Dedicated to the
academic and social
success of 6th-12th
grade students with
language-based
learning differences,
including autism,
anxiety disorders,
and attention
defi cits.

AIM HIGH SCHOOL

Grades
6-12

for college students by college students

Standing Together

NOW ENROLLING

MSU Jewish, Muslim students
find commonalities.

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(248) 702-6922

N OT T I N G H I L L

of W EST B LOOMFIELD

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We take a team approach to patient care,
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you or your loved one regain independence
and return to life, family and community.

Ashley Schnaar } jewish@edu writer

www.aimhighschool.com

2125290

6535 Drake Road, West Bloomfield, MI 48322
phone 248.592.2000 | www.cienafacilities.com

AMENITIES :

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2098580

A

program on Nov. 7 drew
more than 60 participants,
including students of the
Jewish and Muslim faiths, to
the Michigan State University Union to
discuss the similarities between Judaism
and Islam.
Rabbi Aaron Bergman of Adat Shalom
Synagogue in Farmington Hills and Dr.
Mohammad Khalil, director of the MSU
Muslim Studies Program, led discussions
about life-cycle events, gender roles and
sexuality in each religion.
Students were encouraged to introduce
themselves to one other, discuss what they
found interesting from the talks and share
their personal experiences.
“It was empowering and very positive
to meet Jewish students who were genu-
inely interested in Islam and what Muslim
students believe and struggle with,” said
Zunerah Syed of Sterling Heights.
“Many of our struggles were similar
and many of the differences were not
major but minor things that created a way
for those differences to actually be a com-
monality between both religions rather
than a major difference. Bridging these
gaps between two communities allows us
to form a stronger, larger interfaith com-
munity where the common goal of good-
ness and humanity will be achieved faster
and more efficiently.”
Junior Emery Weiss of West Bloomfield
said, “I thought it was inspiring to see
college students of different backgrounds
find a vast number of similarities between
their respective religions, especially during
a time where there has been divisiveness
among communities. It was very refreshing
for people to see each other without bias.”

As vice president of the Jewish Student
Union, I made it one of my goals this year
to develop a lasting relationship between
the Jewish and Muslim communities on
our campus. Our communities have more
in common than many think, and there is
so much we can learn from each other.
Looking to the future, my friends rep-
resenting the Muslim Student Association
and I are collaborating on a number of
events, including a social mixer involving
food from our cultures, and a screening
and discussion of a movie that involves
our two religions.

Reacting To Hate

I had not anticipated the timeliness of
this particular event, coming the night
before Election Day. Just a day later,
Donald Trump became our president-elect.
Regardless of political views, this outcome
impacts us on individual levels when mem-
bers of our own communities are threat-
ened by those committing hate crimes.
I spent the week after the election
doing everything in my power to protect
fellow students and Americans who are
being targeted. I joined other student
leaders to meet with the president of our
university to discuss solutions, and we
attended a peace march down Grand River
Avenue.
Sadly, following the election announce-
ment, reports of harassment and assaults
toward women wearing hijabs flooded in
from around the country and on our cam-
pus. There was also a threat made toward
the local Islamic center, the same center
that had its windows smashed following
9-11.

Strength.

As a Laker, you’re in with the smallest big university in the country.
We’re large enough to have the impact of a major university, and small
enough to respond nimbly to you. That’s the Laker Effect. And we can’t
wait for you to become part of it.

Senior Hayley Siegel and junior Oliver Soble, both
of Farmington Hills, engage in group discussion.

gvsu.edu

2074380

58 November 24 • 2016