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Orthodox Jews want out of Yale dormitories
September 16, 1997
Web posted at: 10:58 p.m. EDT (0258 GMT)NEW HAVEN, Connecticut (CNN) -- What should a school do if co-ed dorms are against someone's religious principles?
At Yale University, no one seems certain. But the threat of a lawsuit may prompt administrators to make up their mind very soon.
A handful of Orthodox Jewish students say they are about to sue Yale over a requirement that students live -- or at least pay for -- housing during their first two years at the school.
CNN's Brian Jenkins reports
2 min., 20 sec. VXtreme streaming video
Dormitory life, the group says, is at odds with Jewish law.
"There are co-ed bathrooms and females could walk in in various states of undress," complains Jeremy Hershman, a sophomore who is among those who plan to sue.
Hershman paid the $7,000 dormitory fee last year, but said that the dormitory lifestyle forced him to move to an off-campus apartment.
This year, he is among five students who have refused to pay the dorm fee and are threatening to sue the school if they are not granted exemptions to the residence requirement rule.
"I can't live in an environment where members of the opposite sex are allowed to enter at any time of night or day," said freshman Rachel Wohlgelernter.
Yale officials say the school could accommodate the students, assigning them single-sex bathrooms on single-sex floors.
Mixing students of different backgrounds is considered a crucial part of the collegiate experience, and is the school's reason for the residence requirement.
"Just as I understand students who feel they have convictions that can scarcely be compromised," said Richard Brodhead, dean of Yale College, "It would seem to me strange if the university didn't have its own convictions about what it is here for."
The school newspaper has weighed in on the issue, and urged administrators to establish an appeals process for those who would like to live off-campus.
Some Orthodox students here worry all the publicity about the dormitory requirement will scare others from applying to Yale. They say the school has accommodated their beliefs in many ways, and, admit that the campus is hardly a modern-day Sodom and Gomorrah.
If the students do not pay required fees, the school could withhold course credits.
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