{"id":6466,"date":"2024-10-01T19:42:15","date_gmt":"2024-10-01T23:42:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brie.hunter.cuny.edu\/hunterathenian\/?p=6466"},"modified":"2025-03-08T10:27:09","modified_gmt":"2025-03-08T15:27:09","slug":"an-afternoon-at-hunter-hillel-what-reluctant-jewish-students-can-expect","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brie.hunter.cuny.edu\/hunterathenian\/2024\/10\/an-afternoon-at-hunter-hillel-what-reluctant-jewish-students-can-expect\/","title":{"rendered":"An Afternoon at Hunter Hillel: What Reluctant Jewish Students Can Expect"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

\"\"
Hillel students gather for an afternoon of community building. \/Photography by Nathan C. Zierlein<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Located at the Thomas Hunter building is the Hunter Hillel\u2019s cozy club room, on the fifth day of Welcome Week club-goers enjoyed a bagel brunch, partook in leisure time, and held a vigil for the six fallen hostages found dead in Gaza on Sept. 1. Run by executive director Merav Braun and assistant director Yael Kornfeld, Hillel is in constant search to enrich the Hunter community through meaningful programming and club activities.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re trying to think of how to make events that help encourage students who don\u2019t know each other to connect,\u201d said Kornfeld. \u201cIt’s Welcome Week and we\u2019re trying a lot of different things and seeing what lands where.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Kornfeld, a four-year staff member and the first social worker at Hillel, was promoted to assistant director in January. While on the clock, Kornfeld is dedicated to creating a safe and fun environment for Jewish students and allies to engage on and off campus. Interested students can book a one-on-one coffee date funded by the Hillel, with Kornfeld and other employees to discuss their desired experience at the club.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At 2:30 p.m. club members picked at the diverse assortment of bagels and schmear spread across the long table near the entrance, above hangs an ornate maroon tapestry. Oozing sunlight pours into the room while purple-clad Hillel staff dart around greeting new students while exchanging pleasant chit-chat with one-another. Centered in the corner of the room is a plush gray couch and velvety purple chairs, lilac and silver wrapped Hershey kisses are scattered on top of a small coffee table in the middle. Students lounge on the upholstered surfaces, engrossed in humming conversation, while some pass around an ebony guitar and play a soft melody.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Among the loungers are Marcus Francois, a 21-year-old classics and archaeology major and Hillel regular, chatting with a group of relaxed club-goers. After moving away from Florida in 2023, Francois found himself struggling to build a strong-Jewish community away from home. After tirelessly cruising synagogues in the city to no avail, he decided to try the Hunter Hilell in hopes of connecting with young Jews.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou and I both know temple is where grandma and grandpa go,\u201d he chuckled to himself.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But in regards to the Hunter Hillel social scene, Francois is certain that the club is a great way to meet new people on campus. \u201cI\u2019m always down for whatever event Hillel is having and it’s never bad to meet someone new,\u201d said Francois.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A couple hours later, guests started clearing out of the lively space, waving goodbye and rushing off to class. The few that remained began prepping for the vigil, clearing the coffee-table of Hershey kisses \u2013 in its stead unlit candles were placed. Led by Rabbi Jamie, Hilell\u2019s in-house Rabbi, mourners began singing prayers and reading out biographies of the murdered hostages and their experiences following the events of last year\u2019s Oct. 7 Hamas attack on the Nova Musical Festival. Following the ceremony, a heart-felt group discussion on antisemitism and the struggles of being Jewish on college campuses filled the room with an awakened energy. After affirming each other’s feelings and embracing one another, the members left with a relieved demeanor.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

One of the few staff to remain after the vigil is Katie Faour, a recent Hunter Hillel employee and an Ezra Springboard Fellow and Penn State College graduate. Born and bred in Houston, Texas, Faour always dreamt of moving to New York City to live out her urban fantasy as a Broadway star. After getting into Penn State, she became involved with her university’s Hillel as the executive secretary on their board. Despite her alma mater’s location, Faour was determined to live the high-life in the big apple. Her golden ticket: placing herself at the Hunter Hillel.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Faour believes that coming to Hillel can be intimidating or even scary at times, but that it\u2019s also valuable to connect with young Jews on campus, especially now.\u00a0 \u201cI didn\u2019t know anyone at my undergrad. Going into Hillel, immediately having those connections, finding out I knew someone\u2019s cousin from camp,\u201d she said, \u201callowed me to find my place.\u201d For hesitant Hunter-heads, Faour believes giving Hillel a chance is beneficial for any student seeking to find an uplifting community on campus.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHaving a place to come to is something really beneficial in college,\u201d she said. \u201cEven if it\u2019s not for you it\u2019s worth trying out.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Rita Ravine Rabin Hunter Hillel Weekly Hours:\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Monday & Thursday 10:00 a.m\u00a0 to 6:00 p.m.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Friday: 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On a sunny Thursday afternoon, Jewish students and staff-alike gathered for an afternoon of leisure and community building at Hunter’s Rita Ravine Rabin Hillel.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":163,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,324],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6466","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-culture","category-student-life"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brie.hunter.cuny.edu\/hunterathenian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6466","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brie.hunter.cuny.edu\/hunterathenian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brie.hunter.cuny.edu\/hunterathenian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brie.hunter.cuny.edu\/hunterathenian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/163"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brie.hunter.cuny.edu\/hunterathenian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6466"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/brie.hunter.cuny.edu\/hunterathenian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6466\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6533,"href":"https:\/\/brie.hunter.cuny.edu\/hunterathenian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6466\/revisions\/6533"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brie.hunter.cuny.edu\/hunterathenian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6466"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brie.hunter.cuny.edu\/hunterathenian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6466"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brie.hunter.cuny.edu\/hunterathenian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6466"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}