I ANN ARBOR) Ann Arbor Studies `Cultural Diversity' "The bride will be studying in Israel while . . ." SUSAN LUDMER-GLIEBE Special to The Jewish News T "L'chaim and may we see much nachas from . . ." e fi;fioet: BARTENURA 9:4;A-woof un, f.ot, s". 4 1./ zw• vox 1,64.4iiwzyVs. ft. , a4 read/0,v- pia30:1*. IS/ABER° •:.:4 "He was pitching a no-hitter and then in the bottom of the seventh . . ." IMPORTED BY KEDEM WINE CO., NEW YORK, NY. ■■•■ HEALTHY OPTIONS, INC. Just Marilyns Sportswear Boutique INVENTORY CLEARANCE 30 % -75 % OFF Entire Inventory Open Sun., Dec. 31, 12.4 No charges or layaways All Sales Final All previous sales excluded Just Marilyns 20079 W. 12 Mile Rd., Country Village Mall 356-0493 76 FRIDAY, DECEMBER 29, 1989 647-5540 DEA FARRAH MSW, ACSW BINGHAM CENTER, BIRMINGHAM Second Wedding? On A Budget? Want To Save Money For Your Honeymoon? WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY '17 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE Call JEROME 545-5212 Sizes 4-18 Mon.-Sat. 10-5 • Weight Control • Individual Counseling • Eating Disorder Specialty Meithwecard CLASSIFIEDS GET RESULTS! Call The Jewish News 354.6060 en months ago, in a move consistent with the Ann Arbor public School's commitment to pluralism, the board of educa- tion approved a series of guidelines for religious observances. Some 195 religious organ- izations reviewed guidelines, including the Interfaith Council for Peace, the Ann Arbor Jewish Community Association and the American Civil Liberties Union. The board-approved guidelines included a calen- dar of major Jewish, Chris- tian, Moselm and Buddhist holidays. On major holidays, giving exams or holding special events was prohibited and interscholastic athletic matches or tryouts were re- quired to be re-scheduled. Three weeks after the new guidelines were in place this fall, seven athletic events were scheduled on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. They included two varsity football games, two girls swim meets, a pair of soccer games and a golf match. Although some school ad- ministrators knew about the violations, they took no ac- tion. Only when the board of education met during the last week in September did they learn about the conflict. At that point, most members of the board felt it was too late to re-schedule the activities but all nine wanted to insure that the problem did not arise again. "I was appalled," says Richard Benjamin, superintendent. "It represen- ed a serious breech of our commitment to multi- culturalism." Although Ben- jamin said that he did not know whether the athletic departments knowingly ig- nored board policy, he did say the incident indicated a "negligent casualness." According to Susan Schultz, equity advocate for the Ann Arbor Public Schools, during the 1988-1989 school year 55 harassment cases, including racist and anti-Semitic in- cidents, were brought to her office. Schultz says those figures can be read in a positive as well as a negative light. "Peo- ple feel the policy allows them to raise issues that previous- ly had not been brought up." Ann Arbor isn't alone in its difficulties. "I think that this year I could have made a liv- ing at looking at requests for every kind of assistance ad- dressing multi-cultural education," jokes Richard Loebenthal, Michigan regional director of the Anti- Defamation league of B'nai B'rith. Loebenthal says that the interest in such pluralism is quite recent. Although there have been some cases such as in Okemos, where parents complained about the lack of Christmas celebra- tions in the schools or in Rochester where teachers went around school policy and bought tickets for Christmas Story, overall the schools are being responsive. "By and large most people in the school districts unders- tand the impropriety of con- Seven athletic events were scheduled on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. They included two varsity football games, two girls swim meets. verting schools into chur- ches," Lobenthal says. "Fur- thermore they're responding to the change from an all- white Christian population to a multi-religious, multi- ethnic, multi-national popula- tion." But there is no single idea for how this should be mark- ed. "Some of the community does not agree whether holidays should be celebrated," says Nancy Margolis, interim director of the United Jewish Appeal/ Jewish Community Associa- tion of Washtenaw County. Some Ann Arbor Jewish parents think schools should be closed on Yom Kippur. Ironically, they were this year because a teacher in-service was scheduled. Some people suggest this occurred to ap- pease Jewish school board members because schools were closed last spring on Good Friday for an in-service day. Others think that the holidays need to be recogniz- ed as holy days but that their obersvance should remain a private occasion. And the perennial issue of Sabbath observance — Friday night for Jews — and extra-curricular activities has yet to be resolved.