A Changing Calendar and a Changing Culture

On Feb. 10, the 2026-27 undergraduate academic calendar was released and quickly sent students into a spiral. Most notable to students, as the administration may have anticipated, was that the aseret yemei teshuva, the days in between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, were to be held in-person. Chaos ensued. 

Unsurprisingly, students who live outside the Tri-state area, also known as YU’s “out-of-towners,” were upset and concerned. What this calendar decision meant was that many of them would not be able to go home for Rosh Hashanah, at least not without facing the consequence of doubling their travel cost to get back to school in time. Their other option was to remain home and miss school altogether. 

As soon as the initial email was sent out, petitions abounded with signatures, and students began to voice their frustrations with members of the administration. It did not take long for the school to respond. On Feb. 18, only eight days later, a revised calendar was published. Those four days, which have been a heated topic for more than two years, would be held remotely, with the exception of MYP and SBMP. 

Not considering out-of-town students when originally creating the calendar was a move guaranteed to cause frustration. But in the time since, through holding open office hours, meeting with students and fixing the calendar, the administration has demonstrated its dedication to pursuing a culture of open communication and transparency with the student body. This is something we at The Commentator have been calling for and working towards for a long time now, and it is gratifying and exciting to keep seeing continued efforts to make that happen.

Since concerns were raised in The Commentator and The Observer about the out-of-town experience at YU, the administration has sought to make improvements. Student governments formed an out-of-town committee, bringing important issues to the administration’s attention. This year, more actionable items were taken such as extending cafeteria hours over the weekend and offering catered food for Shabbat. 

Broader changes have been made as well. Soon after The Commentator began writing about how the Katz school was negatively influencing the Beren Campus, changes were made, and Beren students were able to use their full campus again. Then again, last December, when The Commentator investigated small majors at Stern College, Dean Cypess reached out to students quoted in the article and sought to both hear their perspectives and improve their educational experiences at YU. This even led to the school opening a one-person (!) physics course so that a student could complete her major requirements. 

This fall, when Project Yamim announced new club guidelines which confused the student body, Office of Student Life Director Jonathan Schwab led a town hall meeting to clarify, aiming to close the communication gap. Schwab and OSL have since made numerous attempts to clarify the new guidelines and answer student questions, through open conversation and ready communication.

For Talia Feldman (SCW ‘26), president of the Stern College Dramatic Society, the new club approval guidelines, and the lack of clarity about the approval timeline, presented major challenges for her club, since cast and crew need months in advance to plan and produce their play. 

“They [OSL] were always willing to make more meetings with me to figure things out,” Feldman told The Commentator. “As long as I reached out and asked how to get things done they were always responsive.” 

All of these instances come together to reflect a broader picture: our leadership is listening to us. The calendar controversy of 2026 demonstrated yet again that when we  make our voices heard and seek to improve our partnership with the administration it can lead to real change. This open dialogue creates a culture of trust within our institution, one that is on its way to breeding increased collaboration and improvement. 

But in order to build that culture, students must be willing to share their thoughts and actively participate in YU. Luckily for us, we have exactly the opportunity to do so, with Project Yamim’s recent update of inviting students to share their experiences in an anonymous survey. I encourage everyone to fill it out and make your voice heard. And, when you see a dean, say “thank you.”

The point of this article is not just to lay praise on the administration, though I am indeed grateful for its efforts to improve. Instead, this is a call to action — a reminder that as students, you have power. I have seen this directly through the student newspapers, something you too have access to and can utilize to make your voice heard. I urge you to do so. I urge all of you, the next time you are disappointed by a decision made on your behalf or notice an area that needs improvement, to exercise that power and utilize some of the many avenues available for asking, and achieving, real change here.