By Erin Miller

Editor in chief

Students upset about having classes on Good Friday may see a positive response to their complaints from Calvin administrators.

Last week, Provost Joel Carpenter spoke with the Student Senate at their weekly meeting about the possibility of canceling classes on Good Friday. The trade-off for that would be the shortening of spring break by one day, the Monday following the break. Traditionally, that day has been included in spring break to prevent students from traveling on a Sunday.

Carpenter said that it is likely that the change will be made, but was uncertain if the new schedule would be implemented during the spring 2003 or 2004 semester.

The question of whether or not Calvin should have classes on Good Friday is not a new one, said Academic Dean David Diephouse.

``I have been here over 25 years and the issue has come up off and on virtually all that time,'' he said. ``It's probably gotten more intense the last 6-10 years.''

Calvin used to have classes all day on Good Friday, but instituted a shortened class schedule several years ago to accommodate for the Tenebrae service each year in the Fine Arts Center.

Many students argue that no classes should meet on Good Friday for religious reasons; other students point out that having class on Good Friday necessitates driving on the holiday for any students trying to be with their families for Easter weekend.

Although Diephouse said he was not sure of the reason of increased interest in canceling classes on Good Friday in recent years, he was willing to make a guess.

``It may have something to do with the changing composition of the student body,'' he said. Each year, more students come to Calvin who are not Christian Reformed, and those students bring ``different traditions of how to view Good Friday.''

In the CRC tradition, he said, having work or school in the morning was normal for Good Friday. In the afternoon, churches would have services. That tradition is what shaped Calvin's original policies for Good Friday.

If classes are held on the Monday after spring break, Diephouse added, it will happen despite another long-time tradition within the CRC and at Calvin.

``Historically, Calvin has [not had classes on that Monday] to preserve the Lord's Day,'' he said. ``In the CRC subculture, historically, [traveling on Sunday] was frowned upon. That's another area where traditions have changed. The community has less of a taboo about traveling on Sunday.''

The change to the spring break schedule will mean changes for sports team and musical ensembles who often take trips during the break. Diephouse said choir directors and coaches have already been contacted and, although the final decision has not been made. The coaches said that, since most sports teams are already back in Grand Rapids by the Sunday of spring break. The musical groups were less enthusiastic about the change, as most usually plan to have concerts on the Sunday of break, but they, too, said that such a schedule would be feasible.

Making such a change is not an easy decision, Diephouse said.

``The spring semester is very hard to schedule,'' he said. ``There isn't an awful lot of flexibility.''

While some, if not most, students are likely to appreciate the change, not all members of the Calvin community will be excited about not having class on Good Friday. Some administrators and professors have expressed their concerns that students will just skip more classes despite classes being canceled.

``Anytime there is a recess the rule of thumb is a certain percentage of students will extend it on one side or another,'' Diephouse said. ``[The response to that is that] students who are minded to do that are already doing it.''

Students respond to those concerns with several of their own, questioning the real academic purpose that the shortened classes on Good Friday serve. The new policy should resolve those concerns, Diephouse said.

``In general, the students who are unhappy with the current policy will find this a much better solution,'' Diephouse said.