Irene Miller talked to students, faculty and staff about her memoir, “Into No Man’s Land,” and her life experiences with the Holocaust at Kalamazoo College thanks in part to the Jewish studies program and the student group Hillel.
Miller was interviewed and recorded for Steven Spielberg’s Visual History Foundation and participated in “Shoah Ambassadors,” a 2021 PBS movie. The December 2016 PBS documentary “Irene: Child of the Holocaust” discussed her experiences with near-starvation in Siberia.
Miller took the time to stay after her presentation and meet with all of the attendees who wanted to talk with her.
Holocaust survivor Irene Miller visited Kalamazoo College students, faculty and staff Thursday at the Hicks Student Center to talk about some of the grim details behind one of the darkest periods of history.
“I am one of the 10% of Jewish children who survived the Holocaust,” she said. “Most of the survivors are gone now. Among the six million Jews who were killed were a million and a half children. Though I can tell you only about my survival journey, those of us fortunate enough to be left alive became the voices of those who didn’t live to tell their story.”
Miller discussed her memoir, Into No Man’s Land, which was published in 2010 after she came to grips with a need to tell her family’s story. Born in Warsaw, Miller—with her sister and parents—attempted to escape to the Soviet Union after the German invasion of Poland in World War II.
Miller remembers her family’s apartment building being repeatedly hit with bombs night after night as the Nazis entered her city.
Miller provided students with a discount on signed copies of her memoir, “Into No Man’s Land,” during her visit at K.
Born in Warsaw, Miller’s sister and parents attempted to escape to the Soviet Union after the German invasion of Poland in World War II.
Miller’s family was deported to a Siberian labor camp during World War II, suffering severe hunger and hardships on a daily basis.
“I was too high up to see the faces of the Nazi soldiers,” she said. “They were filling the width of the street, but strangely, I could see the reflection of shiny boots pounding the pavement. You know how long ago that happened, and to you young people, that happened before your parents were born and probably before most of your grandparents were born. Yet there are still some sounds, smells and aromas to which I have emotions. One is the sound of low-flying planes. Another is a rhythmic pounding on a hard surface. I hear it and I tighten up.”
Miller’s father crossed the border from Poland into Russia while securing their legal entry through an immigrant camp near Bialystok. Her mother was captured by Germans but managed to escape and then reunite with her family. The family later was deported to a Siberian labor camp, suffering severe hunger and hardships every day.
“In Siberia, in wintertime, there are only about three hours of daylight,” she said. “Temperatures would drop to 50 below and lower. If a bird for some reason couldn’t fly away on time, it would freeze to a tree like a lump of ice. We didn’t have clothing for that kind of climate. If you were outside with any part of your skin exposed, it didn’t take more than a minute or two to get frost bite.”
In 1942, after the Soviet Union’s recognition of the Polish government in exile, the Millers were released and sent to Uzbekistan, only to find no work and no food. Miller’s parents put her and her sister in an orphanage for Jewish children for a better chance of their survival. After the war, Miller returned to Poland and stayed in a Krakow orphanage until age 17, eventually immigrating to Israel and then the United States.
Miller’s parents put her and her sister in an orphanage for Jewish children for a better chance of their survival. After the war, Miller returned to Poland and stayed in a Krakow orphanage until age 17, eventually immigrating to Israel and then the United States.
Miller has been a speaker at large events across the U.S. and Canada with appearances before professional conferences, military groups, NASA Space Center, labor unions, churches, schools and more.
Miller was interviewed and recorded for Steven Spielberg’s Visual History Foundation and participated in “Shoah Ambassadors”, a November 2021 PBS movie. The PBS documentary “Irene: Child of the Holocaust” premiered in December 2016 discussed her experiences with near-starvation in Siberia.
Miller now is a retired health care executive who has worked as a hospital administrator, planner and developer at Group Health Plan of Southeastern Michigan. She also was the director of mental health for Livingston County, Michigan, the director of the psychiatric division at Detroit Osteopathic Hospital, and the director of treatment centers for drug-addicted and dual-diagnosed women and their children at the Detroit Medical Center. Separately, she served in Washington, D.C., on an advisory committee for issues related to drug addiction in women and children and was a teacher in Israel.
