Coulter, a conservative social and political commentator, will visit SU on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. She will give a talk in Gifford Auditorium titled, “How the Liberal Mob is Endangering America.” The event is sponsored by the SU College Republicans.

Coulter has come to SU twice before. In 2003, she came to campus to give a lecture called “Liberalism and Terrorism: Different Stages of the Same Disease.” She also came to SU in 2006.

“She’s a well-known conservative voice in the movement,” said James Ward, president of College Republicans. “It seemed pretty logical for us to bring her here.”

Bringing Coulter to campus is a part of the College Republicans’ push for more diverse conservative voices on campus, said Ward, a junior environmental engineering major.

This academic year, the group has brought former Republican presidential candidates Steve Forbes and Mike Huckabee to campus, Ward said. They also brought conservative commentator Michelle Malkin to SU in March 2011, he added.

“It’s important to understand our convictions and question them,” Ward said. “Have an open mind is what I say for people to have when they come to our lectures.”

Coulter is a nationally syndicated columnist and New York Times best-selling author. She graduated from Cornell University and went to law school.

In a statement, Chris Leist, president of the SU College Democrats, said the group strongly disagrees with Coulter’s views on many issues.

“College Republicans can bring whoever they want to campus, but bringing someone with such extreme and insensitive views is unproductive for our community,” Leist said in the statement. “Her rhetoric is often offensive and conflicts with the safe, tolerant community we strive for here at SU.”

But Ward said that part of a liberal arts education is being well rounded and interacting with people from different backgrounds and with different beliefs. While Coulter is demonized in the media, her statements are often satirical, he added.

Kaycie Miltenberger, acting president of the College Democrats, said she was surprised the College Republicans would invite such a controversial figure to campus.

“I’m kind of in disbelief,” said Miltenberger, a senior political science and public relations major. “I think even among some Republicans, she’s not well respected.”

The College Democrats do not currently have any plans to protest Coulter’s visit. With the semester winding down, it is difficult to gather enough people for a protest, Miltenberger said. But she added that she wouldn’t be surprised if people protested the visit.

Miltenberger doesn’t plan on attending Coulter’s talk, but said she has attended College Republicans events in the past to learn more about various viewpoints.

There have been protesters at College Republicans events in the past, Ward said, including the Malkin event and when former President George W. Bush adviser Karl Rove came to SU in February 2012. If there are protesters, Ward said the College Republicans are fully prepared and have the necessary security in place.

“Whether you agree with her or not, it’s important to attend to understand your stance on the issues being discussed,” Ward said. “It’s the least you can do.”

The meeting will take place Sunday at 2 p.m. in room 304ABC of the Schine Student Center to resolve the final set of disciplinary matters for cabinet officials under investigation for their role in allowing an individual not enrolled in classes to serve as the organization’s public relations co-chair. Cabinet members voted for the meeting on Thursday, according to a press release issued Friday.

Censures will likely be imposed, though Board of Elections and Membership Chair Emily Ballard said a general assembly member must first motion for the censure. SA cabinet members could not confirm if the meeting will take place in a closed-door executive session. A censure is a formal statement expressing disapproval.

The conduct of three cabinet members will be discussed.

• President Allie Curtis, who avoided impeachment following a six-hour assembly meeting Monday, has been under investigation for allowing Colin Crowley to serve as the co-chair of the public relations committee without being enrolled in classes. Crowley resigned from the organization March 24.
• Public relations chair Cara Johnson has been under investigation for having knowledge of Crowley’s status as a non-matriculated student.
• Chair of the Student Life Committee Ivan Robles-Rosales has been under investigation after admitting he sent an anonymous email in the form of a riddle to a Daily Orange editor and Curtis regarding Crowley’s academic status.

PJ Alampi, who resigned as Chief of Staff on Tuesday, was also under investigation for having knowledge of Crowley’s academic situation and withholding that information from other cabinet members.

Four false ballots were cast during Monday night’s closed-door impeachment vote against Student Association President Allie Curtis.

During Monday night’s vote, 29 general assembly members voted against continuing the impeachment process and 18 voted in favor. The vote was originally recorded as 31 for not continuing with the impeachment process and 20 in favor.

