SHS Students Advocate for Adoption of Diwali and Eid as Official School Holidays in Westchester

(The following letter was submitted by Arun Nayakkar and Ravi Vora of Scarsdale)
For the past several months, we have been supporting Westchester County Legislator David Imamura in his push to compel all County public school districts to adopt Diwali and Eid as official school holidays. That itself has been one piece of a larger effort to introduce Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) education into school curriculums. As juniors at Scarsdale High School of South Asian descent, we felt uniquely motivated to help lead the charge.

When Scarsdale Schools became among the first districts to formally recognize Diwali and Eid starting with the 2023-’24 calendar year, the benefits were immediate and meaningful. We no longer feel invisible in our own school or have to call in “sick” for the sole reason of celebrating and practicing our religion, and we know that incoming classes will be able to embrace the adoption of these holidays.

Unfortunately, despite the ways in which this kind of recognition demonstrably fosters a culture of awareness and tolerance for all students and their families – regardless of whether South Asian populations are prevalent in their communities – more than 20 of 43 total districts have not affirmatively adopted either holiday.

It is our firm belief that, no matter the demographic percentages in any one school building, it would be in the collective best interest for all students to share their customs and heighten sensitivity to the diversity in our midst. And crucially, without those who observe these occasions having to miss school and fall behind on their work in order to celebrate them.

Lunar New Year is already a mandated statewide holiday in all public schools, and Diwali has been adopted in all New York City public schools. Nearly 10 percent of Westchester’s population represents the AAPI diaspora, so even if the movement here has to be taken up district-by-district – which we have facilitated by coordinating with students across the County, sending correspondence to superintendents and Boards of Education, and meeting with other community leaders to further the cause – it is a fight worth fighting.

Anyone who wants to assist with this essential initiative can reach out to us at email.anayakkar@gmail.com and ravipvora@gmail.com or contact Legislator Imamura’s office at 914-995-2095. We look forward to seeing this initiative progress further.

Sincerely,
Arun Nayakkar and Ravi Vora
Westchester Residents and AAPI Student Advocates