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Ask Big Questions

Hillel@EMU gets students excited to tell what
makes their community.

Danielle Friedman } jewish@edu writer

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Hillel@EMU student leaders: junior Lauren Harwood,
Oak Park; junior Sydney Glass, Highland Park, Ill.;
freshman Shaina Wolinsky, Cleveland; and sophomore
Ariel Stollman, Farmington Hills.

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38 December 11 • 2014

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or the past several weeks, Hillel
on Eastern Michigan University's
campus has been planning an Ask
Big Questions (ABQ) event. ABQ is a Hillel
program that asks open-ended questions
to help facilitate conversation as well as
bring individuals from diverse backgrounds
together.
HilIeI@EMU staged a two-week program
that culminated in a Shabbat dinner Nov.
14. The event has been the mastermind of
Sydney Glass, the ABQ intern with Hillel@
EMU. She has put together a number of
events that have made this a success so far.
The event started with tabling in the
campus student center to raise awareness.
Hillel's student advisory board worked the
tables using a white board that asked the
question, "Who's in your community?"
Students and staff were asked as they
walked by to write their answers on the
white board and have their photo taken
to be used in a slide show that was
shown all week in the student center to
continue to promote the event.
Hillel also used a 7-foot white and
yellow beach ball with the question on it
as well to grab the attention of students
on campus. It was rolled around for two
days one week, and students and staff
were again asked to answer "Who's in
your community"by writing their answer
on the ball. Some people wrote their own
names; others wrote, "Artists, Thinkers —
Inventors" and "people w/warm hearts."
Both tabling and rolling the (giant)
beach ball around campus sparked much
interest in the event. There were many
reactions to our question, ranging from

confusion and deep thought all the way
to excitement and willingness to answer.
Students also showed great interest in the
Shabbat dinner where the conversation
continued.
The dinner began with the typical Shabbat
rituals and was followed by a conversation
about community and what it means to each
of us. The event drew more than 30 people.
Student advisory board members reached
out to many student organizations on cam-
pus and personally invited them to join in
the dinner and conversation.
Meaningful conversation was had from
the diverse crowd with so many different
points of view. @

Danielle Friedman of Trenton is a senior

at Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti

and president of Hillel©EMU.

EMU seniors Dan Morris of
Ypsilanti and Joshua Lebovic
of West Bloomfield answer
the "big question."

