Friday, September 30, 2005

[Article] Campus Surprise 2 (or Hashem Acts In Mysterious Ways)

Three days ago I posted about an article I read on Aish.com called Campus Surprise, about the Anti-Israel/Anti-Semitic situation in many university campuses, including my alma mater, FIU. Lo and behold, G-d has a great sense of humor, and I see the following article in the weekly FIU newspaper, The Beacon:

Jewish students strive for culture on campus
When asked their opinion of Jewish life at FIU, feedback from Jewish students ranged from mixed to negative.
Those views may change soon, thanks to the efforts of various Jewish student outreach organizations such as Chabad, Hillel Second Generation and the Jewish Student Union. They plan to increase outreach efforts to Jewish students, attempting to provide more programs and activities for them.
Read more.


I am incredibly happy about everything I read here. When I was at FIU I hadn't converted yet, but Judaism was a growing part of my life, and I always found that the Jewish presence at the university was very inadequate; the groups were there, but you had to really search to find them, let alone learn about their activities. Now, however, I feel optimistic about the future of the Jewish presence at the university. With Chabad alone we are guaranteed a very visible and very obvious ambassador; I mean, getting kosher food in the cafeteria alone is a huge step, one that the university did not feel like doing before (I remember asking about it once and being told that there was no need since the Jews in FIU were mostly non-observant and those who wanted something kosher could eat from the health food kiosk, which just shows how utterly uninformed the administration was). Alongside Hillel, I think the Jewish student population at FIU will have a renaissance, especially if they take full advantage of the programs, like Shabbat Dinner on Campus or the upcoming High Holy Days services.

I don't know if/when I'll go back to FIU, but just knowing that when it happens I'll be able to have kosher meals, a place to go and meet other Jewish students, perhaps even study some Torah with them, and a Rabbi right on campus makes me happy.

Now all I need is a Rabbi and kosher meals at Gen Con and I'll be set 100%. :)

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