SEPTEMBER 30 • 2021 | 23

is hosted by the institute 
in partnership with the 
Lester and Jewell Morris 
Hillel Jewish Student Center 
and other MSU academic 
departments. It will feature 
insights from leading experts 
from around the country as 
well as a recorded message 
from MSU President 
Samuel Stanley. For more 
information and to register, 
go to jsp.msu.edu. 
“I think the symposium is 
going to be a great service 
to the university in terms of 
awareness and education,” 
Aronoff said. “But we know 
most students and faculty 
and staff will not attend. 
The next step for us is to 
try to get the university 
to include education 
about antisemitism in its 
orientations and workshops 
so all students coming to 

MSU can get some exposure 
to the issue.” 
Hillel Executive Director 
Cindy Hughey 
said despite what 
happened, the 
incidents were 
limited in scope 
and said she was 
encouraged that 
non-Jews acted 
against the hate. 
“It was non-Jewish 
students who reported these 
incidents and who repainted 
the rock, and to me that is 
amazing,” Hughey said. “It 
was really great to see that 
we have support of non-
Jewish students on campus, 
and it is part of Hillel’s 
mission to keep building 
these partnerships and 
alliances. 
“Hillel has also been 
working with administrators 

in two newly created 
positions over the summer 
[concerning diversity 
and inclusion], and we 
are hoping we are going 
to expand antisemitism 
awareness into diversity 
training on campus.” 
The 3,000 Jewish MSU 
students in recent years have 
experienced several cases of 
antisemitism. In April 2021, 
Jewish student leaders were 
harassed and intimidated as 
they attempted to pass a bill 
to define antisemitism in 
MSU’s student government.
There have been 
threatening phone messages, 
a defaced mezuzah and a 
swastika painted in front of 
a fraternity house. In 2019, 
Hillel’s sukkah was destroyed 
by drunken vandals.
“With recent incidents 
here on campus, many 

Jewish students have been 
frightened and feel as if 
they have to hide their 
Judaism,” said Ethan Price, 
MSU sophomore and 
StandWithUs Emerson 
Fellow. The latest incidents 
may be disturbing, but Price 
added there is excellent 
support for Jewish students 
among their peers and at 
places like Hillel. 
As an Emerson Fellow, he 
participates in educational 
and leadership training 
seminars with the pro-Israel 
group to help offset anti-
Israel bias on campus.
“We hope to combat this 
antisemitism by getting the 
university involved and by 
educating as many students 
as we can about what 
antisemitism looks like and 
how we can all work to stop 
it in its tracks.” 

Cindy 
Hughey