Keep Decorations Religion-Free

As winter break nears, several houses and dormitories across the campus have been mired in the same debate--what to do about holiday decorations. We think that the solution is completely clear. Have neutral, seasonal decorations or none at all.

Harvard is a secular institution. We have no religious requirements or dictums to fulfill or follow. The University rightly separates itself from students' religious activities, allowing independent but associated organizations in the United Ministries to conduct activities on their own.

More importantly, students are never bombarded with religious symbolism in areas they have to visit, such as classrooms and athletic facilities. We would add common rooms or dining halls, since these locations are most hotly contested when it comes to installing holiday decorations.

The University's obligation to keep common rooms and dining halls devoid of non-secular decorations is just as clear as the case for classrooms. All students have equal access to these areas and should not have to confront religious symbolism when using them. The presence of one group's symbols in a junior common room, for example, might discourage another group from having its meetings there. That is not what common rooms are for.

In the case of dining halls, the same argument applies. Should students of one religion have to eat outside their own house just to escape the symbols of another religion? Such a situation would run contrary to the University's egalitarian principles.

The idea of equal representation of religions often appears to counter our argument. Some contest that having the emblems of all religions will make everyone feel equally comfortable. This idea is flawed in principle and in practice.

First, it rejects the secularity to which the University rightly adheres. Second, can we rightly expect the same enthusiasm and monetary commitment for all religions' major holidays that the Christian majority engenders for Christmas? Should Passover and Ramadan become occasions for dining hall spectaculars as well?

Non-Christian students are usually offered celebrations in honor of Hanukkah (an extremely minor Jewish holiday) or Kwanzaa as substitutes for the red-and-green pageantry of Christmas; they are simply not the same thing. To prevent Harvard from becoming a markedly Christian institution, we must eschew religious decorations in public spaces altogether.

A lack of vocal opposition cannot justify any religious decorations now installed in the houses and dormitories. It is not enough to claim that no residents of a house find a given holiday decoration objectionable. No one should have to object--it is everyone's right to be free of such things.

We are not trying to belittle or reject students' enjoyment of their own religious lives. They can place whatever religious emblems they like in their own rooms; these spaces have been designated completely private. They can also worship in the many locations the University provides. But public areas at the University must not be used for religious decorations if we are to maintain our integrity as a secular community.