AUGUST 29 • 2024 | 9
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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.