Currently, Miller is a docent and speaker for the Detroit Institute of Arts, a courts mediator, and she serves on the Board of Directors of the American Jewish Committee. She has been a speaker at large events across the U.S. and Canada with appearances before professional conferences, military groups, NASA Space Center, labor unions, churches, schools and more.
Miller was interviewed and recorded for Steven Spielberg’s Visual History Foundation and participated in Shoah Ambassadors, a November 2021 PBS movie. The December 2016 PBS documentary Irene: Child of the Holocaust discussed her experiences with near-starvation in Siberia. Yet despite her experiences and reflections, Miller’s biggest cautionary message for students about the Holocaust isn’t necessarily the importance of remembering it. Instead, she implores her audiences to watch for signs that something as devastating to humanity could happen again.
“My most important mission in life is to show what hate and prejudice did and what hate and prejudice can do again with a democracy falling from within unless we learn from it,” she said.
Miller served in Washington, D.C., on an advisory committee for issues related to drug addiction in women and children and was a teacher in Israel.
“My most important mission in life is to show what hate and prejudice did and what hate and prejudice can do again with a democracy falling from within unless we learn from it,” Miller told her audience at K.
Miller now is a retired health care executive who has worked as a hospital administrator, planner, developer and administrator at Group Health Plan of Southeastern Michigan. She also was the director of mental health for Livingston County, Michigan, the director of the psychiatric division at Detroit Osteopathic Hospital, and the director of treatment centers for drug-addicted and dual-diagnosed women and their children at the Detroit Medical Center.
The Model United Nations team from Kalamazoo College earned an Honorable Mention Delegation award at the National Model United Nations (NMUN) in New York in April, and several awards at the Midwest Model UN (MMUN) conference in St. Louis, Missouri, in February.
The NMUN honor places the 15 K students who participated—half of whom were rookies—in the top 20% of the largest, most established intercollegiate Model UN conference in the world.
“I was very proud of that, especially with a good half of our students coming into New York completely new to conferences,” said Mason Purdy ’24, president of Model UN at K. “We did as much teaching and training as we could, but they had to learn as they went.”
The K team represented the Kingdom of Morocco at NMUN, with students assigned in pairs to various committees. For example, Purdy and Hannah Willit ’24, vice president of Model UN at K, served on the human rights council. Each council considers two topics. For Purdy and Willit, the topics were human rights and the use of private military and security companies as well as human rights of indigenous peoples. Before the conference, teams research existing laws and standards, their country’s history, and other areas that provide context for the topics.
“For example, Morocco has been embroiled in a controversy for years about territory in the Western Sahara,” Purdy said. “One side says this was always Moroccan land and was taken for colonization; the other side says the people who live there don’t really want to be Moroccan; the first side says they are Moroccan, they just don’t realize it. The issue of indigenous sovereignty is a politically tricky one for Morocco, and sometimes you have to represent views at Model UN that maybe you wouldn’t love as an individual.”
The National Model United Nations team from Kalamazoo College attends the conference’s closing ceremony in the UN General Assembly Hall.
The Model UN team from K received Honorable Mention Delegation at the national conference in New York in April.
Fifteen students from K participated in the National Model United Nations in New York in April.
K’s Model UN team represented the Kingdom of Morocco at a national conference in New York in April.
Maddie Hanulcik ’26 served on the commission on the status of women, which considered the empowerment of rural women and girls along with healthcare accessibility for women.
“It was largely an all-women committee, which made it a safe space for women to talk,” Hanulcik said. “We were all dedicated to the same ideas of furthering women’s rights. All of our committee papers passed. I had never been to a conference where every paper passed. It was cool to see us all working together and how everyone felt empowered to share and speak without fear.”
At each Model UN conference, committees employ both formal (speeches) and informal (networking and developing de facto working groups) sessions to work toward a resolution addressing each topic. Over hours and days, a few resolutions will emerge that the dais (a moderating team of staff members) evaluates as acceptable, the committee will vote, and amendments will be made. The goal is that the committee will eventually adopt one resolution unanimously.
“Generally, the aim on a Model UN committee is to try to get as much unanimity in agreement as you can on an issue, because in the real international community, that’s how you get change to actually happen,” Purdy said. “Model UN tries to replicate that, and in the process, it teaches conflict resolution, negotiating, compromise, and social and political skills.”
