Higher ed think tank emphasizes need for diversity of faiths on campus during Christmas
Diversity is a vital component of Christmas celebrations at universities, argues Kathy Johnson Bowles, founder and principal consultant at Gordian Knot Consulting.
Other examples of universities changing Christmas celebrations to be more inclusive include the University of Tennessee Knoxville, Cornell University, and the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss).
Diversity is a vital component of Christmas celebrations at universities, argues Kathy Johnson Bowles, founder and principal consultant at Gordian Knot Consulting.
Bowles has more than 30 years of experience in higher education, and recently wrote about her experience with holiday celebrations on college campuses, supporting multi-religious displays during the Christmas season.
During Bowles’ time as the museum director of Longwood University in Virginia, she was tasked with finding elements of other religious displays to incorporate on campus after “constituents” at the university took offense to a Christmas tree display in the institution’s historic building, known as the Rotunda.
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She asked herself, “Was it accurate or justifiable to equate Christmas (a major holiday for Christians) to a minor holiday for another religion by juxtaposing and placing the displays in the same context?”
Though she admits that the effort to display other religious symbols is “reactionary and problematic,” she says the effort “was beneficial,” citing that the “mission in higher education should always be about learning and understanding more—and that should include holidays, too.”
“By acknowledging various holidays and religious traditions, we learned something about each other, the world,” she concluded.
Bowels’ experience is not an isolated incident.
Other examples of universities changing Christmas celebrations to be more inclusive include the University of Tennessee Knoxville, Cornell University, and the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss).
Campus Reform reported in 2015 that Ole Miss renamed its annual campus event “A Grand Ole Christmas” to “Hotty Toddy Holiday” to be more inclusive. The event was renamed after six years of university tradition.
That same year, Cornell believed that non-religious Christmas traditions like the mistletoe do not create an “environment of inclusion.”
At University of Tennessee Knoxville students were encouraged to refrain from religious celebration.
Campus Reform also reported last year that a Columbia University professor called for the removal of the Rockefeller Christmas tree because it represents American “exceptionalism.”
All parties mentioned have been contacted for comment. This story will be updated accordingly.
