March 21, 2007

Campuses Should Answer Unmet Needs of Muslim Students, Report Says

Muslim students in Ontario and, by extension, elsewhere in North America face a host of challenges to observing their faith on campuses, according to a 55-page report released today by the Canadian Federation of Students. Jesse Greener, the federation’s president, told The Chronicle that he was surprised at the consistent responses from the 1,000 students on 17 Ontario campuses who were surveyed for the report.

The report offers nearly five dozen recommendations for improvements. Among them are retaining Muslim faculty members and offering halal meals, which meet Islam’s dietary restrictions. One of the biggest problems facing Muslim students is the loan-based student-aid system.

“Interest-bearing loans are forbidden in Islam, which means that provincial- and federal-government loans are simply off-limits for many practicing Muslims,” said Mohamed Sheibani, president of the Muslim Students’ Association National of the U.S. and Canada, in a news release. —Karen Birchard

Comments

1. Halal meals? Will there also be kosher meals? Vegetarian and vegan options? Meals that avoid any and all foods that cause food allergies?

   And will the faculty represent all religions and all racial backgrounds?

   I believe there are unmet needs of many students, not just those of Muslim faith. This seems absurd.

   — Jo P.    Mar 21, 02:51 PM    #

2. I hate to have to be one to state it, but post-secondary education is strictly voluntary in Canada.

   If you don’t like what the school you are attending is offering, its a very simple answer — don’t go there. You have many options, such as going back to the Middle East and attending a muslim school which shall meet your needs.

   And as a final point, universities are in the business of teaching people an education.

   Therefore check your (be it Catholic, Anglican, Methodist, Mormon or Muslim) religion at the door when you go in and pick it up in a few years when you graduate.

   — J. McMahon    Mar 21, 04:56 PM    #

3. I appreciate the sensitivity to the diverse needs of people of all races and religions, but anything beyond appropriate tolerance and equal opportunity is over the top. The free practice of religion is welcome in any open-minded institution [and mandated in state schools] but the institution should not be expected to make hiring decisions and dietary plans for the myriad of religious expressions in a diverse country.

   — Glenn    Mar 22, 06:54 AM    #

4. You have to be kidding. Where is your separation of church and state, and why does that separation only apply to the Christian faith and not all others?

   — E Norman    Mar 22, 07:21 AM    #

5. This is consumerism at its finest!
   Sadly, many universities seem to think they can be all things to all people; and many students think they are powerful consumers who can direct the energies of university life through their tuition payments.

   Maybe in some private, academic environment such programs will find a home, and students who feel deprived of some “right” could then enroll at such private schools.

   Surely the authors of the report did not seriously contemplate such program allowances in public institutions?

   — Leon S.    Mar 22, 07:35 AM    #

6. My US public state university did provide vegetarian, vegan, and allergy options. I don’t remember Kosher or Halal distinctions but there was a collective bargaining agreement to return dining fees for the month of Ramadan when Muslim students weren’t able to use dining facilities due to the hours. It is not fair to discriminate based on disabilities (allergies) so dining facilities are used to helping students meet their dietary requirements.
   On another note, you can complain about these recommendations showing a ‘lack of separation’ the next time you’re scheduled to take an exam on Easter or Christmas.

   — Former US State student    Mar 22, 07:55 AM    #

7. Well, I think this kind of article is so nice because it uncovers the hatred people have against those Muslims. Look at the comments, they are just pouring hatred… It is so funny. Well I thought readers of the Chronicle had a more tolerant and educated approach. Those Muslims are becoming a segregated against category and nobody seems to care. We just need to label them with something similar to what we suffered from (the star). Come on people wake up!!!!

   — C. Cohen    Mar 22, 07:58 AM    #

8. We cannot expect every school to meet the diverse needs and wants of every potential student. However, it would be appropriate to point out that just as some schools cater to Catholic or Jewish students, there is a growing market in the US for schools that cater to Muslim students. Perhaps some of the private schools currently struggling to stay afloat could make some changes in some of their dorms and dining halls that would both meet this need and increase their enrollments.