A highlight of the New York conference for Hanulcik came when the resolution she had primarily worked on was one of just a couple chosen to be sent to the actual United Nations.
“It felt incredible that so many people from so many places had come together, even though we had very different backgrounds, to find resolution on this issue and make such a powerful, moving paper that our dais submitted it to the actual United Nations,” Hanulcik said. “It was wonderful to feel like we have power in the future as the next generation.”
“Even though it’s not the real world—it’s a model—it gives the sense of what you can do outside of school with the classes you’re taking and see how they can be applied,” Hanulcik said. “For example, in my women, gender and sexuality classes, we learn theories about how women can be fully liberated. Then I go to Model UN and see how those policies can be put in place to make a difference in women’s lives. There is such optimism, and that goes for the real UN as well. It’s easy to know that our world is a hard place to live in and can be terrible for so many people. But the UN has this optimism about it. We’re going to keep trying. We’re going to pass these resolutions. We’re going to encourage people to implement them. It’s a place to gather and try to make things a little bit better with the power of collaboration.”
Prior to New York, a smaller group of K students attended the Midwest Model United Nations conference, where the team received several awards. There, the more experienced students represented Azerbaijan while the newer participants represented Lebanon.
“During the St. Louis conference, there was a big plenary where everyone comes together in one room and votes up or down the resolutions that each committee has done,” Purdy said. “There’s debates and amendments, so on and so forth. Representing Azerbaijan, I went to our delegates representing Lebanon—our learners—with a resolution. I said, ‘We would really like your support for this; we would like you to sign on to it.’ They read through it, and they were like, ‘No. Lebanon cannot support this.’ And I was so glad that they didn’t just say yes to me because I was their friend and their teacher. I was like, ‘Yes, you guys are getting it.’ That might have made me more proud than some of the awards we won.”
Those awards included Distinguished Delegation as Azerbaijan, placing the team in the top 10 of all countries represented. Team members also won three individual awards, with Nathan Bouvard winning an award for his position paper in General Assembly 2 as Azerbaijan, Martina Marín winning a position paper award in the World Health Organization as Azerbaijan, and Purdy winning the top honors of Outstanding Delegation as Azerbaijan in the UN Environmental Assembly.
A double major in religion and political science with a Jewish studies concentration, Purdy is grateful that the Office of Student Activities and the Department of Political Science fund Model UN at K.
“Model UN has made a world of difference to me, developing my skills, developing as a person, developing as a leader, being in charge of this club,” Purdy said. “I’m a first-generation student, I come from a very working-class background; If I’d had to pay to participate, I would have had to say no. I’m so glad the K Model UN program is free to students. And we get to do that because the school is very generous, and its donors are very generous. I’m very proud that our program is free because in some places, this is an elite activity. It’s cordoned off for people with wealth, with financial privilege, and I’m glad that’s not the case at this school. Here, Model UN is about your willingness, your talent, your commitment, and that makes a world of difference with our team.
“I’m happy to say Model UN has made the recovery post-COVID, and we are larger and more competitive than I ever saw us. I’m very proud of this program and I hope that the people I hand it off to will bring it to new heights.”
Before going to New York, a smaller group of students attended the Midwest Model United Nations conference, where the team received several awards. The more experienced students represented Azerbaijan while newer ones represented Lebanon.
K’s team that represented Azerbaijan in the Midwest competition placed in the top 10 of all countries represented.
San Francisco State University Assistant Professor Rachel B. Gross
A religious studies scholar and finalist for the 2021 National Jewish Book Award in American Jewish studies will visit Kalamazoo College at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 4, in the Olmsted Room.
Rachel B. Gross, an assistant professor and the John and Marcia Goldman chair in American Jewish studies at San Francisco State University, will deliver a lecture titled “Feeling Jewish: Nostalgia and American Jewish Religion.” The talk, sponsored by K’s Jewish studies program, will delve into the nostalgia on American Jewish material culture, foodways, education and naming practices. Her presentation will be followed by a question-and-answer discussion with the audience.
