Audra Frady, Campus Carrier Staff Reporter
A new Jewish student group at Berry, begun by freshman Emily Wolfe, is the first to go through a newly recognized process to form student interest groups. Wolfe wants the group to be a source of connection for other Jewish students and anyone who is interested in Jewish faith and culture.
The first interest meeting was held the week of Feb. 17.
Wolfe said she wants the Jewish student group to be very discussion-based to provide a place to talk about faith, Israeli politics and how hard it is to be Jewish in a place that doesn’t have much knowledge about the lifestyle.
“Berry is accepting, but not understanding,” Wolfe said.
The idea to start a Jewish student group began last fall. Jonathan Parker, visiting instructor of religion and philosophy and faculty advisor to the Jewish student group, said he was approached at Discover Berry by a prospective student who wanted to know if Berry had any resources for Jewish students. He said that once he began asking around, he found out that Berry did not have any specific organizations to connect students of the Jewish faith or ethnicity.
Parker knew Wolfe’s faith background and asked if she would be interested in starting a group. They have been trying to gain momentum since.
“Having real dialogue is to everyone’s benefit, especially the interfaith community,” Parker said. “The more radical people are in their beliefs, the more we want them to participate. If everyone was secular, the conversation would be bland.”
Because of timing and a new process for forming student groups, Wolfe and Parker decided to wait until the spring semester to start promoting the Jewish student group. Director of student activities Cecily Crow said the new process will better allow students who “are looking to connect and have similar interests” to have some forum of meeting without requiring them to meet all the obligations of a student organization.
Student organizations must comply with SGA guidelines. They must have 10 members and are required to have a service or event related component to keep good standing as an official organization.
Crow said the new process for student interest groups requires only five interested students to begin meeting.
The student interest groups cannot sponsor or ask for funding like a student organization can. However, they can partner with organizations to help with events. The new student interest group process is geared towards creating a space for like-minded people to come together.
Creating a more easily accessible and recognizable forum for students with similar interests will provide a “broad question for how Berry can handle diversity,” Parker said.
Wolfe said the Jewish student group will provide much needed support for Jewish students who may be struggling at Berry.
Wolfe comes from a strong Jewish community, and she said she has had difficulties with some aspects of her experiences at Berry.
For example, Wolfe said she is applying to have access to a kitchen next year because the dining hall does not provide kosher meat, and her options in the dining hall are very limited.
Consequently, the main aim of the Jewish student group is to increase awareness of the Jewish faith and to provide support for all those interested in broadening the conversation between the various religious communities present on campus.
The Jewish student group welcomes all students, regardless of denomination or religious affiliation, to be a part of their discussions.
The next meeting will be held on March 13 at 7 p.m. The location is yet to be announced.