Ve ION CAMPUS ir CENTER FOR JUDAIC STUDIES* Wayne State University THE PROSECTS FOR PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST: PAST AND PRESENT Two Lectures By: ITAMAR RABINOVICH Dayan Center Tel-Aviv University "Labor, Likud and the PLO Initiative" SUNDAY • SEPTEMBER 24, 1989 • 7:30 p.m. MIDRASHA COLLEGE OF JEWISH STUDIES 21150 West 12 Mile • Southfield "The Creation of the State of Israel: Revisionist Perspectives and History" MONDAY • SEPTEMBER 25, 1989 • 3:00 p.m. WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY 105 Manoogian Hall Admission Free Inquiries 577-3015 *The Center is a cooperative venture of the University and the United Jewish Charities in cooperation with the Jewish Welfare Federation of Metropolitan Detroit. THE STUDIO CASUAL SPORTSWEAR Joan Vass Metropole White on White Shell' Segal SOUTHFIELD Applegate Square Northwestern at Inkster 356.6848 BIRMINGHAM 351 S. Woodward Ave. 540.0418 rriinnv Dilemma Continued from preceding page ornTruincri nn roan Music by Sam Barnett Big or small, we custom the music to your needs 968-2563 00 TEE FAMILY SUGGESTS 'THAT MEMORIAL CONTRIBL ITIONS BE MADE TO THE AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY 44 tion of the issue of religious holidays there should be few problems. And yet according to Richard Lobenthal, regional director of the Anti- Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, his office frequently receives complaints from Jewish college students. "We get lots of complaints. I would say that last year we got somewhere under 50 formal complaints," he explains, "but any single complaint about a policy might affect hundreds of students." Lobenthal describes how the ADL looks at the issue of the rights of Jewish students (and faculty) when it comes to receiving fair play in the university environment. "It is not our intent to require the state to observe Jewish holy days. But it is our intent to make certain that Jewish students aren't disadvantag- ed by their observance of these days." Lobenthal adds that there are differences of opinion when it comes to determining what the term disadvantage means. What some would see as a minor inconvenience may be seen by others as a major obstacle. Lobenthal says problems frequently arise in spite of the formal guidelines that have already been established by the institutions themselves. "Most schools have policies which deal with the issue adequately," he explains. "But some departments or some individual faculty are either unaware of the policies or uncaring, or in rare in- stances, hostile to it." University administrators agree that when a conflict has been brought to their atten- tion it's almost always resolv- ed. "If students have conflicts we will be pro-active in work- ing it out," explains EMU's Smith. "I have heard of no unresolved instances," con- curs U-M's Harrison. "In every instance in which Hillel has been involved a satisfactory resolution to the student's problem has been achieved," says Brooks. In an average year U-M Hillel gets about half a dozen such cases. MSU's Finkelstein says last year "some Jewish students complained that professors didn't recognize that Passover was a full holiday. It was resolved by going either to the departmental chairperson or the university om- budsman." Not all conflicts are as easi- ly resolved. Loebenthal says that it's not uncommon for state universities to hold registration on the high holy days. "In many instances the school has adopted policies to make certain that Jewish students aren't disadvantag- ed . . . but disadvantages oc- cur." Students — often out-of- staters or freshmen - have not been informed of school policies or are unnaware of the in-place remedies. Insuring that the needs of the majority and the minori- ty are equally met in the university setting depends upon more than administra- tive rules or regulations. "The major holidays are easy to keep to note of," explains Carolyn Balducci, lecturer in creative writing at U-M, "but it's up to the students to determine whether or not they're going to observe the holidays and to make ar- rangements with their pro- fessors, as they would with any similar circumstance like a death in the family or a health problem." Balducci, who's taught for more than a decade, admits that students often neglect to communicate their needs when it's ap- propriate to do so. "Students need to be more direct. They need to tell us that they're taking a day off. They have to give us half a chance." Lobenthal concurs. "I think it's the obligation of the stu- dent to advise faculty members that he or she will be absent for religious reasons." University staff say that the more religiously obser- vant the student the more likely he or she will inform faculty about the intended absence. Students aren't the only ones who help universities respond to the religious needs of students and faculty. "We'll try our best by making facul- ty aware of the holidays, most directly by sending a five-year calendar to somebody in ad- ministration," explains Michelle Blumenberg, pro- gram director at EMU's Hillel. Other Hillels and the Detroit ADL have worked with university administra- tors trying to fine tune some of the present policies and in- stitutionalize informal ones. Some state legislators have gone a step further. They believe educational institu- tions should show more than just good faith. Three years ago the state of Massachu- setts passed a law that re- quired secular educational and training institutions to excuse students who were ab- sent because of their religious beliefs. Schools were also re- quired to allow students to make up any missed exams. It doesn't appear likely that such legislation will be pro- r-'