The four false ballots did not swing the result of the vote one way or another.

The Student Association issued a press release Wednesday afternoon stating it will look into the matter fully. Board of Elections and Membership Chair Emily Ballard referenced the attendance records with the ballots and discovered inconsistencies, according to the release. All of Monday’s ballots were signed by those in attendance, and collected and counted by the Office of Student Activities Advisors, according to the release.

The Daily Orange obtained a copy of an email Ballard sent to assembly members, informing them of the inconsistencies. The general assembly can either accept the vote with the false ballots thrown out or motion for a revote, Ballard said.

Information regarding what the assembly will choose to do has not yet been released.

“The action of submitting fraudulent votes was wrong and deceiving to the entire Student Association and the student body in a time that was crucial for us to conduct business and make decisions properly,” Ballard told the assembly in the email.

UU’s survey for Juice Jam 2013 will be sent through the Office of Institutional Research and Assessment this summer to comply with SA’s legislation. The organization’s previous surveys were sent through Survey Monkey, a system SA Comptroller Stephen DeSalvo said got “a lot of complaints.”

OIRA is the office that provides research services and collects data for Syracuse University.

The SA Disbursement of Surplus Funds bill, approved in October 2011, granted UU an immediate sum of $1,005,172 from surplus money in that year’s budget. The legislation also granted a later sum of $505,172 if UU complied with the bill. DeSalvo, who was a member of SA’s general assembly when the bill passed, said the bill was intended to improve performer options.

UU hasn’t worked with OIRA for past surveys, but is making the transition to meet the seed funding stipulations.

“It’s just a matter of using updated surveys to align with the seed funding bill,” said UU President Lindsey Colegrove in an email.

The legislation states that assistance from OIRA in UU’s surveying process will ensure “that a broader base and more representative sample of the student body is surveyed.”

“The discussion was about receiving the best input from students for who they want to see,” DeSalvo said.

DeSalvo said one problem that came up when considering working with OIRA to conduct surveys to gauge interest in potential performers was managing the time constraints that come with the surveys.

During these discussions, he said, an issue regarding the “time scale” of an OIRA survey was brought up because it can take OIRA six months to a year to collect data. Because of this, some students who participate in the survey may no longer attend SU by the time data is collected, or that the artists will no longer be popular.

DeSalvo also said that when the bill was passed, UU knew it would have to switch from using Survey Monkey to working with OIRA.

“SA is aware that this year’s survey was sent through Survey Monkey,” Colegrove said. “I have also spoken to them about the transition into using OIRA, which could mean a tradeoff between surveying the entire student body to only a representative sample.”

Colegrove said the bill was passed to push UU to “constantly strive to improve our survey process” and not because of issues with past surveys.

“This is something we are always trying to do,” she said.

The organization uses student surveys as the main focus when selecting artists to bring to campus. Colegrove said UU puts realistic artist names on the survey so the organization can reach out to their agents about availability.

“Sometimes everything works out perfectly and we are able to bring the top choice, such as Ke$ha for this year’s Block Party,” she said.

Colegrove said UU’s annual Juice Jam artist survey, coming out this summer, will be sent through OIRA.

Student Association cabinet members plan to begin impeachment proceedings against President Allie Curtis, claiming she misled cabinet members and provided a way for an individual to bypass university regulations.

In a resolution that passed late Thursday, seven cabinet members voted in favor of asking Curtis to step down. The resolution states Curtis knowingly allowed an individual who is not enrolled in classes at SU to serve in the organization.

“President Curtis’ dishonest, irresponsible, and unethical actions have maligned this Cabinet and tarnished the standing capacity of the Student Association as a whole,” the resolution stated.

The motion to accept the resolution was made by parliamentarian Ben Jones and seconded by Board of Elections and Membership Chair Emily Ballard.

The resolution stems from the charge that Curtis violated university regulations by knowingly permitting Colin Crowley, former director of public relations, to serve on the cabinet during a leave of absence. Curtis hid the decision from cabinet members and proposed a new office “for the purpose of providing that officer a potential way to skirt university regulations, while telling this Cabinet it was for other purposes,” according to the resolution.

