for college students by college students
HOLIDAY DILEMMA from page 23
GVSU's Megann Larch 20, Traverse City; Dayna Campbell, 20,
Beverly Hills; and Stephanie Hendrick, 21, of Chicago
TRUE PARTNERSHIP From Page 23
on campus. One of our most popular all-campus programs this past year was our Krav Maga
Israeli self-defense event. This program brought awareness to our campus about self-defense,
Israel and the Jewish community and enabled Jewish students to bond at a Hillel-sponsored
event.
This year, we will produce several exciting events to unite new and old members. To learn
about upcoming events, join the GVSU Hillel Facebook group. We are excited and encourage
our new members to be part of the Grand Valley Hillel family. @
\
Carrie Subelsky, 20, of Farmington Hills and Becca Gold, 20, of Huntington Woods are juniors at Grand
Valley State University in Grand Rapids.
INDIANA
3f,VIS1-1
STUDIES
scholarst-itp
Up to S20,000
2010;
Priority Bowline: October 31,
of Rosh Hashanah need to inform their professors
they're absent for religious reasons so they are not
mistakenly disenrolled, says U-M spokesman Rick
Fitzgerald.
"The key to this is that students must talk to
their instructors," he said. "Nothing is automatic."
Fitzgerald acknowledged that the circumstances Yossi Lichterman, Erin Kaplan
are different this year because the holiday is during
the first week of school and students may not have
the opportunity to notify their professors in class.
Lichterman, who will miss his first classes Wednesday and Thursday for Rosh
Hashanah, was not aware he needed to contact his professors until a friend forwarded an
e-mail from Hillel advising students to do so.
Students not on the mailing list probably don't know they need to e-mail their profes-
sors, Lichterman said.
At EMU, attendance policies vary by professor. Jack Kay, EMU provost and execu-
tive vice president, said the university plans to ask students to inform their instructors in
advance if they are going to miss class. But professors are also aware of the issue, he said.
"We have communicated with department heads and faculty about the concern of
Jewish students missing the first two days of classes due to observance of Rosh Hashanah
and the need to provide accommodation," Kay said.
WMU professors also set their own attendance policy, which is usually communicated
to students during the first day of class. WMU spokeswoman Jeanne Baron echoed U-M
and EMU responses, saying students need to contact their instructors prior to Rosh
Hashanah to ensure they will not be penalized for observing the holiday.
"Students should already have their class schedules so they can start now to make
arrangements," Baron said. "If an individual teacher isn't available, students may contact
their department chairs or another administrator in the chair's office."
However, students may not realize they need to get in touch with their professors before
school starts. WMU Hillel plans to combat this problem by sending an e-mail reminder
to students, according to WMU junior Erin Kaplan, WMU Hillel president and West
Bloomfield native.
At Michigan State University in East Lansing, classes begin Sept. 1 so MSU students
attending Rosh Hashanah services will not face the conundrum of missing the first day
Final Deadline: January 25, 2011
THE ROBERT A. AND SANDRA S. BORNS JEWISH STUDIES FROG
at Indiana
University
httpwwww.indiana.edumso
"The key to this
is that students
must talk to
their instructors.
Nothing is auto-
matic."
— U-M's Rick Fitzgerald
of class. However, they mus.t still talk
with their professors about absences
beforehand, MSU spokesman Tom
Oswald said.
"The university will work with the
student to make sure he or she gets
the time off necessary for observance
of a religious holiday," Oswald said.
At U-M, 11.8 percent of the 4,750
incoming students report they are
Jewish. Fitzgerald said the university's
religious policy makes it "very clear"
that absent students must be given the
opportunity to make up any missed
work.
While this may be the case,
Lichterman said many Jewish students
will probably attend classes instead of
services this year.
"People think going to the first day
of class is more important," he said. @
Stephanie Steinberg, 20, of Commerce is a
junior at the University of Michigan in Ann
Arbor.
24
August 26 • 2010