Nearly 60 elected officials signed a letter to the City University of New York chancellor demanding the school adjust its finals schedule, which includes exams on Shavuot. CampusJ.com reported that the letter, authored by Orthodox Jewish Assemblyman Dov Hikind, asks Matthew Goldstein how a school that “continues to pride itself on cultural sensitivity” can allow “a holiday with the same religious status as Rosh Hashana [to be] dismissed as insignificant.” The letter asserts that “thousands of students and faculty will be adversely affected.” In a letter in response, Goldstein wrote that “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,” a measure Hikind characterized as unsatisfactory, as it would require students to navigate their own exemptions with professors who might have different approaches.
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