Jewish Student Union eyes expansion

By Kristen Parrish

Following their first on-campus religious event in three years, the Jewish Student Union hopes to continue to grow in membership and offer a glimpse of Judaism to the Santa Clara community during the upcoming school year.

In its present form, as a chapter of Hillel of Silicon Valley, the Jewish Student Union has been on campus for about six years and has acquired over 30 members, both Jewish and non-Jewish. Hillel of Silicon Valley is an international organization that focuses on creating Jewish communities on college campuses.

The mission of the Jewish Student Union is to create and foster a community for Jewish students at Santa Clara, co-president of JSU Katherine Wampler said.

"My main goal is to educate the community about the many facets of Judaism: the religion, the culture and the politics, among other things," she said.

"I want to help clear up misconceptions about Jews, such as the idea that all Jews are really religious. Professor of religious studies, Frederick Parrella, believed that the JSU and other religious minority groups are important to have on campus.

"It gives students from different religions a place to call home," he said.

During Welcome Weekend, the JSU hosted a Havdallah ritual to recognize the beginning of a new year. While the Havdallah is traditionally used to separate the sabbath from the rest of the week, this ceremony was also meant to separate the summer from the school year.

About 50 people, including University President Paul Locatelli, S.J., attended the event.

While the JSU has seen member growth in recent years, many students are still unaware of their presence on campus.

Senior David Barer, who is also Jewish, said that he had never heard about the Jewish Student Union even though he would be interested in joining, and hoped that they would put more effort into advertising their events on and off campus.

Still, Barer was appreciative that the club even exists.

"It's a good thing they have it because with this being a Catholic school, it's nice to have that option when you're being bombarded with Catholicism -- it's comforting," he said.

Wampler felt that many students simply weren't aware of other religious clubs and organizations on campus.

"I don't think that students are bombarded by Catholicism," she said. "I think that SCU really tries to allow students a lot of options but I think that they aren't aware of the options that exist."

The JSU's plans for the upcoming school year include Jewish poetry readings on and off campus as well as weekly sabbath meals. They also hope to hold sabbath dinners here on campus at least once per quarter.

In addition, there is an Israeli fashion show scheduled for January 2006, being planned by JSU co-president Adi Raz. A cast member from MTV's hit show, "Laguna Beach," will be attending.

The proceeds will be donated to One Family Charity, which helps victims of terrorism in Israel.

Past JSU events have included a photo exhibit of life in Israel, Discussions with Rabbis on the Laws of Kasher, Passover Seders, Israeli movie nights, Fiddler on the Roof sing-a-longs and more.

The club is also hoping to plan a mock-Jewish wedding so that students can come and see what the ceremony is all about.

"I am hoping to give people a unique opportunity to experience an exciting Jewish tradition, glass breaking and all," Wampler said.

"We want Jewish students to know that they aren't alone here at Santa Clara and that Santa Clara does support us on campus."

Contact Kristen Parrish at (408) 554-4546 or at knparrish@scu.edu.