November 22, 2005

OU Brings Symposium to Teaneck to Address Jewish Life on the Secular College Campus, for Future College Students and their Parents

The Orthodox Union brings a symposium to Teaneck, which will address Jewish Life on the Secular College Campus for high-school juniors and seniors, post-Israel college bound students, and the parents of both. It is a joint project of the OU’s Department of Community and Synagogue Services, the Harriet and Heshe Seif Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus (JLIC), and the National Conference of Synagogue Youth (NCSY).

This event will be held at Beth Aaron Synagogue, 950 Queen Anne Road on Sunday, December 4, 2005 from 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m., with doors opening at 9:45 a.m. Admission is free.

“This is an extremely beneficial program that will provide a practical, insightful overview, as well as guidelines for strengthening Jewish life on the secular college campus. Students will learn about the myriad of outstanding Torah opportunities that are available for them,” declared Frank Buchweitz, OU Director of Community Services and Special Projects, and coordinator of this event.

The keynote presentation, To Grow as a Jew on a Non-Jewish Campus, will be delivered by Rabbi Gil Perl, Instructor of Modern Jewish History at Yeshiva University and Director of Admissions at Yeshiva University High School for Boys.

The Harriet and Heshe Seif Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus (JLIC), a program of the OU in coordination with Hillel and Torah MiTzion, currently serves twelve university campuses: Rutgers, Princeton, Yale, University of Pennsylvania, Cornell, New York University, Brooklyn College, Brandeis, University of Maryland, University of Florida, University of Illinois, and UCLA.

According to Rabbi Ilan Haber, JLIC National Director, “Parents and high school students need to better understand the environment of the secular university, both in terms of the challenges and opportunities that they can expect. This will help them prepare themselves properly to make more educated decisions concerning what would most meet their needs and expectations, not just from an academic perspective, but from a Jewish one as well.”

Rabbi Haber continued, “In the Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus, the Orthodox Union has invested significant resources in bolstering Orthodox communities on secular campuses, and creating opportunities for continued Jewish learning and growth. It is particularly important for parents and high school students who are considering secular universities to be aware of the Jewish Learning Initiative so they can appropriately factor it into their decision making. I hope to describe the program for them, and the manner in which it impacts Orthodox life on campus.”

Regarding the involvement of NCSY, the OU’s national youth movement, National Director Rabbi Steven Burg stated, “NCSY needs to prepare teens to meet the spiritual challenges that await them after high school. JLIC has created a wonderful atmosphere of Torah study on the secular college campus. It is our duty as educators to provide parents and teens with valuable information that will make an Orthodox student’s stay at a secular college a Torah growth experience.”

This event will feature a Symposium with a Question and Answer forum, moderated by Rabbi Yaakov Glasser, NCSY New Jersey Regional Director, and a summation by Rabbi Burg.

Panelists will be:

• Yael Kessler, University of Pennsylvania Nursing School
• Rabbi Yehuda Sarna, JLIC Educator and Hillel Manager of Religious Life, Bronfman Center for Jewish Student Life, New York University
• Rabbi Yehuda Seif, JLIC Educator, University of Pennsylvania Hillel
• Rabbi Jack Abramowitz, Director of Programs, NCSY

The OU publication, Choosing a College: a Guide for Observant Students by Rabbi Joseph Polak of Boston University will be distributed at the event. This booklet discusses the challenges observant students face on college campuses and dormitories today. Many Jewish day schools consider Choosing a College ‘a must read’ for students to make informed decisions on this topic.

For more information, contact Frank Buchweitz at 212-613-8188 or frank@ou.org.

* * *

The Orthodox Union, now in its second century of service to the Jewish community of North America and beyond, is a world leader in community and synagogue services, adult education, youth work through NCSY, political action through the IPA, and advocacy for persons with disabilities through Yachad and Our Way. Its kosher supervision label, the , is the world’s most recognized kosher symbol and can be found on over 409,000 products manufactured in 83 countries around the globe.

www.ou.org

Comments? Requests? Questions?

Orthodox Union Department of Communications and Marketing David Olivestone Director Stephen Steiner Director of Public Relations Main Office: 11 Broadway, New York, NY 10004 Phone: 212.613.8318 Fax: 212-613-0763 E-mail: steiners@ou.org  |  media@ou.org

OUPR Archives Recent statements to the press: 2003  |  2002  |  2001  |  2000  |  1999  |  1998