Blake Hasenmiller, in explaining his claim that Easter is a more appropriate day off than Martin Luther King Day, seems to have self-victimization issues that are completely inappropriate to the situation. Having Martin Luther King Day off and Easter on has absolutely nothing to do with religion, and everything to do with academics and equality.

Martin Luther King Day falls on the same day each year, the third Monday of January, and is close enough to the start of classes to have no adverse effect on academics. The date of Easter changes every year — it fall as early as March 22 and as late as April 25. If we moved Spring Break around with Easter, academic scheduling would change every year. Even if Spring Break remained stable, an official holiday on the Monday after Easter Sunday would adversely effect academic scheduling.

Each student is welcome to attend Easter celebrations with his or her family, then return for classes on Monday. If that isn’t possible, each student is afforded the opportunity to speak with his or her professor at the beginning of the semester about religious observances. The rights of Christian students in this situation are exactly equal to those of any other student of any religious tradition.

Having an official Easter holiday would present great ethical and legal difficulties at a public institution like Iowa State. As we acknowledge that religion exists and make accommodations for various religions, we must avoid singling out one for special benefits. We must be conscious of our diverse student population, creating an environment that works best for all, not just some. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.” This is truly separation of church and state at its best.

-Anastasia Bodnar, President of the ISU Atheist and Agnostic Society, Graduate Student, Agronomy