Beer gardens and carnival food - the staples of Spring Fair - will not be enjoyed by students observing Passover, as the two events will overlap this year, leaving Jewish students to balance the festivities with a set of temporary dietary restrictions.
While universities across the country, most recently Harvard, are making strides to accommodate students' religious lifestyles, students at Hopkins continue to have scheduling conflicts with University events and religious holidays.
"We did make a phone call to Hillel to discuss it, and it was decided that there wasn't a lot we could do if we wanted to have a Spring Fair," said Jane Rhyner, a representative of the Department of Student Development and Programming at Hopkins, which scheduled the Spring Fair dates.
Rachel Heimann, acting director of Hopkins Hillel, said that this particular scheduling conflict was unavoidable.
"This happens about every other year - I think it's frustrating for students, but it's accepted," Heimann said.
According to Heimann, Spring Fair is always difficult to schedule due to the sheer number of University events taking place towards the end of the year; and although Hillel works in conjunction with the Office of the Dean of Student Life to determine the best possible weekend for the event, the unfortunate overlap of Spring Fair and Passover is often impossible to avoid.
"Over the course of four years, at least one if not two Spring Fairs will take place over Passover," Heimann said.
This year Passover was particularly difficult to schedule around given that it will be taking place across two weekends, while normally it falls on only one.
According to Rhyner, the date for Homecoming is set first, and given priority, and then the department attempts to find the best possible date for Spring Fair.
Recently Harvard University took a controversial step to accommodate the religious lifestyles of its students by restricting the use of one of its gyms to women only for six hours a week, after a small group of female Muslim undergraduates approached officials with the idea. This decision - in conjunction with a separate controversy related to the Muslim call to prayer being broadcast across the Harvard campus during Islamic Awareness Week - has resulted in a nationwide discussion of the role of religion in the essentially secular academic world.
The Hopkins recreation center has no intention of following Harvard's example any time soon, although they have yet to be approached.
Hopkins's Muslim Student Association could not be reached for comment.
Kasey Kimball, a student leader for the Hopkins Christian Fellowship, acknowledged the conflicts between religious holidays and the University calendar could be trying.
"The biggest frustration is probably not being able to go home for Easter," she said.
This year spring break coincided with Holy Week, but in past years this hasn't been the case.
"It's not something I expect the University to work around," Kimball said, acknowledging that a secular institution like a university cannot possibly create its schedule in deference to every religious group represented on campus.
Despite inevitable scheduling hiccups, however, many campus religious representatives agree that Hopkins has an admirable atmosphere of religious acceptance and support.
Kathryn Schnurr, the assistant chaplain at the Interfaith Center on campus, said, "Many people and administrators respect and appreciate religious life on campus - they care for students and understand that healthy religious practice is an important part of a balanced life for many students."
She and Kimball both agreed that professors are generally willing to work with students when their academic lives come into conflict somehow with their religious lives.
"Academic conflicts can be resolved 95 percent of the time with no trouble," Schnurr said.
Kimball agreed, noting that especially following week-long holidays like Easter, it can be difficult to return to school with a slew of assignments due.
"It's frustrating to have stuff due after, but professors have been good about it," she said.
Shyam Khatau, president of the Hindu Students' Council, said, "Campus Ministries and The Interfaith Center provide an open, understanding environment where we are free to practice our religion, as well as have meaningful discussion with members of other faith groups."
Khatau said that in his experience Hopkins has been an open environment for religious practitioners.