Curtis had multiple opportunities to notify cabinet members of the change in Crowley’s academic status but didn’t, according to the resolution. This rendered the cabinet unable to lead the university community, the resolution stated.

“Despite having had several opportunities to come forward with the truth and attempt to include this Cabinet in the decision-making process regarding the matter, she neither did so nor attempted to do so.”

At the time the resolution passed, Curtis said she has no intentions of stepping down, Jones said in an email. Cabinet members who voted in favor of the resolution have pledged to begin impeachment proceedings if Curtis does not resign.

Cabinet members who voted in favor of the resolution were: Jones; Ballard; Ivan Rosales-Robles, chair of the Student Life Committee; Comptroller Stephen DeSalvo; Jenny Choi, chair of the Academic Affairs Committee; Janine Savage, chair of Student Engagement; and recorder Belen Crisp.

Public Relations Chair Cara Johnson and Vice President Duane Ford voted against the resolution. Curtis did not have a vote.

When reached for comment early Friday morning, Curtis called the resolution’s language harsh and said she stands by her decision to allow Crowley to continue as public relations chairman.

“I certainly hope that students and the assembly will see the good intentions that were behind this,” she said.

Chief of Staff PJ Alampi and Johnson were also aware of Crowley’s academic status, which both Alampi and Johnson confirmed.

Curtis said she has faced opposition from within her own cabinet since she was elected into office, a result of choosing qualified members for the positions and not those with whom she gets along.

Curtis said she has no intention of resigning as president and is working with the Office of Student Activities to review whether the passage of the resolution followed procedure. She reiterated that she never intended to harm SA.

“I never wanted this to affect the way we operate and bring down our cabinet and this organization,” Curtis said. “Never would I have imagined in a million years that this would be the way things would go for me.”

The Beta Alpha Psi Tax Assistance group will provide free income tax assistance to all SU students, faculty and staff, according to a March 20 news release from the Martin J. Whitman School of Management.

Two sessions were held in Flaum Grand Hall on March 1 and March 22. The last opportunity for assistance is April 5 at the Southside Innovation Center (SSIC).  At this session, assistance will be offered by appointment only, according to the release.

Beta Alpha Psi is an honorary organization for financial information that seeks to encourage and give recognition to educational and professional excellence in the business information field, according to its website.

The Beta Alpha Psi Tax Assistance group’s goal is to educate others about the process of filing a basic tax return, said Mitch Franklin, assistant professor of accounting practice at SU, in an email. The students do not prepare and file the returns.  Instead, they offer guidance, such as whether students should claim themselves as a dependent, which Franklin said is the most common mistake he sees.

This tax season will be the first time many SU students file their taxes independently. The complicated and numerous forms can make filing a tax return a difficult task, especially for the first time.

Many students simply don’t know where to start, Franklin said.

“We look to get the taxpayer started so that they know what forms they need and even direction of where they can go to file their return electronically, as there are many resources out there,” Franklin said.

These resources include the numerous tax-filing software programs such as TurboTax, TaxACT and H&R Block At Home.

Using a program like TurboTax made filing a tax return easier to understand, said Lorenzo Marquez, a sophomore economics major.  Marquez filed his taxes independently for the first time this year.

“It’s a very easy process, so I really see myself using that sort of software in the future,” Marquez said.

Doing one’s own taxes represents a transition from being a child to an adult. Financial literacy is an issue on which all college students should receive an education, Franklin said.

“Students are here to be adults, and as an adult, they need to take responsibility, and this includes one’s own finances. As college is the time to learn to be an adult, it is time to learn how the tax laws will apply to your professional life,” Franklin said.

Most importantly, Franklin said, the sessions held by Beta Alpha Psi are a learning experience not only for those seeking help, but also for the members. Students in the tax assistance group can apply what they learn in class to the real world while helping people in need, Franklin said.

“It is a positive experience for all,” he said.

Marquez, who was not aware of these sessions, said he feels it’s a good idea.

Said Marquez: “As young people, people have their first jobs and they don’t necessarily know how to fill out their taxes, and I think it’s great that their peers are able to provide knowledge.”

Following a heated argument that raised issues of transparency, the Student Association approved a point system that will allow organizations to increase the amount of funding they can request for an event.