   This isn’t a full solution as we can’t ignore the cost differential – private schools aren’t an option for everyone. Public schools do have to be careful about the perception that they are favoring one group over another. However, most large public schools do have programs in place to provide specialized housing and dining options once the number of students requesting a particular option reaches critical mass. A single student may be out of luck, but a larger group is usually able to ask for and receive a particular dorm unit or dining area that will meet there needs, if they ask for them.

   — K.D.    Mar 22, 08:33 AM    #

9. Again we are catering to the squeaky wheel. I have a gluten allergy, which is something that is becoming much more common, but I don’t expect my school to cater to my needs. These students are supposed to be learning to become adults, and that includes taking care of your own diet. Catering to any group is a mistake that we continue to make in the name of “tolerance.” I think these students, and several of the commentators, need to grow up. The college cafeteria is not Mom’s kitchen.

   — Carrie    Mar 22, 09:07 AM    #

10. Thank you for this article. I think the student loan issue is an interesting one and a problem that I had not considered. I’d love to hear more about that from someone who has given it some consideration and researched possible options. I assume the U.S. loan system poses the same problems, is that correct?

    — Susan    Mar 22, 10:09 AM    #

11. practicing muslims can create their own university… like the mormons…

    — armaly bassem    Mar 22, 10:22 AM    #

12. I think the steps above would be a great start, but I believe that North American universitites need to go farther in being sensitive to the needs of Muslim students. Accordingly, I would suggest the following:

    1. Muslim students should not have to live on the same floor as members of the opposite sex, nor should they have to share co-ed bathrooms.

    2. Schools should follow William & Mary’s progressive lead and remove any religious symbols that might offend or make Muslim students uncomfortable. No shared public space should include a cross.

    3. In addition to the dietary steps suggested above, the use of pork products should be banned on campus, lest Muslim students accidently come into contact with them.

    4. Female students, faculty, and staff should respect the sensibilities of Muslim men and agree to don a veil and, while we are at it, a chador.

    5. All female instructors should be barred from instructing Muslim males.

    Now, anyone want to guess the level of sarcasm in my suggestions?

    — J. Ward    Mar 22, 10:39 AM    #

13. Many universities in the U.S. routinely make basic accommodations for students of different cultural backgrounds. I am currently advising a newly-appointed official at my university whose job is to do just this. Our meal service is not going to offer specifically halal or kosher meals—in the sense of determining how the animals were slain or keeping two sets of dishes—but identifying beef, pork and other tabboo meats, clarifying what meals contained gelatin or other beef or pork byproducts, should be no more difficult than putting out alerts about common allergens, which we currently do.

    One of my former students from the American University in Cairo was just accepted to a Canadian university. He does not keep strictly halal, nor is he likely to be bothered by student loan issues, although it is true that interest bearing loans are not part of financial aid packages (such as they are) in Egypt. Although his father was a UPenn grad, he percieves Canada as more friendly to Middle Eastern students than the U.S. It will be interesting to hear his experiences.

    — Mark Allen Peterson    Mar 22, 10:53 AM    #

14. Good observations, all.
    Yet they address issues of accommodation, not education.
    I don’t wish to be sarcastic, yet it seems to me common sense should help resolve some of these issues.

    Education is a luxury. There are millions of people who would gladly dismiss any issue of physical accommodation to simply be in a classroom and share their ideas with others.

    If there are human rights, one of them must be a right to education. Physical accommodations might be part of the effectuation of that human right, but care must be taken lest physical considerations defeat the goal: education.

    If educational institutions are re-designed to accommodate all sorts of physical and cultural attributes, will that ensure a higher quality of education? Integrating the beauties of many different people and many different cultures does not mean inventing culturally-specific environments.

    Random thoughts…nice to hear so many different views!

