Class or Global Figure's Speech?

By Annie Srsen

While the Dalai Lama’s visit to Miami on Oct. 21 means a significant, globally known religious leader will be on campus, his speech is scheduled in the middle of the afternoon - a time conflicting with many students’ classes.

Since Miami President David Hodge did not cancel classes across the university for the sold-out event, the decision to cancel or excuse student absences was left up to professors.

Many students with Thursday afternoon classes said while their professors did not cancel, they openly told students they realized many seats would be empty. More than 10,000 tickets to the event were sold - the majority purchased by students.

In contrast, Comparative Religions Professor Peter Williams canceled both his Thursday afternoon classes. The philosophy behind his decision related not only to the religious significance of the Dalai Lama, but also the Tibetan leader's political importance in the world.

Williams said he would have canceled class had a religious leader of similar magnitude from another affiliation visited campus. But he also said he believes such global-impact talks offer students the opportunity to broaden their cultural horizons.

“Recent polls have demonstrated the remarkable ignorance of Americans on religious matters, and the chance for both Miami students and others from the Oxford area to become aware of the importance of religion in today's world is an opportunity that seldom comes our way, and one of which we should take advantage,” said Williams.

Kara McSweeney, a sophomore Zoology major and a student in Williams' Religion 101: American Religious Encounters class, agreed.

“I think it was a good idea to cancel class,'' said McSweeney, but "whether or not that will encourage students to go to the speech, I'm not sure.”

McSweeney called the 14th Dalai Lama's visit to campus an amazing opportunity.

"Not canceling class is making students have to choose between this amazing opportunity, and missing information that could be important for exams and important concepts,” she said.

Annie Srsen is a sophomore strategic communications major.