Campus Update

Michigan State - Princeton

A View from the Midwest

By Rachel Zuckman
Michigan State University
KOACH Intern

This was our first year having an intern at MSU and we've done some really great things! Our Hillel is not typically very religion-focused, but we have turned some of that around. We even did what was said to be impossible. I was told that a religious event was almost completely impossible, but the day before Spring Break began, we had "Meditating Like Maimonides." We had about 25 people come to hear about Kabbalah. Everyone loved the rabbi who taught the class and is now requesting for him to come back!

We have positively brought KOACH to campus. When anyone sees KOACH on flyers or emails, they are not reluctant to come or check out what we are doing. I have seen a wide array of people at these events and it has been great to see that KOACH can be successful.

Sadly to say, my final KOACH project was April 19, "Build a bear because you care with KOACH." We built 20 bears at the Great Lakes Bear Factory in East Lansing. All the bears are being sent to the Active Rehabilitation Ward at the Alyn Hospital in Jerusalem.

Our campus has responded well and I have had an incredible time being a part of KOACH through out my time at Michigan State University. I will miss KOACH next year when I graduate!

Update From Princeton

By Diana Weiner
KOACH Intern
Princeton University

Hi everyone! My name is Diana Weiner, and I am the KOACH Intern for Princeton University. Being an intern has enabled me to reach out to a wide variety of Conservative students, helping to strengthen our community on campus. Princeton has about 4,600 students and only about ten to twelve percent of them are Jewish. As with most other college campuses, many students here at Princeton feel a connection to their Judaism, but will rarely participate in any religious events other than the High Holy Days.

The majority of events which were sponsored by KOACH this year were designed to reach out to those Conservative students who might not normally participate in any Jewish life and make them feel welcome among the regulars. Having free food is a great way to get people to show up to events! I hosted numerous events this year, most of which were extremely fun and successful. I tried to get people really excited about being involved with KOACH, thereby strengthening our community.

We started the year off with apple picking in celebration of Sukkot. What better way to learn about Sukkot then to spend it outdoors in the fall weather? So many more people attended than expected and I plan on repeating this event next fall due to its great success. A series of events that I hosted throughout this school year was deli study breaks. We had Deli and The OC and Deli and a movie. Everyone really loved this informal environment to eat, shmooze and get to know one another. By far, the most successful event this year was in celebration of Christmas (well, Hanukkah really). I planned Christmas Comes Early, where we celebrated Christmas in the typical Jewish fashion by watching Mel Brooks' History of the World and eating Kosher Chinese food. The popularity of this event was incredible! I never imagined that so many people would show up in support of KOACH!

One event which I tried to organize this year and will try again next year is a trip to see a Broadway show. We're only about an hour from New York City and there are several plays about Judaism currently being performed right now. I will also be hosting another event this year during Passover. I haven't quite determined what food theme we'll have this time, but I want to end the year off right.

This past year with KOACH has been really great and I hope to continue this trend through next year. Our Conservative community has been strengthened from all of our events and everyone looks forward to the next ones. I love hosting these great study breaks and seeing how much they help our community grow!

<Read the update from Michigan State University>

[Posted 5/6/05]