Author: Katherine Dorovitsine

During today’s class discussion, I was intrigued by the mention of cases regarding Halal food being brought into U.S. courts. I feel that such a situation is completely justified in the case of a wrongful advertisement of food as “Halal” or when failing to meet the standards of the consumer’s requests for Halal food. If we were to look at this issue from the perspective of a person with allergies, celiac’s disease, or a vegetarian diet, few people would object to bringing the case to court. Failing to provide food that is for example cooked separately from any food that may contain allergens is likely the strongest argument for bringing the law into the industry, but there is still relevance when considering gluten free and meat free diets. Customers with Celiacs disease can expect that their food will be cooked separately from the food that contains gluten if the restaurant advertises its compliance with such dietary restrictions. Similarly, restaurants that feature a vegetarian or vegan menu are expected to comply with the standards of such a diet, even if it may seem extreme to some. In my opinion, these dietary restrictions prove just as relevant when it comes to people who practice their religious values. Those who eat Kosher and Halal have every right to expect their dietary restrictions to be accepted and complied with in the same way that a vegetarian diet may be.

In my opinion, these dietary restrictions prove just as relevant when it comes to people who practice their religious values. Those who eat Kosher and Halal have every right to expect their dietary restrictions to be accepted and complied with in the same way that a vegetarian diet may be, but that’s not to say that all restaurants are expected to be able to do so. In my opinion, restaurants should have the option of serving Kosher and/or Halal food to their customers, but if they choose to do so they need to be held accountable for accommodating all restrictions of those diets or at least giving clear information about what is in the food and how it is prepared. Liability for restaurant owners would lie in the failure of presenting information accurately to consumers, therefore by being upfront about the food that is served, owners can avoid any legal issues. If problems do arise regarding the improper preparation of food according to the regulations of the Halal and/or Kosher diets, I believe it is justifiable to take the case to court and make an argument against the restaurant owners who were negligent in the matter.

Today’s class discussion regarding whether or not children should be taught in English or in their native language in school, sparked an interest in me as this relates to my own family. While I myself am not an immigrant, my parents both immigrated to the United States and had their first child (my older sister) shortly after. When raising her, they held on to certain aspects of the Russian culture and wanted her to grow up with the ability to speak Russian in order to communicate with her relatives on the other side of the globe. They spoke with her solely in Russian and until the age of 4, that was the only language she spoke. Upon entering preschool, this method of teaching my sister to embrace her Russian heritage seemed to backfire, as she came home from school crying that she couldn’t understand any of the other kids or the teachers. From that point forward, my sister slowly began to learn the English language with the help of her teachers and my parents. By the time I was born, she was speaking predominantly in English at home, while my parents still spoke to her in Russian to try to maintain her understanding of the language. Due to this diverse language exchange that dominated my home, I grew up having the ability to speak both languages but my Russian began to deteriorate as soon as I entered the school system.  By the time my brother was born, my sister and I were speaking in predominantly English around the house and even my parents had begun transitioning from speaking only in Russian with us to a mix of Russian and English. This left my brother with very little knowledge of the Russian language as a young child, and after beginning school, only a few Russian words remained in his vocabulary.

I believe assimilation is important for the life of any immigrant in the United States, especially children, but I also believe greater efforts should be made to incorporate diversity into schools. In the case of my family, my sister would have benefited from the ability to practice the Russian language in school, through an after-school program or a period of time dedicated to the study of various languages. Many schools do place an emphasis on learning another language at a young age, but often this language is Spanish or some other language that is widely accepted as “the language of the future.” If my sister had not been forced to completely abandon the Russian language for the English language in school, my siblings and I would likely still speak Russian at home and have a much easier time communicating with the rest of my family still in Russia. This is relevant for all children who face the difficulty of a language barrier when entering the school system in the United States. Steps should be taken to help these students assimilate by teaching in the English language, but this can be done with some acceptance of varying languages.