“This is really important. It’s monumental,” said SA Comptroller Stephen DeSalvo before introducing the system to the general assembly at Monday’s SA meeting in Maxwell Auditorium.

The newly approved point system, which was drafted by Assistant Comptroller Patrick Douglas, provides a checklist of items that student organizations must have for the Finance Board to approve the organization’s application to move into another funding tier. DeSalvo said the system provides a fair way to judge whether an organization should move into a higher tier, thereby allowing it to request more event funding, but some assembly members argued the system concentrates too much power in the comptroller’s hands.

Registered student organizations are grouped into four tiers based on the size and success of the events the organization has hosted. The amount of funding a student organization can request for an event is capped according to which tier the organization belongs, with tier four — the largest organizations — exempt from a cap.

Required items on the checklist include box office reports from at least five events funded by SA, recommendation letters from the organization’s adviser and a list of marketing strategies.

Criteria considered more heavily when evaluating applications include the success of previous events, as gauged by the event’s expected attendance versus its actual attendance, DeSalvo said. The general assembly was not told how many possible points can be awarded for each item on the checklist, an issue that concerned some representatives.

“I have a serious problem passing something without the numbers in front of us,” said Colin Crowley, chair of the public relations committee.

But DeSalvo said withholding the numbers was done to ensure student organizations don’t gear applications to generate more points from criteria that’s weighted more. A conflict could arise if a general assembly or Finance Board member discloses to a student organization how many points each item is worth, DeSalvo said.

When approving an organization’s application, the comptroller will have a list detailing how many points are available for each item. Then, based on application materials supplied by the student organization, the Finance Board will assign the percentage of points it believes the organization deserves. If a student organization meets the minimum number of required points, its application to move into the next tier will be approved.

Representative Dan Hernandez said the process concentrates too much power with the comptroller. DeSalvo eventually agreed to supply the Office of Student Affairs director with a document detailing how many points will be designated for each item.

Most assembly representatives rallied around DeSalvo and passed the point system around 10:15 p.m., concluding a packed meeting that included a one-and-a-half-hour student forum about the chancellor search.

Said DeSalvo after the meeting: “I want to be as transparent as possible, but I don’t think it should be at the expense of putting the student fee at risk when it isn’t necessary.”

Additional business discussed:

• The revamped Undergraduates for Better Education has published a survey aimed at gauging student’s concerns. The organization aims to bridge the divide between faculty and students.
• The Student Engagement Committee has set up a comment box in the Schine Student Center for student feedback.
• President Allie Curtis will be meeting with the Board of Trustees in Washington, D.C., in about three weeks.

[photos]

In addition to religious terms, though, there is another set of terminology – secular terminology, such as atheism and agnosticism – that some feel warrant more discussion.

“Atheism is not a belief system. It’s a word we have to describe a lack of belief,” said Jeremiah Thompson, a member of the Secular Student Alliance and professional writing instructor at Syracuse University.

The emphasis on discussion is found across the board with secularists, as well as an emphasis on normalizing the notion of secularism.

While some secularists believe atheism gets a bad rap because of the stigma that goes along with it, many atheists and agnostics ensure they live their lives just as everyone else. They can still live a moral life without the existence of God in their lives.

“We live like everyone else,” said Matthew Davis, an officer in the SSA and a doctoral candidate in electrical engineering. “There’s nothing exotic to atheism.”

Students at SU who are either atheist, agnostic or secular can find a place to discuss and enjoy others’ company in the SU chapter of the SSA.

While the club isn’t as active as it has been in past semesters, the discussion continues on the group’s Facebook page.

The goal of the group is to provide a place for students to voice questions about terminology and the lack of belief, or just a safe space to make jokes and share stories and ideas.

Many students, such as Justin Trimm, feel the SSA is a welcoming and positive environment, even just as a place to say whatever is on their minds.

“It can be a community for those who are non-believers and agnostics,” said Trimm, a senior writing and rhetorical studies major. “Believers can also come and discuss, too.”

This open attitude is an important element to the SSA, as each person has had their own experiences defining who they are. Some students were brought up in religious households, while others never had religion play a large role in their lives in the first place.

