Resources and Policies
The Office of Spiritual and Religious Life seeks to cultivate a robust interfaith community alongside the vibrant academic life of Trinity College. We curate and share resources and policies that help us do this vital work.
Trinity College is committed to providing an inclusive learning environment for all of our students. As part of this commitment, and consistent with relevant laws and regulations regarding religious beliefs, Trinity College encourages faculty to make good faith efforts to provide reasonable religious accommodations to students who request them.
The College prohibits discrimination and harassment on the basis of religion. For more information, refer to the Trinity College Policy on Nondiscrimination. To facilitate academic and dining accommodation requests, the Chaplain’s Office has developed the Student Religious Accommodations Form.
Student Academic Accommodations
Any student who is unable to attend classes on a particular day or days or at a particular time of day because of the tenets of a sincerely held religious practice should discuss with their course instructor their request to be excused from any academic activities on such particular day or days or at such particular time of day. Course instructors should make available to each student who is absent from academic activities because of a sincerely held religious practice or belief an equivalent opportunity to make up any examination, study, or work requirements which has been missed because of such absence. Students whose religious holidays are not recognized by the College’s calendar should provide the instructor or academic activity organizer with the dates they will be absent in advance of the absence.
Students requesting a religious accommodation should make the request directly to their instructor with as much notice as possible. Being absent from class or other educational responsibilities does not excuse a student from keeping up with any information shared or expectations set during the missed class(es). Students are responsible for obtaining the materials and information provided during any class(es) missed. The student can work with the instructor to determine a schedule for making up missed work.
Guidance for Faculty in Responding to Student Requests
Course instructors are encouraged to make reasonable accommodations in response to student requests to complete work missed by absence resulting from observation of religious holidays. Such accommodations should be made in ways that do not significantly alter the requirements or learning outcomes for the course to the extent reasonably practical.
Course instructors ordinarily would not ask a student for proof that their religious practices or beliefs are sincerely held in determining a religious accommodation. Course instructors with concerns or questions regarding a student’s stated religious belief may contact the College Chaplain for additional guidance.
Examples of religious accommodations that instructors may consider include: rescheduling an exam or giving a make-up exam for the student in question; altering the time of a student’s presentation; allowing extra-credit assignments to substitute for missed class work or flexibility in assignment due dates; allowing a student to view a recording of a class session missed due to religious observance; or releasing a graduate assistant from teaching or research responsibilities on a given day.
The student should be given the opportunity to complete appropriate make-up work that is generally equivalent to a missed exam or assignment to the extent reasonably practical.
If there are concerns about a request for accommodation, the instructor may consult the College Chaplain or their department chair or dean for assistance and determination as to whether a reasonable accommodation can be provided.
Student Dining Accommodations
Trinity College is a four-year residential college and finds that dining together is one factor that allows students to develop a sense of community. Therefore, all students who live on campus in traditional residence hall rooms are required to purchase a Meal Plan. The College currently offers an array of dining options that include gluten-free, vegan, Halal, and Kosher selections, in addition to other healthy eating choices.
The College may exempt a student from the required meal plan for religious reasons in unique circumstances. Please note that a meal plan exemption will only be granted when the Dining Services program cannot meet the student’s nutrition needs. To initiate this process, students must complete a Student Religious Accommodation Request. The goal of the process is to give our Dining Services the opportunity to meet student needs.
RESOURCE: Avoiding High-Pressure Religious Groups
Everyone is capable of being persuaded to do something that we did not want to do, and that susceptibility is what mind-control groups use to incrementally take over people’s lives. High-pressure religious activities do not start with something dramatic like the tragedy at Jonestown but with incremental efforts to control people’s thoughts and lives little by little. New students and others experiencing major life transitions are often especially susceptible to high-pressure religious groups, which often seem extremely friendly, provide many opportunities for community, and seem to create stability in a time of change. For that reason, these groups often try to recruit people in times of transition. However, unlike healthy spiritual and ethical communities, these groups do not ultimately support students’ intellectual freedom and academic success, physical and mental health, and positive relationships with family and friends as part of a healthy, balanced life.
Pursuant to Trinity College’s Policy on Nondiscrimination, mind-control groups are contrary to the College’s academic mission and thus are not welcome at Trinity College. This information is provided to help you avoid these groups and to connect with Trinity College and Hartford’s many healthy spiritual and other campus communities.
Trinity College’s policies for recognized religious and spiritual communities prohibit behaviors such as deceptiveness, proselytizing in academic and workplace settings, and harassment. Therefore, we strongly encourage students to begin their exploration for religious and spiritual communities with those listed on the Trinity College Office of Spiritual and Religious Life website.
For your protection and that of all members of the Trinity College community, if you believe you have encountered a mind-control group on campus, or have questions about whether a group is a mind-control group, please contact Trinity College OSRL at 860-297-2013. It is better to err on the side of caution. Information shared will be kept confidential.
Mind-control groups can be hard to recognize at first, and there is a spectrum in the aggressiveness of these groups’ tactics. Some high-pressure groups seem to share some of the beliefs or features of mainstream religious groups—the issue is not their beliefs per se, but their emotionally abusive and destructive practices. These groups seek to create an all-or-nothing reality and a situation in which people are totally dependent on the group—spiritually, socially, romantically, financially, and in every way.
