Student Life
Texas Hillel’s mission is to enrich the lives of Jewish undergraduate and graduate students so that they may enrich the Jewish people and the world.
Engagement
Texas Hillel is about creating communities and opportunities. Once we get to know a student, we can guide them to the activities that fit their Jewish needs best. You might say that all of our programs are engagement based at their core; however, here are some examples from this year:
• Bagel Break: Each week, 30 students meet on campus in between classes to have lunch with each other. Most of the students did not know each other beforehand and created relationships from the weekly gathering. Each week, more and more students found out about free bagels and attended regularly. Overall, the initiative was successful at bringing Jewish students together socially and giving them the opportunity to learn a little more about Hillel from the JCSC Fellow.
• Alternative Spring Break Trips: Texas Hillel students returned to the Gulf Coast and to Argentina this year. Nine students continued the clean up work in New Orleans, and another 19 focused efforts on rebuilding the Argentina Jewish community. The majority of the students had no previous connections to each other or to Hillel but wanted to do something meaningful for their Spring Break. Since the trips we have had reunions with each group and have followed up with individuals.
• Birthright Israel: What better way is there to get to know students than a ten-day trip to Israel? More than sixty students and three Texas Hillel staff had an incredible experience. When we returned nearly all of them came to our Israel Shabbat reunion. Since then many students have developed a connection with the Jewish community at the University of Texas. Some students opted to take leadership positions for groups such as Texans for Israel and the White Rose Society; others are heading back to Israel this summer for MASA programs. A group of ten students meet for Shabbat dinner every week at Hillel. Others meet for lunch on a weekly basis. Some are active in Jewish Greek life and have taken on leadership roles within their organizations; others have become very close friends to each other. Overall, follow up was extremely successful in that we maintain connections with 90% of them.
• Hanukah in the Dorms: This year Hanukah fell entirely during the academic school year. Our goal was to make sure every student felt a home away from home during the holiday. Each night of Hanukah, we had students from the appropriate residential halls lead candle lighting at three separate locations. Students were able to eat latkes, collect dreidels and take part in candle lighting.
Israel Block Party
The Tenth Annual Israel Block Party filled the South Mall with 5,000 participants. Israel’s 60th birthday was this year’s theme so we constructed a timeline highlighting significant events and Israel’s contributions over the six decades. Six major areas were also highlighted:
•The Army highlighting the cooperation between Israel and the US in military technology and training.
• Technology with an exhibit featuring quotes from prominent US CEO’s praising Israel and their cutting edge technology.
• Agriculture and the Environment highlighting green technology and how we can get involved.
• Society with an exhibit on the Israeli parliamentary system presenting the 20+ parties with a mock election where students can vote for the party that’s the closest to their ideals.
• Arts & Culture featuring Israeli film makers and music.
• Sports where students played soccer and learned about the Israeli teams that have been an international success professionally and at the Olympics.
The concert by world renowned hip hop group Hadag Nachash was the grand finale of the day.
Texans for Israel
The TFI Board meets every week and addresses issues that arise on campus, such as Daily Texan articles as well as controversial events. They sponsored a number of events on campus:
• Fall Campus Leadership Dinner featuring David Brog, director of Christians United for Israel.
• Spring Campus Leadership Dinner featuring David Makovsky, senior fellow and director of The Washington Institute’s Project on the Middle East Peace Process. Mr. Makovsky also led a faculty lunch discussion, and gave an open campus address on “Roadblocks to Peace.”
• World Solidarity Day video conference with Karnit Goldwasser. UT was chosen as one of seven campuses to participate in a conversation with the wife of one of the 3 kidnapped Israeli soldiers that are still missing. 20 students attended after tabling on the West Mall with information and petitions.
• Nonie Darwish addressed a group of 250 on “Why I Renounced Jihad: A perspective on the Arab-Israeli conflict by a Muslim shahid’s daughter.”
• Weekly coffeehouse discussions averaged 20 students.
The White Rose Society
The group has begun bi-weekly general information meetings. The first one attracted 110 students. Now there is a steady group of 20 to 30 students who attend. A number of programs are in the works as well as on-going initiatives:
• Thanks to the generous funding of Whole Foods Market, the second annual symposium Apathy or Action: The Struggle for Human Rights was able to host four outstanding speakers and a week’s worth of action oriented programming. Once again, 10,000 white roses were handed out on campus to publicize the symposium and to raise awareness about genocide and to educate about the Holocaust.
• For Holocaust Remembrance Day, our students will have an exhibit on the West Mall in conjunction with the Houston Holocaust Museum. Later that evening Hillel will host the Austin community’s commemoration with a speaker and documentary on the hidden children followed by a memorial service.
• Challah for Hunger continued weekly with 6 students preparing the dough each Wednesday, a different 6 baking and getting things ready for the sales on Thursday, and another 6 tabling on the West Mall each Thursday. They bake and sell about 75 loaves each week.
• After successfully persuading the Texas legislature to divest from companies in Sudan, our students have been lobbying the UT Board of Regents and UTIMCO to do the same. They have accomplished the first step in the process and will be working over the summer to complete the divestment process.
Crazy Science Extravaganza
Over 100 student volunteers guided hundreds of upper elementary students through the Hillel building this fall and spring as they experienced the marvels of science and learned that they could go to college one day too.
Social
Hundreds of students partied at Hillel at our Hanukah Party that featured a live local band, and then in the spring at the Purim Party featuring Hatikvah 6, a famous Israeli reggae band. Both parties were co-sponsored by the Jewish Greek organizations, and by YAD, the Austin Jewish young adults group.
Orthodox, Reform, Conservative Association (aka ORCA)
• Friday night continues to be the main focus for this group, averaging around 120 students each week. “Shabbat Happy Hour” has become a regular feature with about 25 students meeting and mingling over light snacks fifteen minutes before services.
• KOACH and Kesher, the Conservative and Reform groups, have each sponsored several social gatherings. KOACH Shabbat featured a guest rabbi and Shabbat morning services. Our Kesher group hosted this year’s national Leadership Training Seminar in March.
• High Holiday services and meals were well attended with about 500 students on the first night of Rosh Hashanah, and about 400 at Kol Nidre services with 150 at the Break Fast.
• For the first time this Purim, Hillel and Chabad joined forces for a megillah reading in the Texas Hillel loft. More than 100 students, many in costume, cursed Haman while an interactive dvd played on the big screen.
• Passover continues to be a great time to meet up with friends and classmates over kosher for Passover lunches and dinners. This year we brought matzah brei to the Jester Residence Hall. Since Passover began on the weekend our seders were smaller than usual as our students were able to join their families back home.
Student Leadership
New student leaders are in place for all of our major areas. Next year’s Student Executive Cabinet, the Texans for Israel Board, and the White Rose Society Board have all begun to plan for the coming academic year. Next year we will have a KOACH Intern, funded by the Conservative Movement, a Grinspoon Israel Advocacy Intern, funded by Hillel International, and a MASA Intern funded by MASA. We will also have the following student interns: Editorial, Engagement, New Student Outreach, and Program. In addition, Texas Hillel has been selected to participate in the Campus Entrepreneurs Initiative, a program funded by Hillel International utilizing twelve students to reach out to uninvolved students.
