Valley Stream teen gets support for Diwali recognition

Members of the New York City Department of Corrections Desi Society Inc., activists from the New American Voters Association and a representative from Assemblywoman Michaelle Solages office shared their support for South High School Senior Abby Devi Arjune’s petition to add Diwali to school calendars at a Central High School District Board of Education meeting on Nov. 13.

To add the holiday, members of all four Valley Stream Boards of Education would have to meet to discuss the proposal. Last year, they did so and voted down the proposal, citing high attendance rates on the holiday.

But, Arjune said at last Tuesday’s meeting that more than 20 percent of the district’s student body is of Asian or Hawaiian descent, according to the New York State Education Department, and any of those students who identify as Hindu, Sikh, Jain or Buddhist are affected by the board’s decision to not include Diwali on the school calendar.

The holiday is the holiest day of the year for observers. It falls on the third day of the Hindu New Year, which is the darkest night of the Hindu lunar month. As part of the holiday, families gather for a prayer to the Hindu goddess Lakshmi, have a feast, clean and decorate their house to let the gods in and light diyas, candles in clay jars, to bring light to the dark.

The ceremonies can take several hours to perform, and students may not have time to observe the holiday properly if they are in school, according to Ram Hardowar, the priest of Shri Surya Narayan Mandir in Jamaica, Queens.

“Over the past 25 years, I’ve had lots of difficulty with the children telling me that ‘We can’t come early to the temple because we have to go to school and do homework,’” Hardowar, who is also a Valley Stream resident, said. “It’s a tremendous hardship.”

Attending school could also ruin the observer’s mood, Arjune said. She then shared a story about her day on Nov. 11, 2015. Arjune said she was excited to celebrate Diwali, which she described as her favorite holiday, but then realized she had to take an Earth Science examination and give a presentation in her English class. “By fifth period, I felt so stressed that I couldn’t even think straight,” she said. “It was only mid-day and my jubilant attitude changed to an anxious mood.”

Arjune also argued that recognizing Diwali on school calendars is a matter of fairness. “Acknowledging the Hindu-Americans in contemporary society sends a compelling message to Generation Z kids as well as future generations that America values our culture, religions and economic contributions,” she said.

Board President John Maier ended the meeting by saying that the board would take the speakers’ views into consideration.