Many students involved in the SSA feel they’ve always been atheist, but didn’t know about the terminology until much later in life.

Students in the group have different influences for their ideologies. Some look to science or scientists like Richard Dawkins for answers. Some cite rationalism as an influence. Others enjoy authors like Christopher Hitchens. Others still, like Trimm, refer to atheistic comedians.

“My main influence has been comedians. I grew up watching a lot of George Carlin, Bill Hicks, Tim Minchin,” Trimm said. “I would watch it and I remember thinking, ‘Yeah, I get that. I agree with the points they’re making in a hilarious way.’”

Hendricks Chapel has included the SSA in discussions and events in the past, such as the “Breaking Bread with the Secular Student Alliance” event in the fall of 2011.

The event came after an incident that included vandalism of the SSA’s chalk advertisements on the Quad.

“The Syracuse’s SSA has faced some discrimination in the past, including some hate-filled vandalism of SSA adverts that occurred just last year,” said Alex Weiss, a 2012 alumnus, in an email. “We chalked the quad one day to advertise one of our upcoming meetings. We came back the next day to find someone had chalked over the adverts with messages like ‘bullsh*t,’ ‘stupid,’ ‘idiots.’ Charming stuff.”

The vandalism inspired action on both students’ and Hendricks’ part to include more dialogue about secularism.

Since then, people have become more aware of the SSA’s existence and working to make that awareness positive.

“SSA’s representation on campus as an accepted alternative to religious groups appears to be growing. Hendricks Chapel has been doing a good job of reaching out and including SSA members in round table discussions,” Weiss said.

To many atheists and agnostics, their personal lack of faith is an individual preference, with each person using their own way to describe himself or herself.

“Secular members of society come from all walks of life. And almost everyone uses a different personal identifier,” Weiss said.

There is a range of secular belief and non-belief. Some people don’t like to use labels, while others feel the terminology helps them understand where they are when it comes to their secularism.

While some people identify themselves as atheist, others call themselves agnostic, secular humanist or, in Amanda Lashua’s case, apatheist.

“I’m an apatheist, which means I subscribe to apatheism, which means I just don’t care,” said Lashua, a doctoral candidate in chemistry and member of the SSA. “It’s irrelevant to my life.”

Just as there are varying degrees of secular terms, there is also a variety of ways atheists and agnostics view religion. Some feel that organized religion is not a good thing, while others don’t care or think it has a positive existence.

A common belief in the group, though, is that the SSA’s voices need to be heard by both non-believers and believers alike.

An open dialogue between those who live a secular lifestyle and those who live a religious lifestyle is needed for a sense of equality to be established, said Ben Jones, a junior political science major and member of the SSA.

Said Jones: “One thing, more than anything else, is that atheism needs to be at the table. We need to coexist.”

[photos]

Steinwert’s mother worked on weekends, so her grandmother would come over and watch old movies with her.

When they watched “Frankenstein,” they’d root for him.

“See how Frankenstein is misunderstood?” her grandmother said. “See how Frankenstein is really a good soul, but people have not gotten to know Frankenstein?”

Steinwert learned from her grandmother what it means to cheer for the underdogs. She said good people in the world look out for those left behind and “bring them into the circle.”

Today, Steinwert is the dean of Hendricks Chapel at Syracuse University. The chapel has always worked to facilitate diversity among students on campus. It’s a place of worship for any religious group, and a general gathering place for students to discuss spiritual, social, cultural or any other topics as they discover their personal identities.

Steinwert said Hendricks is a place for people to come when they need someone to talk to about what they believe in, and to discuss shared values for a common purpose.

She has brought this philosophy to continue the chapel’s tradition of bringing SU students of different or no religious faiths together in one place, and overcoming their differences in belief.

“Students can go to classes and learn about who they are as a professional,” Steinwert said. “But who they are as a person? That’s what we do at Hendricks Chapel.”

Hendricks also hosts the Interfaith Alliance, a group that holds discussions for students to discuss their faiths and organize events to promote interfaith discussion. The organization has slowly moved away from the administration, becoming a registered student organization this semester.

Leah Nussbaum, a sophomore policy studies and selected studies in education major, is co-president of the Interfaith Alliance. She said she agreed the group shares Hendricks’ overall goal of finding common values between people of different faiths.

