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In this issue...
There are so many interesting stories in this edition of Hillel Campus Report, it’s hard to highlight just one in this column. In researching this month’s issue, I’ve had the pleasure of meeting several young Jews who are both incredibly talented and kind hearted. Loren Galler-Rabinowitz (Harvard University Hillel) and Jared Cohen (Oxford University Jewish Society) are two examples of Jewish Millennials who are exceedingly accomplished while also refreshingly down-to-earth. Scrolling down, you’ll also read about a half dozen young Jewish couples who met at Duke University and are now engaged to be married. This issue also explains how Hillel students in the former Soviet Union are responding to the on-going Georgia-Russia conflict and what Hillel supporters can do to help.
I hope you’ll find this edition of HCR as entertaining and informative as I do. Your e-mail comments are always welcomed!
Until next month,
Danielle Freni, Editor
Hillel Campus Report
dfreni@hillel.org
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 Loren Galler-Rabinowitz: Olympic-Trained Skater Pursues Social Justice
After a decade of Olympic-training, 22-year old Bronze Medalist Loren Galler-Rabinowitz has put her athletic dreams on hold to pursue a degree from Harvard University. A third-generation Holocaust survivor and active Hillel student, Loren is committed to the Jewish value of tikkun olam (repairing the world) one celebrity appearance at a time.
"I’ve always had an awareness of people who are less privileged than me because I grew up around it," she says. "Being the grandchild of survivors, there’s a responsibility to aid people who haven’t had the same advantages."
Jared Cohen: Rhodes Scholar Publishes Second Book
At 26, Jared Cohen is the youngest member of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s Policy Planning Committee, a post he has held for two years. He is also a Rhodes Scholar, fluent in Swahili among other African dialects, a published author, an artist, and a former soccer goalie who holds the Connecticut state record for most career saves. Cohen is a rising star in the Washington policy establishment – and every Jewish mother’s dream come true.
The author of Children of Jihad: A Young American's Travels Among the Youth of the Middle East is described as a “young gutsy writer” who offers a fresh perspective on an age-old issue.
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Hillel Responds to Georgia Crisis
Shortly after the outbreak of fighting on the border of Russia and the former Soviet republic of Georgia, Tbilisi Hillel Director Moris Krikheli responded by helping relocate families that fled their homes in Gori, a city hurt by the fighting. In the days that followed, dozens of Hillel student activists joined his efforts to aid in the refugee’s plight.
Cornell Hillel Debuts Summer Networking Series
"Of course we want our students and young alumni to do well in life," said Rabbi Ed Rosenthal, executive director of Cornell Hillel. "But we are also striving to instill in them the awareness that it’s not enough to just do well; they must also do good. The Summer Networking Series shows our students where their professional goals intersect with Jewish values."
Hillel Creates New Vision for Small and Mighty Campuses
"There is tremendous potential to develop the Jewish student populations on these campuses by applying a more strategic and focused effort," explains Deb Geiger, assistant director of the Soref Initiative for Emerging Campuses. "We want to ensure that despite the small population, Jewish students have access to the same opportunities as do campuses with large Jewish student populations."
University of Florida Students Provide Flood Relief in Iowa
Walking into University of Florida’s Hillel building for Friday night services for the first time, Andrew Wyzan had no idea the opportunity that would be presented to him. He jumped at the chance to join seven other UF students and a Hillel professional to help clean up the damage to homes in Iowa caused by recent flooding that ravaged the Midwest. "It was one of the most rewarding experiences I've taken part in and I’m so happy I took the time to do it," said Wyzan.
Hillel Students Deliver Birthday Card to Israel
A group of Hillel participants in the Taglit-Birthright Israel program packed a little something extra in their suitcases this summer: 5,860 birthday wishes from people around the world. The students presented Hillel’s birthday card to their Israeli counterparts during their August visit to Jerusalem. The messages ranged from multilingual to heartfelt to humorous.
A Match Made at Hillel: Jewish Love Connections at Duke University
Jewish high school students who are busy with the college decision process, may want to consider Duke University if finding a spouse is high on their checklist. Jewish Life at Duke professionals report many Jewish matches have been made through Rubenstein-Silvers Hillel events at the Freeman Center for Jewish Life in recent years. Two couples, all recent graduates, will be married next month while four other alumni couples will wed in 2009.
New Hillel Directors Gather at International Center for Training
This summer, 16 new Hillel directors from campuses across the United States gathered at the Schusterman International Center in Washington, D.C., for a week-long training that has equipped them with new tools for leading a successful Hillel. Lisa Kudish, the new Hillel director at Northwestern University said, "Each conversation helped me to deconstruct the wealth of content provided to us and then reconstruct my thinking about how to go about achieving mission-driven excellence."
Newsbites
The Forward talks to Hillel's Assistant Director of Alternative Breaks Abbey Greenberg about Jewish organic farming / New Jersey Jewish News reports on college students who traveled to Israel with the Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus program / New Hillel-affiliated Jewish student organization at Catholic university profiled in Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle / Religious campus organizations reaching out to incoming freshmen in Arizona and Kansas
College 101: When Jewish Friends Are Hard to Find
NYU Sophomore Elanna Seid tells Reform Judaism Magazine how unusually difficult it was to make Jewish friends in New York. "The girls on the swim team soon became my closest friends at school, and only two of them were Jewish. None of my three suitemates were Jewish, the great majority of my hallmates weren’t Jewish, and the friends I made in classes weren’t either. It bothered me that I had so few Jewish friends and that I seemed unable—or perhaps not motivated enough—to do something about it."
Learn Something Jewish: Relationship Building
Hillel's new engagement programs are all about relationship building on campus. What does the Torah tell us about peer engagement? How does the way we treat people affect our Jewish identity?
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