by Rachel Barter ’27 on February 27, 2026
Opinion - Campus
Although I was not familiar with Lent before I came to Providence College, I have come to understand Lent as a “40 day season of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving that begins on Ash Wednesday, …[preparing] to celebrate the Lord’s Resurrection at Easter.”
I originally found out about Lent freshman year when I witnessed Ash Wednesday for the first time and could not find meat in the dining halls on the following Friday. Of course my initial reaction as a non-Catholic PC student was confusion and eventually anger that I could not eat meat on Fridays not because I was Catholic, but rather because I could not find meat on PC’s campus.
As a current junior at PC, I have come to have a lot of respect and admiration for Catholics participating in meatless Fridays during this 40-day celebration. However, I cannot stop considering why PC does not offer accommodations and options for non-Catholic students at PC who do not intentionally or willingly participate in meatless Fridays. Afterall, 62 percent of PC’s Class of 2029 are self-identifying Catholics, so there are approximately 38 percent of the Class of 2029—456 students—that are ignored during Lent and are forced to participate in meatless Fridays (unless they leave PC’s campus or buy alternative groceries ahead of time).
However, I am not going to argue that PC Dining Services should continue as normal because that would fail to accommodate Catholics and ignore the needs of the vast majority of students here at PC. I would instead like to propose that Dining Services provide a limited number of stations at Ray Dining Hall and meat options at all the other dining locations on campus to provide options for non-Catholic students at PC to carry on as normal rather than giving them no other option than to reluctantly participate in this Lenten practice.
I also want to acknowledge that currently, student clubs on this campus are not allowed to order meat options for events on Ash Wednesday or Fridays of Lent. This restriction on clubs and organizations on campus prevents students from serving cultural food that does not align with the Catholic practices of Lent. Thus, this rule should be adjusted to still require clubs to accommodate Catholic students by ordering perhaps, at least 50 percent of their dishes to be meatless and meat options be separated from non-meat options.
Furthermore, in order to protect Catholics participating in Lent from accidentally eating meat with the addition of these stations and options, we could put extensive signs around each dining location reminding students it is Lent, so they can make the conscious and informed decision not to eat meat on Fridays of Lent. That way, PC can appeal to the beliefs and practices of all students while prioritizing and mandating the needs of Catholic students given that we are a Catholic institution.
Additionally, although I am not Catholic and cannot speak to the Catholic experience, it was always confusing that abstaining from meat on Ash Wednesday and Fridays of Lent was not a conscious and willing abstinence, but rather a mandated obligation at PC given that there are not meat options offered during these specific days of Lent. According to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, “The hope [is] that the Catholic community will ordinarily continue to abstain from meat by free choice as formerly we did in obedience to Church law,” and abstinence from meat is a “deliberate, personal” choice that is “no longer required by law” as “an outward sign of inward spiritual values that we cherish.” So why is it that PC takes away Catholic students’ free choice to abstain from meat by eliminating the option to choose?
Although I cannot answer this question, I argue that adding limited meat options on Fridays of Lent and Ash Wednesday could strengthen Catholic students’ abstinence during Lent by ensuring it is a deliberate, free choice with the intention of “honor[ing] Christ who sacrificed his flesh on a Friday.” This new addition to PC’s practices could potentially strengthen Catholic students’ self-discipline as intended by the no longer mandated practice of abstaining from meat on such days during Lent.
Hence, I propose the introduction of meat on Ash Wednesday and Fridays during Lent as a way to accommodate all students of vast backgrounds and beliefs at PC while also emphasizing the spiritual fruit of deliberate, intentional abstinence, honoring Christ who sacrificed His flesh for the human race.