“Just the building of Hendricks Chapel being there for all different traditions is really important,” Nussbaum said. “Having that common space is definitely aligned with our mission.”

In recent years, Hendricks has also been able to build a similar relationship with the campus’ secular community.

Lynde Folsom, a junior neuroscience and philosophy major and president of the Secular Student Alliance, said this relationship began in the fall of 2011. SSA chalked the Quad to spread awareness about its organization, but overnight, anonymous students wrote insults on top of them.

Folsom immediately spoke to Steinwert, and said it was nice to see the dean equally outraged. SSA then began working with Hendricks to ensure a similar incident didn’t happen again, which created a richer relationship with the campus atheist community.

“Something as simple as being vandalized opened up a venue for conversation,” Folsom said. “It opened up a space for dialogue that seems like it could’ve destroyed a relationship.”

That same semester, Hendricks hosted the event “Breaking Bread with the SSA,” where students of all or no faiths gathered for dinner, and shared their personal stories of faith and what it means to them. Folsom said she hopes to continue this for coming fall semesters.

“Our relationship can only be strengthened,” she said.

Hendricks is also where the Chaplains’ Council gathers, which consists of each chaplain of every major religious group on campus. They meet roughly every month to help the student body in times of crisis, and to plan diverse, interfaith events that appeal to multiple student groups on campus.

Brian Small, the acting Jewish chaplain at SU and interim executive director of the Hillel Jewish Student Union, said he looks forward to these meetings. He said he feels chaplains are able to work with each other instead of against each other, add value to each other and have opened his eyes to new faiths and traditions.

“Hendricks Chapel used to be the place where everybody went for services,” Small said. “It’s so much more than that because the students want it to be more than that. The administration wants it to be more than that.”

The Rev. Linus DeSantis, SU’s Roman Catholic chaplain, said he agrees and feels Steinwert has done a good job since she became dean after Thomas Wolfe left the position in June 2008.

DeSantis mentioned how Steinwert, in the monthly chaplain meetings, has brought in someone to present a new idea or program to raise awareness. They’ve focused on people of faith and no faith, and DeSantis believes it shows Steinwert’s ability to listen to people.

“We respect each other, we recognize the diversity of each other and we support each other,” DeSantis said. “The bottom line is, we are responding to our community.”

Moving forward, Small said he feels that while Hendricks has successfully brought different values together, there are still many obstacles.

Specifically, Small said the chaplains’ programs must stay in touch with current issues to keep engaging students. While he feels this won’t be easy, he has confidence in Hendricks, as it is uniquely positioned to work more closely with students than at other campuses.

“All the chaplains can’t rest on their laurels,” Small said. “They have to keep looking for pressing issues, pushing points and boundaries if they want to be successful.”

With so many doors around the building, Hendricks may seem confusing and difficult to enter at first. But Steinwert said religion is also confusing — and so is life.

She believes Hendricks is, and will continue to be, a place for students to look for answers about their faith, passion and goals in life.

Said Steinwert: “I would hope that students open those doors, maybe open a door that they haven’t gone through yet, and explore.”

[photos]

Ten years to the day of his grandfather’s passing, it was Goldberg who led the Passover seder, his first at Syracuse University’s Winnick Hillel Center for Jewish Life.

“That was really a very meaningful experience for me. It was a very big deal,” Goldberg said. “That was a real connection I was able to make.”

Goldberg, a sophomore economics and policy studies major, is the president of the student board at Hillel. Hillel organizations are places to practice Judaism, catering primarily to reform and conservative members.

The Hillel building, located on Walnut Place, is not a temple. While an auditorium is dedicated to religious services, it serves more as a community center. A weight room, pool table in the lobby, spacious dining room and fully kosher kitchen are available to members.

The SU neighborhood is also home to the Chabad House, led by Rabbi Rapoport. The two organizations offer different types of services to Jewish students looking to practice their faiths away from home.

But Goldberg felt he identified with Hillel most. His parents had a Hillel organization when they were in college, and passed down this desire to their son.

It is the place on campus he identifies with most.

