jewish@edu for college students by college students Learning Together HCAM retreat gives Hillel leaders new skills to use. Mimi Marcus T jewish@edu writer he 10 Michigan campuses of the Hillel Campus Alliance of Michigan Shark Tank started out with each group having to create a possible program for a (HCAM) came together for a leader- ship retreat at the Lester and Jewell Morris campus. They had to create the idea, the amount of money needed, where the money Hillel Jewish Student Center at Michigan was going and even provide a supply list. State University on Friday, Jan. 16. The retreat included ice breakers to get to Each group then presented their program to a board, which would then issue an alloca- know other Hillel executive members, a ses- sion on using social media to promote each tion for the program or deny the request. The goal of Shark Tank was to learn how to cre- Hillel, conflict and allocation presentation request workshops and even a board meet- ate a great program, learn what is needed in a presentation to receive funds and how to ing to work on each university's calendar for the semester. properly answer questions from the funders, all in a professional manner. As president of Saginaw Valley State Overall, this retreat was very helpful for University's Hillel, I found this retreat very useful for my executive board. It was some- each executive board at each HCAM school. We gained skills that can be used in all thing I wished we did more often, as it helped bring unity to my members and form of our organizational activities and were able to come together as a board to better many new ideas we want to work on for the future. understand how we network and program on campus. The social media portion shed light on Looking forward to the future, HCAM is what we should be posting on our Facebook, Twitter and even Instagram accounts. What we learned gave us motivation to use social media as a resource when posting future in the midst of planning an Israel retreat for students from across the state to be held March 20-22. This retreat is open to students from Michigan State University and the 10 events and notifications. Our Hillel has now created an "automatic" posting each week, and we've attracted new followers on Facebook and Twitter due to posting more often and getting retweeted by others. Another very helpful portion of the retreat was a program called "Shark Tank." This pro- gram was created to educate us about how to present a program to an organization to receive allocations and sponsorships. HCAM schools are encouraged to use HCAM money for their programs, but also to use their own school's resources to bring in allocations for programming. HCAM campuses. Additionally, Hillel at SVSU is eagerly anticipating our upcoming Holocaust pro- gram. We invite all in the community to our university on April 22 to join us as Holocaust survivor Martin Lowenberg of Southfield shares his story. @ Mimi Marcus of Southfield is a senior at Saginaw Valley State University. She is president of SVSU Hillel. SVSU senior Mimi Marcus of Southfield with CMU sophomore Sarah Shalewitz of Annandale, Va., at the HCAM leadership retreat 30 February 26 • 2015 ZOA Fellow Sarah La Pearl at a recent event about terrorism at U-M Inclusive Views ZOA fellow brings terrorism into focus for U-M students. Sarah La Pearl jewish@edu writer returned to Israel for my 2014 sum- mer internship at the Jerusalem Post just before Operation Protective Edge began. I was unaware that the early morn- ing air raid sirens blasting through Tel Aviv would wake me up, both literally and figu- ratively, to the fact that a Jewish state is paramount to Jewish survival. I felt compelled to actively support the enduring existence of Israel and the Jewish people after experiencing an alarm that I could not ignore. Unfortunately, this is the daily reality for many Israeli citizens. I returned to the United States on a mission with meaning and purpose. After diligent research, it became obvious that the Zionist Organization of America exemplified my objectives, so I reached out to them. The organization enabled me to return to Israel on an educational advocacy trip. This leadership mission taught me how to organize and advocate for the ZOA at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. It did not take long to become aware that the ZOA is essential to promoting the interest of Israel on my campus. Higher education institutions have been plagued with a variety of relative views about the State of Israel. Those views are promoted through individuals, groups and institutions. I am honored to represent, introduce and implement the ZOA's solid support for Israel on my campus. On Jan. 28, the ZOA hosted its first event at U-M. It was designed as a candlelight memorial for worldwide victims of terror, specifically those targeted in the recent I attacks in France and Nigeria. Several speakers, such as Pandit Mami, ZOA's cam- pus coordinator, provided a diverse audi- ence with personal insight about the global efforts of radical Islamic terrorism. Other speakers at the event, such as Sean Martin, ZOA's young adult coordinator, advanced the idea that the horrific impacts of terrorism affect many nations and are not exclusive to the State of Israel. ZOA Michigan Director Kobi Erez spoke about anti-Semitism. Their approach generated a broader understanding about terrorism that indi- rectly induced a greater understanding about Israel. Overall, the event successfully promoted the interest of Israel on campus due to the speakers' all-inclusive focus. Efforts to gain support for the Jewish homeland should be generated from a per- spective that it has a paramount relation- ship to humanity as a whole. Most college students do not want history lessons during their free time. They want to be young and connect to the world around them through authentic interactive relationships. They want to be inspired, rather than convinced or coerced. They want complexities that are simplified. As a student leader and ZOA fellow on campus, I plan to organize many more thought-provoking and interactive events on topics that promote the interest of Israel. @ Sarah La Pearl of White Lake is a junior at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.