G
rowing up, June was
always
a
month
of
unbearable
anticipation.
As the weather got warmer
and the final days of school
dragged on, talk of summer plans
bounced around the classroom at
remarkable speed. Many would
spend the time off on family
vacations. Others would be at
home, spending time with friends
and relatives. For me, however, the
imminent arrival of summer could
only mean one thing: it was time to
go to camp.
From the ages of 7-17, I was lucky
enough to spend my summers at
Camp Ramah in Canada, a Jewish
sleepaway camp tucked away in
the Muskoka region of Ontario. My
days were spent running free with
friends, swimming in the lake and
making life-long memories. The
daily activities, however, were
only the tip of the iceberg of what
camp had to offer.
Jewish summer camps have
been around for over 100 years.
In the early 20th century, these
camps offered freedom for Jews
to
observe
Jewish
traditions
at a time when many were
facing pressure to assimilate.
Since then, Jewish camps have
multiplied across North America,
with the Foundation for Jewish
Camp (FJC) reporting over 150
different overnight camps in
their 2021 Jewish Camp Census.
These camps offer an enriching
experience for Jewish children
and young adults, immersing them
in Jewish cultural and religious
practices, while still offering
them the authentic, fun camp
experience.
Jewish camps vary widely in
religiosity, serving all different
sects of Judaism. For some, prayer
is a part of the daily schedule,
with services in the morning
and evening. Hebrew may also
be
integrated
into
campers’
daily lives, with buildings and
activities having Hebrew names,
and staff and campers conversing
in Hebrew whenever possible.
Shabbat — the Jewish day of rest
— is also a central part of Jewish
life at many camps, with normal
activities coming to a halt each
Friday as the camp gathers to
celebrate the end of the week with
songs and prayer.
For some, myself included,
camp is a glimpse of Jewish
culture they may not get to
experience otherwise. Growing up
in a household where synagogue
was a once a year event, Friday
nights were nothing out of the
ordinary, and no one spoke a word
of Hebrew, summer camp was like
superglue — binding me to a strong
Jewish identity I would carry with
me into adulthood. At camp, I was
proud to be a Jew.
LSA
sophomore
David
Lightman reflects on his camp
experience
with
a
similar
perspective. From the ages of
8-15, he attended Camp Barney-
Medintz, located in Cleveland,
Ga., and was able to gain an
incredible sense of Jewish pride
and community during his time
as a camper. “Camp made being
Jewish fun,” he said. “It made me
want to carry it with me into the
future.”
The value of the experience is
undeniable, yet the picture is far
from perfect. For many Jews —
low-income Jews in particular —
Jewish summer camp is nothing
but a pipe dream. Parents are
expected to cough up a hefty
amount for their child’s camp
tuition, far more than many are
able to afford. At a camp considered
to be on the “inexpensive” end,
a parent may be shelling out as
much as $200 a day for their child,
a number already far too high for
many working class families. This
is nothing, however, compared
to the financial demand of other
much
pricier
camps,
where
parents may find themselves
dropping as much as $2000 a week
on their child.
The rising prices are no surprise.
Sleepaway camps are no longer
just a few cabins by the lake, but
instead high-end facilities decked
out with the best, most expensive
equipment — rock climbing walls,
pools, water trampolines — all
with a hefty price tag of their
own. Not only that, but camp
professionals are paid extremely
well, with directors at non-profit
camps having an average salary of
$125,000 per year. For-profit camp
directors can make even more. The
financial burden is therefore left
on the families who elect to send
their children to these camps, but
where does this leave low-income
Jewish families?
For many — especially those
covering the cost of a Jewish
education
during
the
school
year — covering these exorbitant
costs is simply unattainable. No
amount of budgeting or saving
can make something so expensive
affordable. This leaves a large
percentage of Jewish children
unable to experience everything
Jewish camp has to offer.
Many camps are aware of the
inequity, and offer scholarships
and grants to families in need.
First-time
camper
incentive
grants are available through One
Happy Camper, a program funded
by the Jewish Foundation for
Camp, who also offer numerous
other scholarships. Wildflower for
Kids — an organization dedicated
to helping children move through
grief and loss — also uplifts
the camp experience, offering
scholarships to kids who have
lost family members. However,
these scholarships are often not
near enough. Most consist of
“discounts” off tuition that barely
make a dent in the thousands
upon thousands of dollars camp
demands.
So the question remains —
how can we make camp more
affordable? Aside from investing
in more generous scholarship
opportunities, keeping the Jewish
community informed on different
available scholarships is incredibly
important. The same way that
college scholarship programs do
outreach to inform prospective
students
of
their
scholarship
opportunities, foundations like
FJC should be reaching out in
different communities in order
to target individuals who would
benefit most greatly from their
scholarships, and who may not
even be aware of the benefits of
camp for their children.
