Passover feasts complicated by registration frustration

Observing Passover can be a difficult feat for students following the holiday's strict dietary restrictions, and the task can be made even more difficult by the regulations put in place by the Center for Jewish Life (CJL).

Though dining halls and eating clubs offer matzah during the eight days of the holiday, the only option for students seeking to be fully observant of the holiday's strict dietary restrictions is to eat at the CJL. New dining rules, however, have left some students frustrated and hungry.

In a break from practice in recent years, the CJL required that students preregister for Passover meals in order to limit its expenses. The increased cost of Passover food and service, CJL Director Rabbi Julie Roth said, means that Passover is an expensive time for Dining Services.

Roth said that the CJL took great pains to communicate the preregistration requirement to students. "Valiant efforts have been made to convey the information accurately and in multiple places on campus," she said.

In addition to placing the information on its website, the CJL hung posters across campus, including in the CJL dining hall. Multiple messages were also sent to everyone on the CJL email list.

Despite these efforts, many students remained unaware of the registration process. "I didn't know [I] needed to preregister and ended up being charged for lunch," USG president Rob Biederman '08, who is Jewish, said in an email.

Since he eats at the CJL only occasionally, Biederman said he was confused about the plan and did not actively investigate the registration process. He added that, as an independent upperclassman, he was unclear what would have happened even if he had registered.

Zvi Smith '09 was also unaware of the process. "I personally just didn't know about it until very late," he said. While he commended the CJL's efforts to contact the University community, "the preregistration was not well-advertised," Smith said.

Roth acknowledged that some students may have missed the announcements because the holiday fell just a few weeks after midterms and spring break. Non-Jewish students — many of whom eat at the CJL because they like the food or find its location convenient — also may have been less likely to hear about the preregistration requirement, since they were not on the CJL email list.

Dining halls and some eating clubs offered options for students who were not strictly observing the holiday.

Hallie Morris '10 said "there are lots of options in the dining halls," including matzah, proteins, fruits and vegetables.

Charter Club president Will Scharf '08 said his club "had 'Passover-friendly' options at all meals this week and a special Passover buffet on Wednesday."

Get the best of the ‘Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

But strict observance of the holiday's dietary restrictions required a trip to the CJL. "If you're really kosher for Passover, you're not going to eat [in the residential dining halls]," Morris said.

Even less strict observers might have faced challenges in the dining halls.

Laura Fletcher '10 pointed to the "holiday dinner" offered last night in the residential colleges, which featured pasta and other leavened products, as an example of fare unfriendly to students observing Passover.

In an unintentionally ironic move, Wilcox Dining Hall offered challah, a Jewish yeast bread traditionally served on the Sabbath, which Jewish students were not able to eat during Passover.

"I would appreciate it personally if the dining hall offered more options," Fletcher said, "but because the CJL is there, I don't think the dining halls are obligated to do so."

Overall, though, students' Passover experiences have been positive, CJL president Matt Kandel '09 said in an email. "Jewish students are very happy with the tremendous efforts that Dining Services makes for Passover and in general," he said.