Lawmakers Tell CUNY To Move Exams Off Jewish Holiday

Scores of state and city legislators are demanding that the City University of New York change its final exam schedule, which, for the first time in recent history, coincides with the Jewish holiday of Shavuot.

"CUNY continues to pride itself on cultural sensitivity," Assemblyman Dov Hikind wrote in a recent letter to CUNY's chancellor, Matthew Goldstein. "How is that possible when a holiday with the same religious status as Rosh Hashana is dismissed as insignificant, and thousands of students and faculty will be adversely affected?"

More than 50 state legislators and 14 members of the City Council signed the February 5 letter. Mr. Hikind, a Democrat of Brooklyn, told The New York Sun that he intends bring up the issue with Mayor Bloomberg and Governor Spitzer if the exam schedule is not changed.

In a letter to Mr. Hikind, the chancellor wrote that while he has no plans to alter the academic calendar, "the colleges have been reminded of the obligation to provide an accommodation to faculty and students who must be absent on days of religious observance." State law requires such accommodations.

Not every professor is equally sensitive to students' religious obligations, and students shouldn't be forced to rely on the goodwill of instructors, the assemblyman said.

A Queens College student, Eli Mordukhai, said his economics and history finals are scheduled during Shavuot, which commemorates Jews' acceptance of the Torah. The holiday this year is May 23 and May 24. Mr. Mordukhai, 19, said religious restrictions preclude him from driving, writing, and working on the holiday. "We have a huge population of Jews here, and the school should care about our religious observance," he said.

More than a quarter of Queens College and Brooklyn College students identify as Jews, according to "Hillel's Guide to Jewish Life on Campus." Jewish students make up 10% or more of campus populations at other CUNY schools, such as Manhattan's Baruch College and Hunter College, the guide shows.

At Brooklyn College, a post-baccalaureate student, Marcia Masri, 25, said she didn't think the CUNY system should be forced to reschedule exams. "I think its better to move the exam only for those students who are Orthodox," Ms. Masri, an observant Jew, said.

A CUNY spokesman, Michael Arena, yesterday told the Sun that the school system is sensitive to religious obligations, and vowed that students observing Shavuot would be allowed to sit for their exams on alternate dates.