“I’m in a fraternity, but this is still where I come,” Goldberg said. “And that’s what draws a lot of students here — it feels like home.”

Goldberg pointed out that one aspect of Hillel students identify with most is the way the services are run. Many students who join Hillel went to Jewish summer camps, and the types of services felt very familiar to them, Goldberg said.

Every religious service at Hillel is entirely student-run.

Brian Small, the acting Jewish chaplain at SU and interim executive director of Hillel, finds the use of student-led services extremely significant.

“We find that it gives the students a sense of ownership,” Small said. “This is their community and they should be able to take care of their community any way that they can.”

Small is not a rabbi. Hillel does not have a rabbi as a regular member of their staff.

For Small, his involvement came as a result of his own time spent at SU. He graduated in 2002 and began working at Hillel as a program director in 2007.

“I got involved to create the Hillel program I’d always wanted as a student as an undergraduate,” Small said.

When Small was an undergraduate, Hillel was run through Hendricks Chapel. The population of Jewish students was still high, Small said, but the amount of active participants was much smaller.

Attendance has grown since Small’s tenure as an undergraduate. According to Marisa Bunis, vice president of communications on the student board at Hillel, the freshman orientation this past year held the highest attendance to date for Hillel.

For Bunis, much of the appeal of Hillel comes from its welcoming nature. Non-Jewish participants are welcome, and Hillel has held joint events with other spiritual organizations across campus, including the Muslim Student Association.

“I’ve found a great community there. I like to think we’re really welcoming,” Bunis said. “It’s really nice to have that group to go to. It’s like a family on campus.”

Bunis recalled her first Shabbat dinner at Hillel, which fell on the first Friday she spent away at college. She was reluctant to go, but was convinced by a friend. She returned week after week.

While Bunis understands the struggle of being a student and balancing faith with school, she doesn’t have much trouble finding the time.

“For me, it’s important,” Bunis said. “I love to go out and I also love going to Hillel on Friday night. And I do both.”

Several blocks away from Hillel on Ostrom Avenue is the Chabad House. While Hillel’s center is a large building, Chabad, to the untrained eye, could easily be a home. It is tucked between residential buildings, unassuming in stature.

The resident rabbi at Chabad, Rabbi Rapoport, recognizes the homelike feeling of Chabad House and embraces it.

“We have a slogan: ‘Every orange Jew’s home,’” the rabbi said with a laugh. “It offers students opportunities for services, offers opportunities for Friday night Shabbat, you can celebrate different holidays, classes, events — just a place to express their Judaism. It’s hard to do that in your dorm room sometimes.”

Rabbi Rapoport came to SU in the early 1980s, when he was asked to lead the SU Chabad House by the Lubavitcher Rebbe. He has lived in Syracuse and practiced at Chabad ever since.

The rabbi lives with his wife, Chanie, who is involved with Chabad as well. Chanie will be spending the upcoming week helping kids bake hamantaschen, a traditional cookie served to celebrate the holiday of Purim. The Chabad House will be holding a Purim party on Saturday for students.

Aviva Oskow, a senior communications design major, holds the presence of the rabbi and his wife very dear.

“They’re kind of like a set of parents at school,” Oskow said.

Oskow joined the Chabad House her junior year. She had celebrated several high holy days with Hillel, but never quite felt she fit in with the community there.
It was only after talking to a friend from home who attended the University of Minnesota that Oskow heard about the Chabad House at their campus, and she decided to look into the one at SU more closely.

Upon attending her first event at the Chabad House, Oskow immediately felt welcome. She said by the second or third time she went to the house, she was treated like a regular.

Oskow considers her faith more of a cultural part of her life, an aspect of her heritage. She is not an active Jewish practitioner, but recognizes the difficulties faced by those on campus that are.

The rabbi also empathizes with this difficulty.

“Beyond school, there’s many things happening — there’s friends, there’s boyfriend-girlfriends, the social life and sports,” the rabbi said. “There’s a lot of distractions.”

But for the student who exhibits strength in their spirituality and wants to observe it despite these distractions, the rabbi doesn’t feel that being on campus would make a difference.

As for him, the rabbi finds joy in practicing Judaism with the college-age group.

Said the rabbi, with a smile: “Students keep me young.”