Jews threaten lawsuit over Yale housing

Five Orthodox students said co-ed Yale college houses conflict with their religious beliefs. Stressing that their stringent religious beliefs are incompatible with Yale University's current residential living program, five Orthodox Jewish freshman and sophomore students have threatened to sue the university in an effort to receive permission to live off campus without paying room-and-board fees to the school. The five students -- who are currently living off campus -- are seeking exemptions from Yale's $7,000 annual room-and-board fees, mandatory for freshman and sophomore students. None of the five students returned phone calls yesterday. Although the majority of Yale's undergraduate students are housed in single-sex suites on single-sex floors, Yale's Orthodox rabbi, Michael Whitman, said the five students do not feel the conventional campus accommodations are compatible with their desire to live in a "modest atmosphere." Yale spokesperson Marcia Ryan said the university refused to allow the students to live off campus because the residential college system is "the basis of much of our social and academic life," and that the students were "well aware of the importance of the residential college system when they decided to attend Yale." She added that Yale was "very willing to work out a compromise with the students." Whitman said he disapproved of the student's actions is "concerned about an implied message of this controversy that one cannot be Orthodox and at the same time fully participate in the Yale experience." "For some reason, these five have not been satisfied with what the university is doing," Whitman added. He said he has also offered to mediate the students' dispute with the university. Evan Farber, co-president of Young Israel --Ean Orthodox campus organization -- said "there is a fairly large-sized Orthodox community here and most of us are very comfortable here." He explained that Yale has been accommodating to observant students by providing them with keys to use on Shabbat in order to avoid violating the sabbath by using the school's new electronic keys, and by helping to support Yale's kosher kitchen financially. Penn has made many similar efforts to accommodate the University's large Orthodox Jewish community. Students are permitted to live on lower floors in the high rises in order to avoid having to take elevators on Shabbat, arrangements are made allowing them to enter dormitories without their PennCards on Shabbat and kosher meals are offered as one option of the University's dining plan. Additionally, some students choose to live in the high rises as freshmen in order to avoid living in coed dormitories in the Quadrangle. While the high rises are typically reserved for sophomores and upperclassmen, Penn's Hillel director, Jeremy Brochin, said he sometimes refers incoming Orthodox Jewish freshmen to students living in the high rises who are seeking roommates in order to help them live in the buildings as freshmen. Many of Penn's Orthodox Jewish students said the University was accommodating to their needs -- which is generally the sentiment at Yale as well. "My experience here has been very good," said College junior Yoni Slonim, the head of Penn's Orthodox Jewish community.