In addition to getting the word
out,
the
scholarships
offered
should be accessible to everyone.
Many of the scholarships available
now
have
time-consuming
applications
that
often
leave
families feeling confused and
hopeless.
Simple
scholarship
applications that require only
basic
personal
and
financial
information are most effective in
matching families with the aid
they need. FJC recently launched
BunkConnect, a program that
allows families to input only a
small amount of information and
be rewarded with a number of
different Jewish camps that match
their requests. More programs like
this would lead to more families
discovering
aid
opportunities
they may not have even realized
existed.
Some would argue that Jewish
overnight camp is a luxury, and
that if you can’t afford it, there
are numerous other ways to instill
your child with a strong Jewish
identity.
T
he
search
for
a
new
University president has
come to an end. Following
the unpopular tenure of former-
President
Mark
Schlissel
and
his termination by the Board of
Regents,
students
and
faculty
alike questioned who would be
next to take the job. This summer,
after months of searching, the
University hired Dr. Santa Ono,
sitting president of University
of British Columbia (UBC) and
former president of University
of Cincinnati (UC). Ono has not
only been appointed to lead the
University of Michigan onward, but
has been chosen to revitalize and
fortify the relationship between
the University president and the
student body. With the loss of trust
that accompanied the previous
administration, the reconstruction
of this connection is essential
in order to make institutional
progress.
To know the student population,
you must interact with them. At
Ono’s previous institutions, he
found multiple ways to connect with
students and make his presence
known. Whether it be crowd-
surfing at homecoming football
games or effectively using social
media platforms, Ono has taken
initiative to meet with students
rather than forcing them to come
to
him.
This
people-oriented,
personable
presence
makes
a
difference: it allows for comfortable
connections to be made between the
president and students. We expect
Ono to uphold this commitment to
connecting with students just as
closely in his new position.
While
participating
in
the
fight songs in the Big House every
Saturday and posting the occasional
tweet does make a difference in the
public perception of the Office of
the President, structural change
cannot come without trust. In
the past, there has been a severe
lack of faith in our leadership, but
Ono can assuage this distrust by
prioritizing the needs of students
rather than those of his office.
We expect for Ono to not only
communicate with students but
more broadly to reembody the aura
of a trustworthy and thoughtful
campus administrator. Renewing
this belief in University officials
is the backbone by which change
can happen, as trust permits open
dialogues and a confidence in
the authority figures that dictate
so many important matters on
campus.
Santa
Ono’s
agreeableness
distinguishes him from our last
dormant
and
somewhat
stiff
president. A popular figure around
his
previous
campuses,
Ono
has proved that he is capable of
naturally engaging with the student
body and the University as a whole.
For instance, Ono has actively
endorsed the University’s athletic
department, and, during his time
at the UC, he got into uniform and
started practicing with the football
team. He was also spotted at several
Cincinnati games cheering for the
team.
On top of this school spirit, Ono is
a talented cellist, having studied at
the Peabody Conservatory of Music
in Maryland. At UBC, he was quite
involved in the music department,
and not just administratively. For
example, he performed at a pop-up
concert with several music students
at a train station, which was a
pleasant surprise for individuals
boarding.
Ono is a well rounded individual
to say the least, but what has he done
in regards to the pressing issues
many North American universities
face? Well, for starters, he’s an active
leader in the University Climate
Change Coalition, an organization
that’s dedicated to reducing carbon
emissions and relying more on
renewable
sources
of
energy.
Ono’s work at UBC showcases his
passion for this, having worked to
implement several decarbonization
programs, such as the Bioenergy
Research Demonstration Facility.
Additionally, since 2007, UBC
has reduced its GHG emissions by
a resounding 30%. On historically
unaddressed issues, such as mental
health, Ono has voiced his concerns
and taken important action at the
UC. Following a suicide in 2016,
Ono took immediate action by
providing all UC students with free
counseling sessions and promoting
several fundraisers, such as the 1N5
— which seeks to fight the stigma
associated with mental illness and
provide resources
for
those
in
need of therapy. In a moment of
vulnerability, he even spoke out
about his struggle with mental
health in an Enquirer interview,
stating that he personally suffered
with
depression
and
suicidal
ideation in his youth and that he
was able to get the help he needed to
move forward.
Further,
Ono
has
spoken
prolifically about his commitment
to tackle sexual assault culture at
UBC, going so far as to say that
he had “the final word in terms
of discipline in these kinds of
cases.” He even promised to bring
in and work with experts on how
to address rape culture at UBC.
Thus, considering his charisma and
professional dexterity in handling a
variety of pertinent and pervasive
issues on college campuses, it seems
that the Board of Regents was right
in unanimously approving his
appointment as the next University
president.
