Well, well, well, it seems that the good folks over at Stuyvesant High School in New York City just can’t seem to catch a break. The school recently made a change to its curriculum that has caused quite a stir among the Muslim community. You see, Stuyvesant requires all students to pass a swim test in order to graduate. Seems pretty normal, right? But according to Islamic Relations, this shift is “disheartening and unacceptable”, and they’re not the only ones who are upset.

Apparently, more than half a million Muslims call New York City home, and some of them are students at Stuyvesant High. These students are feeling pretty miffed, as the change has put their academic goals in conflict with their religion. “It shouldn’t matter whether I’m Muslim, Jewish, Christian, if I personally do not feel comfortable,” one student reportedly said. And hey, who can blame them? If a cat can’t be forced to swim, why should a student be forced to do something that goes against their beliefs?

But wait, there’s more! One student, Sophia Dasser, who happens to be Muslim herself, took it upon herself to write an article about the change for the student newspaper. And let me tell you, she didn’t hold back. “There’s this idea that Muslim girls can find another way. But no, some can’t. And that needs to be addressed,” she said. If that’s not a mic drop moment, I don’t know what is.

Now, in response to the backlash, Education Department officials have said that students who require accommodations will be able to receive full honors through classes on other life skills. Maybe they’ll even learn how to dance the cha-cha or knit a sweater!

Believe it or not, swim tests aren’t all that common in high schools these days. However, they used to be. Apparently, back in the day, more than one in three colleges and universities treated swimming as an essential life skill that students had to demonstrate to graduate. Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m just glad I went to school in an age where I didn’t have to worry about keeling over during a swim test.

Serious News: nytimes