More and more Jewish students are choosing to stay in school for the Jewish holidays Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. These students fear all of the makeup work that comes with missing a day of school. Many students are torn between coming to class and keeping up with assignments, or skipping school to celebrate their religion. There are many positives and negatives to both options.

“The benefits [to missing school] are that you get to be with your family and you get to celebrate the holiday,” freshman Larisa Koyen said. “But obviously, the consequences are that you have to make up all the homework, and technically you’re not supposed to be doing homework on the actual day of that holiday.”

Some Ladue students feel jealous towards non-Jews that are not faced with such a tough choice. Other religions have holidays that do not fall during the school week.

“In a way, it is kind of unfair that as a Jewish kid, you have to make the choice between your holiday and school. And Christians don’t have to make that decision,” junior Elise Vincent said. “Services are still important to Jewish people, it’s still an opportunity to see your family, and missing out on that kind of celebration for a holiday to go to school is unfair.”

However, students believe that missing school is bearable if a few factors line up in their favor. One factor, for example, is how understanding the teachers are.

“I think it depends on the teacher. Some understand that there are people that are going to be gone, and are really nice about it,” sophomore Melanie Rush said. “And then there are some that when they make their schedules, it’s months before school, and it’s just something you have to deal with.”

While having to choose between school and temple for Ladue students is frustrating, they also accept that Judaism isn’t the only religion at the school. Because of the religious diversity, it is unrealistic for Ladue to cancel school on Jewish holidays

“I understand that Ladue isn’t a Jewish school,” Rush said. “I’d prefer to be off for all the Jewish holidays, but I know this is a public school, and that’s not an option.”