On Campus MSU Hillel Is Growing East Lansing — Michigan State University Hillel is expanding its two-story, 10,000- square-foot Lester and Jewell Morris Hillel Jewish Student Center on Charles Street to accommodate an ever-increasing Jewish student population on campus. Building began in September to add 2,500 square feet of space. It will enlarge the first floor dining room and meat kitch- en. The second floor expansion includes building on to the sanctuary, adding two MSU Hillel offices and a multipurpose room. MSU Hillel Board President Patrice Morris Phillips and her brother, Robert Morris, and the Prentis Family Support Foundation made the expansion a reality. Stuart J. Fine & Associates, a West Bloomfield-based architectural firm, was awarded the contract for the project, which will be completed in January. Patrice Phillips says the larger facility and added amenities will reflect the program- ming, studying and spiritual needs of Jewish MSU students. Cindy Hughey, director of MSU Hillel, said that "since October of 2002 when the new building was dedicated, we have outgrown our space. In fact, on a recent Shabbat we served 325 dinners and had to tent the street to make room for our students!' At the beginning of fall semester, 350 Jewish freshmen arrived at MSU. There are an estimated 3,500 Jewish students on campus. Jewish Studies At Wayne State Detroit — Wayne State University has launched a Jewish studies minor. WSU has, in the past, offered an array of classes of interest to Jewish students. The minor is an initiative of the WSU College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and is devoted to peace in the Middle East. A cluster of faculty will be devoting their teaching and research to a Middle East dialogue, in addition to classes in literature, religion and the arts. See a related story on page A19. Hillel Metro Detroit October Events Break 'n Bowl – 9:20 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 9. Cost: $5 with RSVP for 2 games, shoes, food; $8 at door. Thunderbird Lanes, 400 W. Maple, Troy. RSVP by Oct. 7 to hillelpd@ wayne.edu . Julie Schechter enjoyed Break 'n Bowl last year. Creative arts – 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 29. Cost: $10. Creative Arts Studio,114 W. Fourth Street, Royal Oak. RSVP by Oct.17 to abbarooboo@yahoo.com . On Campus Our new On Campus section will appear monthly on the first Thursday of the month. To submit articles and photos, e-mail ahitsky@thejewishnews.com before noon of the last Wednesday of the previous month. C20 October 2 • 2008 JIM MSU Students Study In Jerusalem East Lansing — Twenty undergraduate students, including 18 on scholarships, partici- pated in the Michigan State Uniuversity Jewish Studies Summer Program at Hebrew University of Jerusalem this summer. Dr. Marc Bernstein, professor of Hebrew and Israeli culture at MSU, taught a course on the historical geography of Jerusalem. Field trips traced the history of Jerusalem, from its ancient Canaanite origins to the present. Students also took a course taught by Dr. David Mendelsson of Hebrew University's Rothberg School on the emergence of the modern State of Israel. Kallie Eisenberger summed up her experience: "Almost every day we had some type of tour in the city and this, in my opinion, was something of extreme value that I hope the program in the coming years continues to do. "I learned so much more about the history and complexity of Jerusalem by being physically present instead of being taught about them in a classroom. I cannot even begin to explain what it felt like to touch the Western Wall, stand on the Temple Mount and go inside the Church of the Holy Sepulcher." To view student trip and lecture reports, go to msuisrael.blogspot.com . Dr. Bernstein will lead the summer program again in 2009. Students Study Green Israel East Lansing — The inaugural Michigan State University Green Israel Program in coop- eration with Keren Kayemet Lelsrael-Jewish National Fund last June was led by Dr. Mike Kaplowitz of MSU and focused on natural resource and environmental management in Israelit attracted five students. The program was based at Tel Aviv University and Tel Hai College and briefly heard lectures at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Students cleared waterways in the Tel Dan Nature Park, evaluated conifer forest regeneration in Biriya Forest, and trimmed trees and cleared habitat in the Hula Valley Reserve. The group visited Arab Israeli villages and a regional project for reclaiming wastewater for use irrigating Arab olive groves. They also visited archeological sites with guides at Caesarea, Sepphoris and the Old City in Jerusalem. Faculty and students rafted down the upper Jordan River, visited Nimrod's Fortress, the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea. The 2009 summer program will be led by Dr. Rob Richardson. Israeli LGBT Leader At U-M Pizza in the but – noon Sunday, Oct.19. Cost: $2. Oak Park JCC. Pizza and trivia in the sukkah. RSVP by Oct.16 to eleanorko- tov@yahoo.com Helping hands – 11 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 26. Yad Ezra, 2850 W.11 Mile Rd., Berkley. Brunch, poverty discussion and volunteer in the kosher food bank. RSVP by by Oct. 23 to az4293@wayne.edu Summer in Jerusalem Ann Arbor — Danny Savitch, one of Israel's leading activists for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights, will speak at the University of Michigan 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 23, at the Michigan Union. Savitch is a co-founder of the Jerusalem Open House (JOH), one of the largest LGBT organization in the Middle East. A lawyer by profession, he volunteered as the legal adviser to the JOH for many years and has successfully argued before the Israeli Supreme Court about pride events in Jerusalem and obtaining equal funding. He has participated in various human rights forums and campaigns including the forum for free choice in marriage in Israel. He is also the executive director of Kol HaNeshama, Israel's largest Reform Jewish synagogue, one of the few congregations in Israel with a visible and active LGBT presence. "I really think that bringing in someone who can engage people from these two back- grounds, the LGBT community and the Jewish community, is something unique and exciting:' said U-M Ahava co-chair Mitchell Crispell. "It's the bringing together of two groups of people who don't always relate in this way." The lecture is free and open to the public. Aside from his lecture, "Gay in The Holy Land;' Savitch will meet with student activ- ists and speak in classes Oct. 22-23.