When Father Jim Roth heard exams will be held on Sundays, he was disheartened.

“It’s kind of sad that no sacred day seems to be spared,” said Roth, a member of the Ryerson Catholic chaplaincy. “I would hate to have a student who can’t attend a religious service because he has an exam.”

The announcement came after years of holding exams on every day except Sunday.

For fourth-year mechanical engineering student Michael Ibisoglu, the change in policy is frustrating. He said he once had to miss an Easter mass because he had an exam scheduled the next day. Now, between school and work, Ibisoglu is worried he may miss more masses in the future. “Catholic students find strength in God, and now the opportunity to pray on the Sabbath is gone,” he said. “Ryerson needs to look at how other universities pull off their exams without requiring students to be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”

According to registrar Keith Alnwick, the number of students taking Sunday exams “will not be huge.” He added that having Sunday exams will minimize the number of students who will have to take more than one exam on a single day.

Administrators have been having difficulty finding space for a growing student population within the limited time scheduled for exams.

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Father Jim Roth, a member of Ryerson Catholic chaplaincy, is concerned about the Sunday exam policy. (Jered Stuffco / Ryersonian Staff)

ut for some people like Waleed Elsayed, president of the Ryerson Muslim Students Association, writing exams on a Sunday is not a big deal.
 

“ For Muslims, the holy day is Friday,” said Elsayed. “So this is nothing extraordinary. In fact it would be better to have them on Sunday.”

Since Friday is an ordinary workng day, Muslim students are long used to juggling faith and academia. “You try to find a balance,” said Elsayed.

According to Elsayed, Muslim students can attend classes and write exams on that day, as long as it does not interfere with the prayer period, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. But most would rather not, if they could avoid it. “It’s still a holy day. You do what you can,” he said.

Likewise, exams have been held on Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath, for a long time. “Jewish students have had exams on Saturdays, and classes on holidays,” said Josh Hacker of Hillel. “Students have to make decisions based on what best fits for them.”

Father Roth, while reluctant to criticize the administration, regrets the loss of a weekly day of rest. “It’s vital to our sanity. And we’re losing it for the sake of getting the job done,” he said.

Alnwick suggested that students who se exam schedules conflict with their religious practices, try to work out the matter with their course instructors.