Students make accomodations for Passover and finals week

Alonso Montano/Staff Writer

This semester’s last week of classes and final exams will overlap with the last two days of the Jewish holiday Passover.

The University announced in a memorandum by the Division of Student Affairs that students who are observant members of the Jewish faith should notify their instructors so that accommodations can be planned accordingly.

Vice Provost for Academic Affairs Elizabeth Bejar was not available for an an interview, but she did answer some questions via email.

Bejar advised students who will be affected by this scheduling conflict to notify their professors as soon as possible.

“The students should already have notified their faculty if there is a conflict with one of their scheduled final exams,” Bejar wrote. “If they have not done so, they should do so immediately.”

“The students should already have notified their faculty if there is a conflict with one of their scheduled final exams,” Bejar wrote. “If they have not done so, they should do so immediately.”

She confirmed that the University will provide accommodations on a professor-student level.

However, President of Shalom FIU Fay Goldstein, a senior international relations major, had an experience on the contrary.

“I informed the professor right when the test date was assigned and he refused to change it,” Goldstein said.

“I informed the professor right when the test date was assigned and he refused to change it,” Goldstein said.

She went to the student ombudsman, who then proceeded to communicate with the professor, but according to Goldstein the professor wouldn’t respond to emails.

The ombudsman then went to the dean of Student Affairs at the time, who Goldstein said was able to convince the professor to allow her to take the exam before the holiday.

“But the professor didn’t want to make a second test for me, so instead he pushed off the test and added another chapter that we hadn’t learned,” Goldstein said.

“Officially and legally, professors need to accommodate religious observances,” she said.

But there have been cases of professors not accommodating their students as expected.

“It is normally through the instructor or professor,” Bejar wrote. “If for some reason this does not occur, the student should reach out to the department chair as a next step.”

“If for some reason this does not occur, the student should reach out to the department chair as a next step,” Bejar wrote.

Goldstein’s finals are not affected this semester, but she said professors have been accommodating since two years ago.

“Usually the professors are flexible if students inform them of the issue in advance,” she said.

Goldstein also mentioned that some of her friends in Shalom FIU were experiencing family related scheduling conflicts.

“The issues I’ve been hearing is the fact that some students cannot go home to family over the holiday because of having to miss finals,” she said, later pointing out that some are having a “tough time figuring out a good study time because the holiday takes up tons of time and prep.”

Bejar mentioned that scheduling conflicts have occurred in the past, and they were addressed in a way similar to how this present conflict is being addressed: by providing “reasonable accommodations.”

According to Bejar, a “reasonable accommodation” means that the student is not negatively impacted by the conflict whatsoever.

“For example – an alternate date and/or an alternate assignment that is of consistent rigor would be appropriate,” Bejar wrote. “The faculty have to balance the integrity of the course with the accommodation for the students.”

When asked whether students of other religions could ask for the same reasonable accommodations, Bejar responded that the University always allows accommodations for religious conflicts.

“We acknowledge that our community of students is reflective of the diverse spectrum of world religions,” Bejar wrote. “We are always open to exploring opportunities to improve our ability to deliver high quality instruction without adversely creating conflicts for members of our university community—students, faculty and staff.”

According to Bejar, the University always tries to minimize scheduling conflicts whenever the circumstances allow it.

“When we have greater flexibility in the semester, we try to adjust dates accordingly,” Bejar wrote. “As an institution reflective of our diverse community we continually strive to find the right balance between a level of academic integrity and being inclusive and responsive to the needs of our community.”

Asst. News Director Raul Herrera contributed to this report.

– news@fiusm.com