,,Contact: The Journal of the Jewish Life Network / Steinhardt Foundation -- Jewish Life on Campus

Contact: The Journal of the Jewish Life Network / Steinhardt Foundation -- Jewish Life on Campus


 

Publication Date: January 2000

Publisher: Steinhardt Foundation for Jewish Life

Author(s): Niles Goldstein; Jehuda Reinharz; Richard M. Joel

Research Area: Culture and religion

Keywords: Identity Formation; Jewish Continuity; Higher Education; Youth Engagement

Type: Other

Coverage: United States

Abstract:

This issue of Contact explores Jewish student life in American universities, asking: does the proliferation of programs devoted to reaching Jewish college students represent a revitalization of Jewish campus life, or a desperate last gasp by the Jewish leadership to connect with an increasingly vanishing population? Richard M. Joel, President of Hillel, contends that Jewish students do not want "continuity," which means more of the same. Rather, he asserts, they want "renaissance," something new and fresh. Rabbi Menachem Schmidt describes the "peer-to-peer" approach for reaching unaffiliated students. Karen Isley reflects upon the Jewish sorority experience. Also included are an interview of Dr. Jehuda Reinharz by Rabbi Niles Goldstein, and articles by Tali Rosenblatt and Rabbi Howard Alpert.