U. of California shifts academic calendar for Rosh Hashanah

The University of California system shifted its academic calendar for the start of a new term to avoid a conflict with the Jewish High Holy Days.

The change, which affects all seven of the U.C. campuses, means that campus move-in days will not be in conflict with Rosh Hashanah, The California Aggie, the daily student newspaper of the University of California, Davis, reported.

The term will begin on Oct. 2, a week later than usual, and winter break will last two weeks instead of three, according to the newspaper.

The change in the schedule was affected in order to comply with a U.C. policy that conflicts with “the observance of a major religious holiday.” The Policy for Addressing Religious Holiday Conflicts with Residence Hall “Move-In” Days was created in 2007 following complaints the previous year from the Jewish community, when move-in days conflicted with the High Holy Days, according to the Modesto Bee.

The policy last affected the start of the school year in 2009, when late August move-in days for U.C. Berkeley and Merced, which operate on the semester system, conflicted with the Muslim holiday of Ramadan.

Some three percent of U.C. students on the seven campuses identify themselves as Jewish, according to a 2010 University of California Undergraduate Experience Survey.