Baala Shakya, Staff Photographer

Exam season can be stressful for many students. For some religious students, exam season adds another layer of stress: rescheduling exams that may fall on a day that they have a religious obligation. 

Recently, the Yale College Council passed two proposals advocating for exam accommodations for students observing religious obligations. According to the proposals, there is currently no equitable way for students who observe a Sabbath from Friday evening to Saturday evening, such as Jewish and Seventh-day Adventist students, to take final exams that are scheduled during these times.

“No student should have to choose between practicing their faith and doing well academically,” wrote YCC Senator Benjamin Sanchez Pla ’26. 

Sanchez Pla was one of the sponsors of the proposal to make the process of getting exam accommodations more streamlined. 

Right now, students who take make-up exams during the postponement of final exam, or ABX, period may lose the benefit of grading curves applied in large lecture classes, may lose anonymity in the grading process and have to deal with the logistical challenge of scheduling these make-up exams. According to Sanchez Pla, all of this adds unnecessary stress. 

Andrew Boanoh ’27, the other sponsor for the streamlined exam process proposal, explained that following the proposal’s passing in the Senate, YCC received a favorable response from the Dean of Academic Affairs. Boanoh said the dean acknowledged the problem and informed them that they had taken steps to resolve it. 

“It’s our understanding that the University Chaplain reached out to all Shabbat observing students she knew of last semester to advertise ABX slots created at the margins of the Final Exam Period exactly for this purpose,” wrote Boanoh. “This is an amazing step and evidence that YCC and the University are walking in step on this issue.” 

University Chaplain Maytal Saltiel confirmed that the Chaplain’s office has been working for many years with the Yale College Dean’s Office to improve Shabbat exam accommodations. 

She explained that there are now two alternate exam slots during the exam period for make-up exams instead of students having to wait until the next semester, which is new this past year.

Saltiel wrote that she is happy to see students advocating for themselves and their peers. She hopes that they can work to continue improving the exam accommodation process. 

Sanchez Pla expressed hope that YCC will be able to continue making progress in making the exam accommodation process easier to navigate. 

“This is really about equity. A standardized, transparent process would ensure that religious observance doesn’t put anyone at a disadvantage,” he wrote. “Yale has made some progress here, but there’s still work to be done in making sure all students, regardless of their religious background, have equal access to academic opportunities.”

The Yale College Council was established in 1972.