I’m sure word will get around to the national papers and it’s only a matter of time before you see this issue in the forum pages of the newspapers (there’s an email of complaint floating around facebook).

Big swinging timer me feels for you, and the hindrance that stood in your way of enjoying Deepavali. Super awesome me still loves my super awesome school, but George Kuah also loves his pineapple tarts, and especially so during a festive period that it is most associated with. If they had mid terms on Chinese New Year day one or two, I would personally bring a bottle of pineapple tarts to the Office of Student Life on that day, and personally shove them up each and every living organism’s arse in that office. But oh wait, they wouldn’t be there on a public holiday – they’ve got no mid terms.

Here’s the email that was floating around the internet.

To Whom It May Concern
RE: Request for Secular Policy in SMU

We are a group of students who feel that SMU has been discriminatory with the practice of holding mid-term exams and events on October 17th, Saturday, on the day of Deepavali . Deepavali, as you might know, is a significant religious celebration for Indian ethnic groups such as the Hindus, Jains and Sikhs.On that Saturday, mid-term exams were held for a number of courses. This is a clear violation of an ethnic group’s freedom to celebrate their religious event without having academic requirements imposed on them. More so, we wonder how such events could be sanctioned on a designated and statutory Public Holiday. While it may be the individual professors who chose the day and date, the Registrar’s Office should not have approved of the dates. Chinese New Year this year, we were given the option of cancelling classes on Chinese New Year’s Eve while quizzes and course-tests were postponed. We were also given a lighter workload in lieu of the celebrations. We sincerely request a similar consideration for our traditional festival so that we too can enjoy the celebrations without the academic obligations weighing down on us.

Another issue is events such as SMU Broadcast and Entertainment (SMUBE)’s Voice Personality Hunt (VPH) held on Deepavali. There were Indians participating in the event and Indians helping out in organization and preparation. We understand from representatives of SMUBE that the venue was booked and sponsors sought for the event before they realized it was Deepavali day. However it is likely that approval of such an event was given by was SMU’s various offices (Registrar’s Office, Office of Student Life) and we simply ask for the approving authorities to watch out for such important dates.

We understand that this year there was the possibility of Deepavali falling on either of two separate dates. However, any religion that follows the Lunar calendar has these peculiarities. It is the role of SMU to check, either with Indian colleagues or otherwise, so that school exams and events do not clash with religious celebrations. We urge the University to or re-look or change its policies with regards to secular issues and implement racially-fairer policies (no exams, events, less workload) during times of religious celebration. Having a slogan – “World is Our Camp us” – which captures the ethnic and cultural diversity of your students; we look forward to your positive action to reinforce this sentiment. We look forward to hearing from you soon. You can contact us at any of the following e-mail adresses.

Thank you.

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