Jewish

for college students by college students

VOLUME 4, NO. 1

edu

February 14, 2013 / 4 ADAR 5773

Jewish Outreach

OUWB medical student starts
Jewish Medical Student Association.

By Sara Singer }

jewish@edu Staff Writer

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ne of the many benefits of being part of the charter class
at the Oakland University William Beaumont School of
Medicine (OUWB) is the ample opportunities for leadership.
I founded the Jewish Medical Student Association (JeMSA) at
OUWB in August 2012, inspired by my summer participation in the
Medical Students Mifgash Experience, a free Taglit-Birthright Israel
trip sponsored by the American Physicians and Friends for Medicine
in Israel (APF). In Israel, I interacted with Jewish peers in medicine
and appreciated the value of forming bonds with people of similar
interests.
Dr. Robert Folberg, founding OUWB dean, was eager to facilitate
JeMSA's inception. It was important to him that Jewish students in
the incoming class felt welcome in the Jewish community. This was
particularly important for out-of-state students and will continue to be
important as the school grows.
The mission of JeMSA is to enrich the lives of medical students and
the community through holiday celebrations, cultural activities, social
events, educational programs and community service. Participants
will build long-lasting relationships with Jewish peers, physicians and
organizations, which will strengthen ties to the Jewish community and
provide students with a foundation of support.
This mission has quickly become a reality. The activities we have
participated in since our launch only months ago include volunteering
at Yad Ezra, attending a Beaumont Lecture Series event at the Jewish
Community Center, collecting Chanukah gifts for Jewish Family Service
and sharing Shabbat meals with faculty and peers.
We have received an overwhelming amount of support from OUWB
and the community. Dr. Jeffrey Devries, associate dean of graduate
medical education, and Rachel Yoskowitz, assistant professor of bio-
medical science, community and global health, serve as our faculty
advisers and have been integral in providing resources. Most impor-
tantly, they model the qualities we seek to foster in OUWB medical
students.
We recently attended a brunch at the home of Dr. George Mogill in
Bloomfield Hills, hosted by Dr. and Mrs. Carl Lauter of West Bloomfield,
where we were privileged to hear stories and wisdom from three gen-
erations of Jewish doctors who represent the kind of physicians that
we aspire to be.

Jewish Outreach on page 28

JeMSA members and Israeli medical stu-
dents enjoyed brunch at the home of Dr.
George Mogill, hosted by Dr. and Mrs. Carl
Lauter.

American Movement for Israel board members: Rachel
Klein, Huntington Woods; Alyssa Adler, West Bloomfield,
board chair; Melissa Rosenbaum, Rye Brook, N.Y.; Eden
Adler, Farmington Hills; Isabell Friedman, Maplewood, N.J.;
and Jeremy Borison, Beachwood, Ohio.

Art And Advocacy

U-M Hillel student group finds art
attracts support for Israel.

By Alyssa Adler } jewish@edu Staff Writer

I

t was the clearest day Ann Arbor had
seen in all of November. The temperature
was mild, there was no breeze and the
sky was a lovely shade of blue. The per-
fect day for Israel advocacy.
As students frequented the Diag, the
University of Michigan's central quad, many
slowed their pace as they spotted a crowd gather-
ing. I watched as the crowds swelled around the
three graffiti artists from New York City, who
each spent the entire day painting a 4- by 6-foot
mural with the agility of true artists. Beside the
artists, what once was a 4- by 8-foot piece of
plywood now was covered in a colorful array
of messages, slogans, names and symbols, many
about Israel, all created by students, faculty and
community members.
One girl came up to me, asking what she was
watching. I explained to her that we were the
American Movement for Israel, campus' largest
pro-Israel group, and the group of artists we had
brought in was promoting peace and creative
expression based on their experiences in Israel.
As she inquired more, I told her the story of
Artists4lsrael, an organization that supports
Israel through the unique lens of art expression.
These professional American artists, through
Artists4Israel, had traveled to Israel and had

been immersed in the culture, emotion and
beauty that is the Jewish State. While in Israel,
these artists spent countless hours beautifying
the desolate bomb shelters of southern Israel,
shelters for women in need and even the Israeli
security fence.
Their stories were both entertaining and awe-
inspiring, and what was even more powerful
was the fact these non-Jewish artists became so
inspired by a country they previously knew noth-
ing about.
The girl, who was neither Jewish nor had an
opinion about the conflict, expressed her passion
for graffiti art, gave me her card (she was an art
student) and asked if she could be a part of our
mailing list. It was at that point I knew our event
was a success.

Getting Noticed

Being on such a large campus, it is only natu-
ral that students are blasted with a plethora of
opinions and conflicts. "Support this" or "vote
against that" are common phrases heard around
the University of Michigan on a daily basis. As
a result, the challenge becomes this: How do I
make my issue stand out among all of the noise?

Art on page

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February 14 • 2013

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