Jewish Presence in Greek Life

The Greek community at Penn is similar to many other schoolsits 28% Greek and there are four Jewish sororities and fraternities. The Jewish Greek scene at Penn is very different from other schools.

I started off the year excited to work with the Greek system. I formed a Greek Jewish Activities Council and we planned a Greek Break Fast and delivered Hanukah Baskets to all of the Jewish houses. Nonetheless I was confused at the lack of response to our events. What I soon realized was that another group had already begun work within the Greek Community. The Jewish Heritage Project is steeped in the Greek Community. Out of fifty interns on campus, forty-two are in the Greek system. JHP is very careful in who they choose to be internsthese interns are also paid. Therefore JHP has some of the best Greek Jewish students working for them. I was very discouraged by JHPs involvement in the Greek community and had a hard time finding the best way to get into the Greek system. Therefore, I stopped planning Greek events second semester. This was not necessarily the most productive move and looking back I see ample opportunity for the JCSC Fellow to get involved in Greek Life.

I also found it helpful to remember that simply because there is no organized Hillel group in the Greek community, does not mean that Greeks arent involved in Hillel. There are Greek students on every committee, every group in Hillel. The trick is to find the best way to utilize these students in creating larger Greek programming around campus.

Program Summary

Chanukah Baskets

A few of us thought it would be nice to provide Chanukah materials to the fraternity and sorority houses so that students could celebrate Chanukah in their houses with their friends.  I made fun baskets with Menorahs, Bazooka Gum, Gelt, dreidles, candles, Chanukah notes and Happy Chanukah cards. The students and I delivered them to 20 houses (based on where the students knew Jewish students lived).  They seemed to love them though it would be nice to learn which houses had used them. 

Goals for the Future

I think its important to work closely with Rachel Saifer Goldman in determining the best strategy to use in engaging Greeks. She has a good sense about the Greek system and she will be great in strategizing different approaches to take.  I also think its necessary to closely examine JHP and the appeal is has. I started to do this informally with students I knew were involved. This is necessary in order to determine the niche Hillel could fill. It would be great to have a few big programs for the Greek community. Events such as a Maccabi games, a crush party, or a quizzo tournament, could serve as the catalyst for more engagement programming

Where to Begin?

Set up a meeting with Rachel and Jeremy to go over the goals for this year. Its important to figure out together what the game plan should be. Start meeting with students involved in JHP to discover what could be missing in their lives as Greek Jews. Find students to work on planning a big event with you.

WOMEN'S PROGRAMMING

In past years women's programming has been a very up and down again area within Penn Hillel, but Im very happy to report that this year it has been PHENOMENAL! A few talented students initiated womens programs, and they kept the organizational and structural side to a minimum (meaning the Rosh Chodesh and Womens Book Clubs were informal organizations). This is one area of programming that there is still so much potential for next year! We have begun working to meet greater female needs Aviva and Rachel are organizing Shebrews, a group that will sponsor larger womens programming at Penn, including bringing in speakers, hosting monthly teas and chats, and working on general womens issues. Alison and Ro started a book club this past year that was fantastic.  They have a core group of 10-20 girls who are interested in reading at least one or two books per semester. Rosh Chodesh was also a success, Liz and Jenny started a monthly group that stressed the spirituality side of Judaism.

Highlights of Programs

Rosh Chodesh Art Projects

Every Rosh Chodesh event was held for one hour on a weeknight (our Rosh Chodesh program did not always coincide with the actual Rosh Chodesh because of scheduling conflicts and when Rosh Chodesh fell on a weekend!). We always had four elements to each Rosh Chodesh event: candles and introduction sitting in a circle, discussing our past month; healthy food (cheese and crackers, grapes and cake ok, not so healthy!); a brief text study with discussion and some sort of art or hands-on type of project. One art project we did was we gave everyone a variety of art supplies and materials and told them to use them to make some sort of representation of their life as a Jewish woman.  Many students told us their favorite thing about Rosh Chodesh was that it brought together Jewish women from all backgrounds where we all celebrated our common spirituality and identity.

Book Club

Alison and Ro initiated the book club this past spring. They made computer invitations and hand delivered them to over sixty girls. Making invitations, rather than flyers or emails, can really make a difference people LOVE receiving mail! The book club fluctuated between ten and twenty students. We met at the Penn Womens Center (PWC), which I highly recommend. In addition to selecting and discussing books, we participated in the Take Back the Night t-shirt campaign the PWC organized. It was a great way to integrate larger Penn concerns with a female Jewish voice.

Womens Passover Seder

This was one of my favorite events this year! Two students and I planned this fantastic event. We started planning about one month in advance and we sent out invitations, ordered the Feminist Haggadah they are on the JAC bookshelves. We decided to follow the Haggadah, but did our seder two days before Passover, so we skipped the traditional foods and had veggie lasagna for the main course! It was an intimate night we held the seder in McClelland and bought flowers and put four tables together so it was one giant table. About seventeen students came and they loved it!

Shebrews

Shebrews is still in the worksbut hopefully you will help Aviva and Rachel get if off the ground! They want to do all the other types of womens programming that Rosh Chodesh and the book club do NOT cover for instance, speakers, seders, teas, informal discussion, community service projects.  All the womens programming leaders and I have sat down to also discuss communication between the various groups and hopefully starting a list serve about womens programming at Penn.

Goals for the Future

This is an area still very much in the works! Set up a meeting with the various leaders early in September and start talking with various women and see what types of programs they would like to see.  I think it is important to expand the scope of womens programming at Penn, while also keeping it sort of loosely organized and not just another bureaucratic step! Have fun with it I found the womens programs to be some of my best! 

Reform Jewish Community (RJC)

The Reform Jewish Community will not be one of your specific target groups but you will work with them and interact with them so I included a brief bit about them!

Since the Spring of 1998 there has been a RJC board of 8-10 people and a consistent group of 25+ students each Friday night for Shabbat services at Hillel.  We also published the first RJC siddur this year, Rav Kolot, which adds much ease when preparing and conducting services.  The move from having services in the JAC to Hillel has not only responded to the growth of the community but has also demonstrated the integration of the Reform Community into the larger Jewish Community. There has been a big push towards plurality among all the communities this year. The addition of Links has been helpful in creating structured dialogue among all the groups, including a lecture series, which has great potential. The Jewish Life Committee also strives to create social interactions between all communities.

Board Meetings

Because the RJC Board has grown this semester, board meetings have become an important time to regroup and go over exactly whats going on for the upcoming week. We have started to have a bit of learning at the beginning of each meeting, alternating between members. The learning varies from discussions on Reform theology to the Torah portion of the week.

Some examples of past RJC programs

* Shabbat Dinners

* Havdalah and Social Events in the JAC

*Community Service

*Reform Jewish Community Spring Retreat

*Reform Citywide Shabbat