Ah, the voice of reason and compassion.
Your June 1 editorial supporting Shenendehowa’s decision to allow Muslim students a classroom for prayer during Ramadan hit me both figuratively and literally like a ray of sunshine that the first of June brought to us.
Ramadan is the holiest month in the Muslim calendar and is very demanding on its followers for the entire month. It’s not a one-day observance that can be followed by taking a day off from school. It consists of prayer five times a day and fasting during daylight hours.
To accommodate the Muslim students at Shenendehowa is a brave and compassionate policy move by its administration.
I support that decision and your editorial. It’s absolutely constitutional for a public school to allow students a time and a place for private prayer. Recognizing all students for their unique culture and heritage is a learning experience for the entire student body. Assimilation and accommodation are mainstays in forming an understanding and peaceful society.
Good job, Gazette. I am one reader who agrees with your editorial and who supports the policy of the Shenendehowa school District.
Anthony Frank
Schenectady
The writer is a former History and World Cultures teacher at Shenendehowa.
Categories: Letters to the Editor, Opinion
