She entered the Veterinary Medicine program in 2020 knowing that there would be mandatory classes on some Saturdays.
What she did not imagine was that years later she would end up facing her own university in the Valparaíso Court of Appeals. The student, a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, asked for evaluations and practical workshops scheduled on Saturdays to be rescheduled, as her religion considers that day sacred. She also offered to complete make-up assignments so she would not miss those activities.
Universidad Andrés Bello said no. It argued that these Saturday sessions are an essential part of the program’s practical training and that the arrangement had been known from the time of enrollment. The student took the case to court, alleging a violation of her freedom of religion, but in May 2026 the Court ruled against her: it found that the university had not prevented her from practicing her faith, but had merely required her to fulfill the academic obligations she had accepted six years earlier.