Forced into a tough choice

While her classmates dance and party at their prom Saturday, Coronado High School senior Elizabeth Levine will be home with her family observing the first night of Passover.

If prom had been on another evening, she would have gone, but the scheduling conflict put her in a position of having to choose.

"Observing my religious beliefs is more important to me than prom night," Levine said.

Despite her commitment to her faith, some Jewish families and leaders wish someone had checked the calendar so Levine wouldn't have to decide. It's an ongoing issue among non-Christians in the U.S., who routinely discover that their religious holidays have been forgotten by the people who schedule civic and school events.

Cheyenne Mountain High School and Woodland Park High School also scheduled their proms Saturday, and the 17th annual Wine Festival of Colorado Springs, presented by the Fine Arts Center, will overlap with the first night of Passover.

"I don't want Jews having to decide between two good events. That is an ethical dilemma," said Rabbi Mel Glazer of Temple Shalom, who would like greater sensitivity from the community not only at Passover, but during the High Holidays of Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah, which take place in the fall and sometimes conflict with homecoming events.

It's the second time in seven months that Levine has had to deal with a scheduling conflict between a major religious holiday and a big school event. In September, Yom Kippur - one of the most important Jewish holidays - fell on Senior Homecoming day. She opted to attend homecoming but later regretted it.

"When I found out prom was on the first night of Passover, I decided not to make myself feel guilty and go," Levine said.

On the other hand, David Abrams, a 16-yearold sophomore at Air Academy High School, said if presented with the choice of attending his senior prom or the first night of Passover, he'd opt for the prom.

"But it would be a hard decision to make," he said.

Some argue that the Jewish community cannot expect civic institutions and schools to work their schedules around the Jewish holidays, in part because the holidays fall on different dates each year, and because of the relatively low number of Jews living in the area.

Woodland Park High School principal Joann Spry said she's not sure the prom would have been rescheduled, even if the conflict with the Passover date had been noticed.

"We had other time frames to consider," said Spry, who noted that the school hasn't received complaints about the prom taking place on Passover.

But Elizabeth Levine said a lack of complaints or low Jewish enrollment at schools should not be a factor in scheduling.

"If you had one person in a school of 1,300 affected by a schedule, you should do everything possible to accommodate that one person," she said.

"Institutions should know about Jewish holidays and plan accordingly," said her father, Mark Levine.

The Anti-Defamation League, a watchdog organization that works against anti-semitism and other types of bias, supplies superintendents and principals of state schools with a booklet that lists dates for Jewish holidays and those of other religions, said Joyce Rubin, senior associate regional director at ADL's Denver office.

By request, ADL will mail schools a five-year calendar marked with Jewish observances.

"It's disappointing," Rubin said of the prom-Passover scheduling conflicts.

The issue seems to be more one of raising awareness, not combating outright prejudice.

Spry and spokesmen for Cheyenne Mountain High School and the Fine Arts Center said the scheduling conflicts were unintentional.

"We apologize to the Jewish community," said Charlie Snyder, spokesman for the Fine Arts Center.

Jill Altman, mother of a junior at Cheyenne Mountain, received an apologetic letter from the school's principal after she notified him of the overlapping dates, she said.

Not that her daughter, Jacki, had any doubt about missing prom to observe Passover.

"There was no question," Altman said. "If there is a Jewish holiday, I'm going to that."