When I was little, I asked my mom for a baby chick every Easter, only to wake up and find the closest thing, marshmallow Peeps, in my basket.

Baskets, egg hunts, dressing up, sitting on the Easter Bunny's lap, eating at Grandma's house, visiting family and going to church are part of many children's memories of Easter, including mine. But each year, before religious and secular celebrations begin on Sunday, the most solemn day in Christianity occurs -- Good Friday.

Many people celebrate Good Friday by recounting the story of Jesus' death, venerating the cross, abstaining from meat, fasting and sacrificing luxuries. Some Christian traditions observe silence from noon to 3 p.m., the three hours it is believed that Christ spent on the cross. During this time, it is also common to abstain from using entertainment technology like phones, televisions, computers and radios.

Upholding some of these religious practices while going to class is difficult, if not impossible. Classes often require discussion and the use of computers.

Also, going to class would prevent some people from attending religious services. For example, the Catholic service at the Pasquerilla is at 2:30 p.m. -- right in the middle of the academic day. Pasquerilla is the only place within walking distance that holds Catholic services and it holds only one on Good Friday.

Obviously, as a state-affiliated institution, classes are still in session at Penn State during Holy Week.

I realize even though the vast majority of students here are Christian, we don't and probably shouldn't get special privileges, such as having classes canceled. However, it would seem the day when a large amount of students are celebrating a religious holiday or leaving town it would not be best to schedule a huge exam or important presentation. Some professors make such student-conscious decisions on the day before breaks or the day after Thon.

Still, many people I know have quizzes, exams, presentations or papers due this Friday. That's fine. The real problem is that some professors won't allow students who have to miss these class activities to make them up. Others will allow students to make up their exams but will penalize their attendance grades.

The most recent Pulse survey available, from March 2004, found that only 41 percent of Penn State students surveyed felt faculty and staff were supportive of their religious practices. I wonder why.

Choosing between religious practices and getting good grades is not a choice any person of any religion should ever have to make. According to their Web site, it seems the Penn State Faculty Senate agrees.

The Web site states that "instructors also should provide, within reason, opportunity to make up work for student's who miss classes for other legitimate but unavoidable reasons such as ... religious observance."

The site also provides a list of holy days of the major world religions that may require students to miss class in case an instructor wants to make sure they aren't getting duped. Good Friday is on that list -- so is Passover.

I hope that this week no student has to compromise the way they celebrate their beliefs for a single class.

For people coming from small, homogeneous towns, college may be their first and last chance to learn about sensitivity to other peoples' diverse needs and beliefs. The university should not allow 59 percent of students to feel their religious beliefs are unsupported here.

Beyond Christians, there are so many others who also cannot celebrate their religious holidays at home with their families and at their places of worship because they fall during the school year.

Small gestures, such as the dining commons offering Jewish students kosher buffets during Passover and offering Catholics seafood options on Lenten Fridays, are smart. They make students in these groups feel welcome and valued as part of the Penn State community. They are also opportunities for all of us to learn about each others' customs.

Quite a few years ago I outgrew the Easter Bunny's lap. He always terrified me, anyway. And 19 Easter baskets later, I never did get that pet chick. Although these were some of my fondest memories, they weren't really what mattered.

As I make fresh Easter memories at Penn State, my new home, I hope they won't be of exams and presentations -- because they really aren't what is important to me this week.