From: Student Affairs and Equal Opportunity and Access
Dear OSU-Cascades students,
We hope you are continuing to have a positive and fulfilling winter term. We are writing to share a reminder regarding religious and spiritual holiday observances, and to confirm that the university is committed to providing support for students and employees whose religious and spiritual observances may have an impact on classes, schedules, and dietary needs. OSU has established a three-year calendar of religious and spiritual observances that are salient to OSU community members, and information regarding both updates are included in this message.
OSU’s Religious Accommodations of Students Guidance & Community Resources:
We request that faculty work with all undergraduate and graduate students, regardless of learning modality, as outlined in OSU’s Religious Accommodation of Students Guidance. It is incumbent on the student making the request to notify their faculty member or supervisor as soon as possible prior to the need for accommodation, although we recognize that holidays closely aligned with the start of a term may make that difficult. Students should work directly with their faculty member on these requests, and we ask that faculty provide reasonable accommodations to allow for the completion of any missed course deliverables. Faculty and staff can approve requests for religious accommodations without consultation, but must first contact the Office of Equal Opportunity and Access before denying a request.
Below, we provide information regarding dining and food options available at OSU-Cascades.
Quiet Spaces:
A quiet space, called the Reflection Room, is offered on the upper floor of the Student Success Center. This room serves as a meditation/multi-faith quiet space for students, and is available on a first-come, first-served basis. A foot-washing station is located in the private bathroom on the first floor as well.
Dining and Food Options:
Residential students at OSU-Cascades who practice a faith-based diet and need to develop a plan that will meet dietary needs for upcoming holidays and beyond, please complete the dietary needs form, and Dining Staff can assist in developing a plan.
New! 3-Year Religious and Spiritual Observance Calendar
Oregon State University (OSU) has adopted a calendar illustrating observances shared by members of the OSU community. The calendar was initially a pilot program for the current academic year that has now successfully been extended into an expanded resource for the next three academic years. The three-year calendar and the resources to interpret the calendar were developed by a group of staff, faculty, advisors, volunteers, and students during several interfaith work sessions. The calendar and the accompanying resources serve multiple purposes:
-
as a resource for OSU leadership when making decisions regarding important dates, deadlines, and timelines
-
a useful tool for supervisors and teaching faculty when creating work and course schedules
-
as a guide for faculty and staff in scheduling meetings and events by avoiding religious observances and minimizing conflicts with mandatory or one-time events
You may find the calendar on the Office of the Dean of Students website. The calendar is not exhaustive of all observances celebrated by OSU community members and is intended to be an illustrative example; faculty and supervisors are reminded that accommodations should be considered for all observances, whether or not they appear on the calendar. If you would like to see a religious observance be considered for addition to this list, please contact [email protected].
Reporting Concerns
OSU is committed to creating and maintaining an equitable and inclusive working and learning environment. If you experience conduct that falls short of this commitment, please report your concern to a university office so we can promptly address the issue. Most OSU employees are Responsible Employees and must report discrimination, discriminatory harassment, retaliation, and sexual misconduct to the Office of Equal Opportunity and Access. Concerns of bias can be reported to the Office of Institutional Diversity’s Bias Response Team.
If you have any questions, concerns or recommendations, please do not hesitate to directly contact the Office of the Dean of Students or Equal Opportunity and Access.
We wish you all a wonderful continued academic year.
Kevin A. Dougherty, Senior Associate Vice President for Student Affairs, Dean of Students
[email protected]
Becky Bangs, Associate Vice President and Chief Civil Rights Officer, Title IX and ADA Coordinator
[email protected]
To request this information in an alternative format please contact [email protected].