Dear Fordham, 

Today is Holi, the Hindu festival of spring and the triumph of good over evil. Holi gathers loved ones for food, singing, dancing, and color. From throwing dyed powder to water guns, celebrants literally paint each other in bright colors, just as nature does in spring. Holi is a day to repair past mistakes and to forgive them of others, a new beginning to focus on the centrality of love and community.

Here at Fordham on this chilly March day, we see buds on the trees promising our own bursts of color soon. Coming from a semi-tropical environment, I am getting used to seasons again. Winter has been jarring—the starkly naked trees, the unrelenting gray of it all. But the annual march of seasons feels like the Divine's way of reminding us to embrace change, even when it is hard. Because when we face the future with courage and (more importantly sometimes) with patience, winter always turns into spring.

And so all of the world’s great religions celebrate spring in overlapping ways—embracing hope, the conquering of life over death, the possibility of resurrection. As we begin this season of Passover and Easter and Eid, let’s start by joining all of the members of our Fordham community who celebrate Holi.

All my best,

Tania Tetlow
President