Last week, Eric Dropkin was forced to make a decision — spend Passover with his family or lose 10 points in his class.

And for the social relations and policy sophomore, his grade was riding on those points, so he chose the latter. While he was able to go home to spend some time with his family, Dropkin had to cut the holiday short to drive back for class.

"I feel like it took away from the holiday and from being with my family and really spending the time with them that I really would've liked to," he said.

Dropkin was one of many Jewish students on campus who felt it was difficult to make accommodations to go home for the holiday.

Jamie Schare, Jewish Student Union representative for ASMSU's Academic Assembly, said she received 20 e-mail complaints within eight minutes of sending a mass e-mail to the Jewish Student Union last week — on top of multiple phone calls and in-person grievances.

"Students missing class for Passover weren't trying to get out of work or just not do it," said Schare, a social relations and policy senior. "They wanted to turn things in early, they wanted to be able to make up exams. And professors did not let them turn in work early, and they threatened to make the exams harder if they chose to miss classes for Passover."

A proposal for a revised religious observance policy is making its way through MSU's Academic Governance system. The proposed changes include holding faculty members to stricter standards in accommodating students who want time off to observe a religious holiday.

However, while many students had complaints, criminal justice sophomore Ben Branda said his classical art professor was accommodating.

"I had an exam on Monday and I told my professor about it, about a couple days before, and he said, 'Oh, that's fine, no problem,'" Branda said.

He said he was able to take the same exam as the other students in his professor's office the following Friday, and was given the same amount of time.

When Michael Zumberg's evening class aligned with the beginning of Passover at sundown, he e-mailed his professor in advance, asking if the notes for that class period could be made available on ANGEL.

The professor told the political science and pre-law sophomore that was not possible, without explanation, but said he could try to get the notes from other students through the site.

"To me, it was very important that I got the notes," Zumberg said. "Not only did it cover new material, but also (covered) the test review for the second midterm that we had that last Wednesday."

He said he's seen students ask for notes on ANGEL all the time, and students rarely respond to the requests.

"In all reality, the chances of me getting the notes from ANGEL were slim to none," Zumberg said.

Ultimately, the situation was resolved when Zumberg e-mailed the department's chairwoman about the instance.

Eventually, the teaching assistant posted the notes on the Web site.

"It was a ridiculous situation and we did get it all sorted out, so it worked out for the best," he said.

Some students were reluctant to state the names of their professors because they still are enrolled in the classes.

Other students, such as David Permut, try to avoid the conflict altogether by not asking for the time off from class for Jewish holidays.

"Usually, what I've always done is I don't really try to get a lot of time off, I just try to make sure to accommodate any of the classes that I need to," the music education senior said. "And then if it just doesn't work, then I'll ask for class off. I really use asking for class off as a last resort."

Permut said he does this because he is at MSU to learn and go to class, and there are ways of getting around a conflict — like scheduling classes at different times. He also said his family is good about making plans for holidays around his schedule.

"I really don't make it that much of a big deal for holidays, and I do try to get home for my family," he said. "But if they need to go out of the way to get me home, they'll do that, too."

Schare said students should not be forced to make decisions like these.

"Professors don't realize how unfair it is when they ask a student to choose between their religion and their grade," she said. "No one should be punished for wanting to celebrate their religion … especially when professors are aware of the issue ahead of time."

Sarah Harbison can be reached at harbiso9@msu.edu.