Students and faculty value their Jewish identity

Though it isn’t often appreciated or discussed in school, Jewish students and faculty emphasize the importance of their religion. “My faith is my identity so it’s very important to me personally. Since I was [young], to one degree or another, it had always been a part of my home life, and my religious and school life,” Brand said. “Being pulled out of school for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, I didn’t always appreciate why when I was in first grade…I grew older and I learned to appreciate it. So it’s as much a part of my life and identity as the color in my eyes.” 

Atar honed in on the need for equal treatment of religious minorities. “I’m proud to be Jewish. My great-grandma and my great-great-grandma survived the Holocaust. So it’s very important to me that it’s respected and treated as important as Christianity,” she said.

“My religion is personally very important to me, just like anybody else’s is and I kind of just wish that right now America was a little bit more open to acknowledging other religions,” Kushins said. “Being a minority religion in such a big school is difficult and I think people should be more open to talking about it.”