Photos by Glenn Triest
Above: Vice principal
Chuck Gumbel talks to
U-D High student Dan
Haberman.
Above right: U-D High
students Dan Haberman
and Gabe Bodzin.
26
FRIDAY, JUNE 7, 1991
their children," said Father Twohig, who
oversees a student body of almost 600 of
whom only 70 percent are Catholic.
"Theology teachers treat religion as
they do any academic discipline, not as a
course to change someone's religious
beliefs. It's just another bit of informa-
tion;" Father Twohig said. "The em-
phasis is not asking students to accept
something as a matter of faith."
While he hopes theology courses
strengthen the religious resolve of
Catholic students, Father Twohig said
most courses are not filled with doctrine.
Instead, under the heading of theology, U
of D offers more courses like history of re-
ligion, faith and justice, and the senior
Christian community service program
than strictly religious classes like prayer
and sacrament.
Ginger Kenny, freshman guidance
counselor and administrative director at
Marian, believes most non-Catholics are
attracted to Marian by the education and
its orientation toward ethics.
Marian is home to Catholics, Protes-
tants, Muslims and a few Jews, Ms.
Kenny said. "We don't keep a ratio of
Catholics versus non-Catholics. It's not
something we worry about.
"No matter what their (students') re-
ligious beliefs are, the values are very
similar even though the doctrine and
histories may be different," Ms. Kenny
said.
"It's a very moral education," said Toby
Haberman, who sent two sons to U of D.
She is especially pleased with U of D's
mandatory Christian service program for
seniors where teens, like her son, Dan, 17,
work every Wednesday morning helping
the community by tutoring children or
helping at soup kitchens.
A former teacher, Mrs. Haberman chose
U of D after hearing about its reputation
for providing a good, college-prep edu-
cation. She, too, looked at private secular
schools and even briefly considered mov-
ing from their Detroit home in Palmer
Woods to West Bloomfield. But she's
happy with her decision to stay with U of
D.
She prefers that many of Dan's friends
come from different backgrounds, Mrs.
Haberman said. It's a mix she fears she
would not have found at other private
schools.
"Dan is interested in nice people who
have the qualities he respects," she said.
"Nothing else is important to him. U of D
is a part of that."
She doesn't know if her son will marry
someone Jewish, Mrs. Haberman said. "I
would hope my son would marry a Jewish
girl because they would have a common
background. Marriage is difficult enough
without more differences. But it's his
choice. I'm not going to sit shiva or
anything. I don't think his high school
experiences have anything to do with it."
Jeff Brochstein, who earned three varsi-
ty letters by being on Shrine's football,
basketball and baseball teams, isn't shy
about expressing his religious beliefs.
"When you are the only Jewish kid in a
school, you either go into a shell or you
can express your opinions and make
people respect you." He did the latter.
"I never hid my Jewish identity," he
said. During the Persian Gulf war, he told
his classmates about his relatives in
Israel and what life was like as Scud
missiles rained down on Tel Aviv.
Only once in his sophomore year did
Jeff have a problem. A fellow student had
drawn a swastika and written anti-
Semitic remarks on his locker, Jeff said.
But Jeff and a few friends pulled a few
punches of their own in the boys'
bathroom and taught the student a lesson
in respect.
"Those people who didn't respect me
soon learned to do so," Jeff said.
Matthew Herskoviz said he knows some
of the teasing comes from a lack of knowl-
edge. "They think being Jewish is a na-
tional thing. They thought every Jewish
kid came from Jerusalem."
Dan Haberman and Gabe Bodzin, who
became close friends during the past year
at U of D, said sometimes other students
will say things like "He jewed me down"
or instead of saying "a good person," they
say a "good Christian."
"But most of the time they're only par-
roting what their parents have said,"
Gabe said. "Most of the people don't say it
in the first place. But if it really offended
me, they'll say, 'Oh, I'm sorry' and it
doesn't happen again."
As for Dan, his major complaint about
U of D doesn't center on its religious
structure. "I just wish it wasn't all guys,"
said Dan, who is active on the school's
swimming and tennis teams. "I'd much
rather go to a school with girls."
Gabe, who is on the school's swim team,
said he doesn't mind that boys make up
the entire student body. Nor is he
bothered by the school's dress code, even
though Gabe's blonde hair, which hangs
below his ears, is often cited by school of-
ficials as being too long.
For the most part, both students and
administrators accept and respect Jewish
students, Dan said. In theology classes,
Jewish students are often asked to give
their perspective.
"Sometimes, I swear, those classes
revolved around me," Jeff said. "They
learned a lot from me."
And occasionally, there are some perks
to being Jewish. When Marian performed
Fiddler on the Roof this year, Natasha got
the honorary role of cultural adviser as
she helped put touches of realism into the
production.
As for fears that Jews who learn about
Catholicism will eventually reject
Judaism, both students and parents say
that simply isn't true.
"I've never felt they were going to push
anything down his throat," said Mrs.
Bodzin, who plans to keep Gabe at U of D
for his senior year.
"No one ever tried to convert me. No
one ever told me I had to believe in this or
that," said Jeff Brochstein. "They respect
me. They thought it was neat. If I came
back to Shrine and told them I wanted to
convert to Catholicism, I think they
would be disappointed." CI
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