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for college students by college students
Learning Together
Federation's GA gives Hillel leaders
inspiration to bring back to campuses.
We want you at LTU.
Watch LTU students
share their college
experiences at
Itu.edu/StudentStories.
Ashley Schnaar } jewish@edu writer
admissions@ltu.edu
800.225.5588
Southfield, Michigan
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Lawrence Technological
University isn't for just
anyone. We want the future
designers, engineers,
scientists, and entrepreneurs
who will create the
innovations of tomorrow.
I I
LTU ranks fifth among U.S. colleges and
universities for boosting graduates'
earning power. — Brookings Institution
rchitecture and Design I Arts and Sciences
Engineering I Management
MSU Hillel and Hillel Campus Alliance of Michigan at
Federation's General Assembly in Washington, D.C.
LTU
Possible is everything.
1..0870
Nine years ago, Professor Jeffrey
Haus started a Jewish Studies program
from scratch at Kalamazoo College.
Today, K offers an array of classes, including
modem Hebrew, and other opportunities for
students, such as study abroad in Israel.
"It's been very rewarding, especially when
we can trace students' post-graduation career
entry directly to our program."
Professor Haus says Jewish Studies at K has
contributed to campus intellectual and
cultural life, and raised the College's profile
beyond the campus.
c
C
A side benefit for him has been advising the
Jewish Student Organization and other K
students.
"I am a Jewish Studies professor and an
academic, but also a mentor who
plays a facilitating role," he said.
Mort
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kzoo.edu/Admission
KALAMAZOO
COLLEGE
52 November 26 2015
had the privilege of attending
the Jewish Federation's annual
General Assembly (GA) Nov. 8-10 in
Washington, D.C., with fellow leaders from
Michigan State University Hillel and Hillel
Campus Alliance of Michigan.
Although most of us met for the first
time at the airport, we immediately clicked
because of our shared passion for facilitating
Jewish community on our campuses, which
included MSU, Grand Valley State, Central
Michigan, Western Michigan and Saginaw
Valley State universities.
Around 3,000 people, including 250
students, from across the United States and
Canada attended the conference. Speakers
included actress Debra Messing, broadcast
journalist David Gregory, Ohio business-
man Les Wexner and Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu. Some speakers dis-
cussed their Jewish identity journey, while
others spoke of the various great changes
they've made. Together, their uplifting stories
and messages painted a beautiful picture of
what it means to be Jewish.
The GA offered meaningful pieces of infor-
mation to bring back to our communities
through engaging panels. One of the ses-
sions focused on best practices for engaging
millennials and featured David Yarus, founder
of the dating app JSwipe. We learned a key
way to engage our demographic is to give us
space to plan events and create social plat-
forms for ourselves.
I took a lot from this discussion, especially
because my role at Hillel is to develop rela-
tionships with freshman in an effort to make
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them feel comfortable and welcome in our
transplanted Jewish community.
A way we started doing this at MSU Hillel
is by having a freshman leadership commit-
tee for those interested in planning and lead-
ing events themselves.
Additionally, the conference made me
truly appreciate Hillel International. Now
an institution on more than 550 campuses,
Hillel gives college students a stronger sense
of Jewish identity and connects us to each
other in a unique and important way.
In a presentation on Hillel's tactics, a
survey used to gauge the impact of Hillel
was discussed. One student bravely stood
up and proposed additional surveying of
how safe Jewish students feel on campus.
Unfortunately, many Jewish college students
are hesitant to be publically prideful of their
religion. The rise of the BDS movement on
campuses may be a new factor. To me, this
reinforces the importance of Hillel on cam-
puses and the work that still needs to done
to create more understanding environments.
The 2015 GA was an experience I will
never forget. I gained a new appreciation for
the Jewish Federation on a local and global
level, and for its crucial support of groups
like Hillel. I can honestly say my feeling of
Jewish solidarity has never been higher, and
I am so proud to be a part of this incredible
Jewish community we have all helped to
build. @
Ashley Schnaar of Bloomfield Hills is a sopho-
more at Michigan State University. She is a Ryan
Rosman (z'l) Engagement Intern for MSU Hillel.