Unfortunately,
a
modest
probing of Ono’s resumé does
point
to
potentially
troubling
realities. During a period of his
tenure at UBC, for instance, an
ongoing investigation carried out
by the United States Department
of
Education
assessed
several
complaints
pointed
at
Ono’s
administration
in
regards
to
discriminatory
practices
that
failed to properly respond to sexual
violence incidents that it had
awareness of. He was ultimately
cleared of involvement in any
discriminatory practices in the
investigation.
This potential dismissal of sexual
violence extends past Ono’s time at
UBC. With nearly 100 reports of
sexual assault on the UC campus
in 2015, this ultimately subjected
students to a “sexually hostile
environment,” a quote taken from
a letter that the Department of
Education sent to Ono. Given the
University of Michigan’s historical
failure to cohesively address sexual
assault allegations,we are hopeful
that the new president may offer
more than just lip service when it
comes to sexual assault culture.
In essence, when it comes to
school pride and mild domestic
liberalism, Ono seems to check off
some boxes, but only if we blur over
fundamental parts of his history.
Compared to our last president, Ono
definitely seems to have more of a
face to him. However, when it comes
to sexual assault culture, students
cannot be wholly optimistic about
the appointment of Ono.
Opinion
Stanford Lipsey Student Publications Building
420 Maynard St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
tothedaily@michigandaily.com
Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890.
PAIGE HODDER
Editor in Chief
JULIAN BARNARD AND
SHUBHUM GIROTI
Editorial Page Editors
Unsigned editorials reflect the official position of The Daily’s Editorial Board.
All other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views of their authors.
EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS
Julian Barnard
Brandon Cowit
Jess D’Agostino
Ben Davis
Shubhum Giroti
Devon Hesano
Sophia Lehrbaum
Olivia Mouradian
Siddharth Parmar
Rushabh Shah
Nikhil Sharma
Lindsey Spencer
Evan Stern
Anna Trupiano
Jack Tumpowsky
Alex Yee
Quin Zapoli
From The Daily: President Ono’s
appointment is an opportunity for
positive change
Wednesday, September 14, 2022 — 9
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Solving the rising cost of Jewish camp
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
EDITORIAL BOARD
A
s someone who teaches
classes
for
incoming
students, the fall is an
exciting time. I get to watch all
these beautiful humans explode
into new things. There’s so much
potential. As a first-generation
student myself, I often find myself
having conversations with other
first-generation college students.
Sometimes these are amazing, as I
get to watch new students gape at
all the possibilities in front of them.
But often there is a hefty batch of
nervousness, particularly around
the amount of debt required to
come to the University of Michigan.
These students can expect to finish
undergrad with tens of thousands
of dollars in debt with sometimes
quickly-compounding interest on
top of that. Nationally, the burden
of student debt is worse for first-
generation students or those from
lower/working-class
or
racially
minoritized families.
So, I’m always worried about
my students. But this year has been
especially troubling for me, largely
due to something we’re not hearing
enough about: the relationship
between measures used to target
inflation and increasing student
debt.
There’s no reason to go very
deep into rampant inflation and
the Federal Reserve’s interest rate
hikes in response. That discussion is
happening literally everywhere else.
What we do need to talk more
about is the fact that these solutions
have saddled college students with a
disproportionate share of the harm
caused by inflation. That’s because,
when the Fed raises interest rates to
slow inflation, the yield on 10-year
Treasury bonds goes up. Basically,
these rates are what the government
pays out to people who invest in it —
the returns on American debt. For
college students, this is important
because, since 2013, student loan
rates have been tied to treasury
bond rates. The cost of student loans
is linked to the cost of federal debt.
But there’s one important thing to
notice: student loans tack on another
2.05% on top of the treasury bond
rate. That’s right. Here in America,
we charge our kids more to borrow
money for schools than the lender
pays out when it borrows money. We
expect to make some side cash from
students going to school.
This disgusting price gouging is
another example of the ways current
financial policies push off the cost of
unsustainable capitalist growth on
future generations. Young people
did not cause the current rates of
inflation, but they will be harder
hit in the short term by a recession
in response to interest hikes. In the
long run, they will also be worse off
if they have to take on costlier loans
on their own futures to stabilize the
economy. Perhaps the most obscene
thing is, when inflation eventually
does go down, rates on treasury
bonds will too. But student rates
are locked in. Today’s students will
pay high rates on the loans they
take out this year, no matter what
the economy looks like when they
graduate. Something has to be done.
Of course, there are a lot of
ways we could do better by college
students.
Eliminating
student
debt altogether while also moving
forward to include college in our
national promise of free universal
public education would make the
most sense.
Inflation and student loan rates are
creating unsustainable debt
RYAN MCCARTY
Opinion Contributor
Read more at MichiganDaily.com
REBECCA SMITH
Opinion Columnist
VANESSA KIEFER
AND KATE WEILAND
Managing Editors
Read more at MichiganDaily.com
Design by Abby Schreck
Read more at MichiganDaily.com