    — Leon S.    Mar 22, 11:35 AM    #

15. The key to accomodating any ethnic group is to treat it equally with other ethnic groups. If you provide kosher meals for Jews (almost all dorms do by way of frozen dinners at neglible cost), you should provide the same for Muslims. If you provide prayer space for Christians, you provide prayer space for Muslims. Or you refuse to provide prayer space to anyone. If you provide no-interest loans for Muslims you provide no-interest loans for everyone. No ethnic group can game the system to extract a better deal than another, or cause the university to spend money that is not in the benefit of all. This is simple and neither requires a study or a press release.

    — Monk    Mar 22, 11:56 AM    #

16. I am stunned and disheartened by the hostile, disrepectful comments expressed towards this report. I am a strong supporter of separation of church and state, which to me means that public institutions don’t enforce the practice of any religion or spiritual perspective. That is not the same as respecting differences among community members. Sure, a university could schedule exams on Christmas, Easter, Yom Kippur etc. but they can choose not to out of respect for people participating in those holidays. Similarly, I think it is appropriate to show respect to the needs of Muslim students within public universities.
    The extent to which we can respect and honor diversity will determine if/how we survive as a species.

    — Glenn Hirsch, Ph.D.    Mar 22, 12:23 PM    #

17. There is no religious reason why a test can’t be scheduled on Christmas or Easter. Many Christians work on both holidays, if their jobs call for it, such as hospital workers. If that was your best shot, you lost the argument.

    Now let’s go back to the incredible insensitivity of females who actually want to teach, often with nothing — NOTHING — on their heads.

    — Dom    Mar 22, 03:59 PM    #

18. I worked at a public university in Toronto that decided many years ago to turn a dining hall into a kosher restaurant to cater to its large Jewish commuter population. The restaurant was wildly popular with staff and students of all faiths because the food was so darned good. This is not a big issue of principle; it’s simply smart and courteous to make friends of students who have to overcome some hurdles to get a university education. Not every university will have the means to do so, of course, but I hope they all are educating people to be more tolerant than many of your readers.

    — Barbara Abercrombie    Mar 22, 04:07 PM    #

19. Have any of you read or at least skimmed the report instead of relying solely on the micro encapsulation of the report in the blog? There are perhaps 50 -75 recommendations made in trying to accommodate less than 3% of the Ontario general population and well under 3% of the collegiate population. Granted many are generic administrative comments (train faculty in cultural differences, etc.) but many are intrusive: provide women-only swimming times and block the viewing portals of the pool during those times. Some of the recommendations may be common sense and courteous but many are insane.

    — HG    Mar 22, 05:36 PM    #

20. At some universities, Hillel provides kosher food to observant Jewish students. Typically, Muslim students sign up too since kosher and halal rules are nearly the same.

    I think all universities provide options for vegetarian students. The trend is to offer a wide variety of foods to meet different tastes. It’s never pork chop or nothing.

    — Joanne Jacobs    Mar 22, 11:16 PM    #

21. It is very easy to reject such accommodations when we ourselves are not part of a minority.

    Note, that it is good business for a university to cater to the diverse needs of a student population as this will attract more people to come to that university.

    I think people should be more tolerant and we should do onto others as we would have them do onto us.

    — B. Thomson    Mar 23, 09:35 AM    #

22. Campuses Should Answer Unmet Needs of Muslim Students, Report Says.

    It is absurd to say that some segment of students like Muslims should get special privileges. How about other groups such as Hindus, Jains, Buddhists, Marmons, and other religious groups? Muslims should go elsewhere so that they can be treated better. The main goal of educational institutions is to educate not to cater special privileges to selected groups. Whenever a group makes noise, the group will get what it wants.

    — Kan Chandras    Mar 26, 04:01 PM    #

23. also, universities should adopt a reasonable set of rules of behavior—maybe based on shariah—so that muslim students will not be discomfited.

    — josil    Mar 27, 12:00 AM    #

Previous: Homeopathic Degree in Britain Puts Scientific Gloss on Nonscientific Dross, Critics Say
Next: Kennedy Asks 16 Lenders for Documents on 'Financial Dealings' With Colleges