AUGUST 29 • 2024 | 9
J
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on around the country, it’s just a
matter of finding what works.”
Tessa Hewitson, a rising junior
from White Lake who
attends University of
Michigan-Dearborn,
was asked by her Hillel
director to speak on the
panel. She says as one of
the estimated 50 Jewish
students on her campus,
it was important to her to participate.
“What my Jewish impact looks like
on campus is different from those
where they can have power in num-
bers,” says Hewitson, who stressed
being impactful in a way that feels
safe and meaningful to the individ-
ual. “I don’t engage on a one-on-one
basis, on a me-versus-many basis. I
instead look outward to the positive
Jewish spaces I have the privilege to
be a part of.”
Hewitson is involved with The J,
and the inclusion program at its day
camps, as well as with Hillel of Metro
Detroit, which serves a number of
area campuses, including her school.
She talked about some of the chal-
lenges she’s faced and also the impor-
tance of having Jewish spaces in
which to both make an impact and
find refuge. “The only thing you can
expect is that you don’t know what’s
going to happen, but there are so
many avenues of people there to sup-
port you,” she says. “We wanted to
show that the reality is not great right
now, but we’re all fine, and that even
the people in that room were there to
support anyone who wanted it.”
While the college conversation has
always been a priority for Rabbi Mike
Moskowitz and other area clergy, the
recent event, which has been in the
works since spring, brought it to a
much larger scale, says
Moskowitz. Originally
planned for Feber’s
home, it was moved to
Shir Shalom for more
space. “Hearing from
upperclassmen about
their experiences, good
and difficult and real, was important
for the younger kids,” he says.
He adds he hopes the message
reaches beyond the room to more
Jewish college students.
“The reality is that you have
resources, you have community, and
you’re not alone in this, so don’t shy
away, don’t hide if you experience
challenges,” he says. “If you experi-
ence challenges, anti-Zionist, antise-
mitic activities going on, come to the
people who are there to help, you
don’t have to go at that alone.”
JEWISH COLLEGE STUDENTS
SHARE PERSPECTIVE
Skylar Elbinger, a rising Michigan
State junior from Bloomfield Hills,
says she went to campus knowing she
was leaving the “Jewish bubble” she’d
grown up in, from her early days at
Temple Israel to Hillel Day School to
Frankel Jewish Academy and BBYO.
Involved with Hillel on
campus and in a Jewish
sorority, she says she
didn’t experience hatred
on a more personal
level until after Oct.
7. Even still, she says
she’s found her place on
campus.
“It’s been such a welcoming envi-
ronment, and I’ve been able to find
friends and commonalities with
people — we all love being Jewish,
we care about our Judaism and
about making campus a safer place,”
she explains.
Active in Greek life, she says she
was glad to be able to add her per-
spective on the panel. “[As Jews]
we’re always taught to be a little bit
more aware of our surroundings,
to be a little bit more self-aware,
and then Oct. 7 hit, and now it’s 20
times more than it was before,” she
says.
“One thing I’ve learned is
nobody’s going to advocate for you;
nobody’s going to do it for you; you
have to do it for yourself,” she says.
To her, that means speaking up at
student government meetings, stay-
ing proud in the face of protests and
the discomfort of anti-Israel stickers
around campus and finding reliable
sources of information. “You have to
find reliable sources and advocate for
Israel for your Jewish self,” she says.
“You’ve got to find people who
make you feel comfortable; there are
people who aren’t Jewish who are
there to support you — my sorority
isn’t all Jewish, and everybody is
so supportive,” she adds. “You have
to find your people and that’s what
shapes your college experience. You
find those people and you have a
strong support system.”
Sarah Bershad Sherman, mom to
Nate as well as a rising sophomore
and a fifth grader, says at a time
when sending a kid to college can
feel a little scary and parents can feel
helpless, the event was reassuring.
Sherman, who works for the
J’s JFamily, helped think through
what kinds of questions parents
might have, and also saw the event
announcement as part of Shir
Shalom communications. She says
she was impressed by how everyone
came together in a short time to
make the event happen, and its valu-
able takeaways.
“I think it’s a very important
resource for parents,” she says. “I was
impressed by all the kids, the speak-
ers — they were such shining exam-
ples of Jewish youth.”
She adds that she was glad her son
had a chance to introduce himself to
Michigan’s Hillel.
“I feel like it’s the first step in mak-
ing a relationship and having a point
of contact at Michigan,” she says.
“It’s just really important to have
a Jewish community because when
we need each other, everyone steps
up.”
Rabbi Mike
Moskowitz
Skylar
Elbinger
Tessa
Hewitson
Robyn Hughey
of MSU
Hillel talks to
students.
Rabbi Mike
Moskowitz
talks with
the crowd.