50 | FEBRUARY 15 • 2024 J
N

I

n the wake of the 
rising antisemitism 
being experienced 
across the country, some 
college campuses are 
doing more than others to 
educate students and the 
community at large. Oakland 
University’s president Dr. 
Ora Pescovitz was engaged 
in a discussion last April to 
address the roots of some 
of these issues and what she 
is doing about them, which 
hit close to home for the 

proudly Jewish leader. 
Notice, this conversation 
took place half a year before 
the most recent war broke 
out in Israel. Along with 
the president, many other 
people who are involved 
with Oakland University, 
Jewish and not, recognize 
the importance of continued 
education and awareness 
about this topic. 
Thanks to a generous 
donation from Cis Maisel, 
who founded the Cis Maisel 

Center for Judaic Studies at 
Oakland University, as well 
as help from the center’s 
director Dr. Michael Pytlik, 
OU was able to host Ruth 
Bergman on Jan. 10. She 
is director of education at 
The Zekelman Holocaust 
Center in Farmington Hills. 
This discussion, titled 
“Antisemitism and What We 
Can Do About It,” was free 
and open to the public. It 
was held at an urgent time. 
Israel has been at war since 

Oct. 7, which has led to a 
spike in antisemitic acts 
worldwide.
Unlike the antisemitism 
discussion held at Oakland 
University less than one year 
ago, this time there was a 
police presence. This gave 
me, an OU student, both a 
sense of security and a sense 
of fear. I’m glad they were 
there, but that means there 
was a chance we might need 
them. It is the sad reality 
of today, but Ruth did not 

The HC’s Ruth Bergman tells OU students 
ways to combat antisemitism.
Educate Yourself!

Amy Goldberg } Special to the Jewish News 

for college students by college students
Feb. 15, 2024/ 6 Adar 1 5784

Oakland University student 
Amy Goldberg; Ruth Bergman, 
director of The Zekelman 
Holocaust Center; Cis Maisel, 
sponsor and founder of the Cis 
Maisel Center for Judaic Studies 
and Community Engagement 
at OU; and Dr. Michael Pytlik, 
director of the Center and 
adjunct assistant professor. 

