Co-op offers apology to Jewish student

When sophomore individual studies major Rachel Bergstein heard that a student had been denied service by a Maryland Food Collective worker because she was wearing a shirt that said "I Stand With Israel," she was - to put it mildly - "absolutely shocked."

"I really couldn't wrap my mind around it," Bergstein said.

So she wrote a letter to the editor that was printed in Wednesday's issue of The Diamondback, sparking a campus-wide debate centered on the decision by the worker to defer service and the reaction from the Jewish community at the collective's failure, in Bergstein's opinion, to "talk the talk and walk the walk of tolerance and openness."

In a statement, the co-op apologized to the student who was denied service, but said Bergstein's letter was a step backward in resolving the issue, writing, "People who were not directly involved with the interaction that occurred on April 24 have greatly misrepresented both parties and have thus slowed down the process of reconciliation."

Although the female student who was involved in the incident at the collective could not be reached for comment, Avi Mayer, president of the Pro-Israel Terrapin Alliance, said he had spoken to her and could give a rough timeline of events.

On April 24, the student and a friend visited the collective, and when she tried to pay for her items, the worker at the register said the student's "I Stand With Israel" shirt was offensive and told her to find someone else to help her. The student found another worker and made her purchase, but left the store "emotionally distraught," Mayer said.

"To my understanding, it was done openly and in front of others, and in a mildly humiliating manner, and that really is something that is not acceptable," Mayer added. "[The student] really does want to resolve this, but I think it goes way beyond her individual experience because we can't allow this to occur. We can't allow this to be an epidemic that goes on."

Because workers at the co-op operate on equal terms, they each have the right to defer service to any customer, workers said during the collective's weekly meeting on April 30, which Bergstein and other Jewish students attended.

However, one worker said their policy on service will be discussed and possibly amended at tonight's weekly meeting. An official statement from the co-op on the incident will also be available this week, she said.

The co-op has not clearly outlined what its policy is on individual workers denying service to customers based on political beliefs, and Mayer expressed concern that similar incidents could happen again.

Although Jewish students and leaders of the campus community have been vocal on this issue, the co-op workers have been more hesitant to speak because the collective requires a consensus on any statement made for the whole.

While Bergstein and Mayer said that any dialogue was a sign that the controversy is moving in the right direction, they lamented that those on both sides of the argument haven't worked harder to reconcile their differences.

"I wanted people to ask positive questions [because of the letter], but instead I heard people are going into the co-op and saying, 'So I heard you hate Jews,'" Bergstein said.

"I have heard of individuals who were planning on either staging some kind of protest or electing not to purchase there anymore, but I would really urge the community to sort of pause and enable whatever negotiations are underway to play themselves out," Mayer added.

In its statement, the co-op said, "We want to maintain honesty and openness with the campus community."