Gross studies 20th and 21st century American Jews and is the author of Beyond the Synagogue: Jewish Nostalgia as Religious Practice. She received an honorable mention in the 2021 Saul Viener Book Prize, given by the American Jewish Historical Society, and is currently working on a religious biography of 20th century immigration writer Mary Antin.
The event is free and open to the public, though, visiting attendees must register in advance and provide proof of COVID-19 vaccinations and a booster, if eligible, at the door. To register or watch the livestream, visit the event’s page at our website.
For more information, contact Professor of History and Religion Jeffrey Haus at 269.337.5789 or jeffrey.haus@kzoo.edu.
Butter’s schedule will include conversations with students over coffee from 1:15 to 3:15 p.m. in the Book Club at Upjohn Library Commons, and her main speaking presentation at 4:30 p.m. in the Olmsted Room at Mandelle Hall, which is open to the entire K community. Her book, Shores Beyond Shores: From Holocaust to Hope, My True Story, will be available for $20 in the Book Club and can be paid for in cash or by check.
Butter was born Irene Hasenberg in 1930 in Berlin, Germany, and grew up as a Jewish child in Nazi-occupied Europe, where she lived with her parents, John and Gertrude; and her brother, Werner. She had friends in common with Anne Frank after moving to Amsterdam in 1937 when her dad accepted a job with American Express. There, her family felt safe from the growing threat of Nazis until Germany invaded in 1940.
Holocaust survivor Irene Butter and her brother, Werner, as children.
Her grandparents, who were still in Germany, were taken to Theresianstadt concentration camp in 1942 and Butter never saw them again. Her immediate family was rounded up in 1943. She survived Camp Westerbork and Camp Bergen-Belsen before coming to the U.S., arriving in Baltimore in 1945.
Upon arrival, Butter was told not to talk about her experiences, so she focused on high school, graduating from Queens College in New York City, and becoming one of the first women to earn a Ph.D. in economics from Duke University. She married Charlie Butter and both became professors at the University of Michigan.
“I didn’t ask to go through the Holocaust,” she says on her website, “but I was saved through the miracles of luck and the love and determination of my Pappi (father). I owe it to him and everybody who suffered to talk about what I learned because suffering never ends, so our work must continue.”
If your knowledge of poetry is limited, April is the perfect time to expand your horizons and practice your writing. That’s because it’s National Poetry Month, and Assistant English Professor Oliver Baez Bendorf has creatively developed ways for students to hone their skills and develop their interests in poetry to celebrate.
Kayla Park read at the Belladonna* Collaborative Reading last spring. She interned with Belladonna*, an independent feminist avant-garde poetry press, through the New York Arts Program during the winter 2018 term at K.
Among his classes, Baez Bendorf teaches an advanced poetry workshop, which is participating in a 21-day challenge to write every day. Students are assigned poetry-inspired aliases and write about their praxis, or practice, of writing. “Writing about writing” might sound redundant, but its purpose is to help students learn about themselves, their influences and their processes to discover what inspires them.
Audrey Honig ’21, for example, is an English and religion major with a concentration in Jewish studies from Elmhurst, Illinois. She is writing erasure poems under the alias Lyra based on what she sees through social media. Erasure poetry erases words from an existing text in prose or verse and frames the result as a poem. The results can be allowed to stand on their own or arranged into lines or stanzas.
“I thought it would be interesting to bring what normally is a distraction into my writing,” said Honig, of the social media she analyzes. “I thought I wrote a lot before this class started, but I really wasn’t creating much. I was working on my writing, but I was mostly working on the editing process. Now I’m doing something small every day.”
Her biggest takeaway from the course has been how to better give and receive feedback to classmates and other writers.
“As students, we’re used to getting feedback when a professor might say, ‘This is a B,’” she said. “In this class, we’re really thinking about the specifics of what we’re doing as writers, so we can give honest and helpful feedback without tearing anyone down.”
For her 21-day challenge, Kayla Park ’19 selects a book at random off her shelf every day and writes a poem inspired by the last sentence on page 21 in that book.
Audrey Honig presents during a class at Kalamazoo College’s Humphrey House. Honig is is writing erasure poems under the alias Lyra based on what she sees through social media.
Park, who writes under the alias Pegasus, earned a Heyl Scholarship when she matriculated at K to study within a science major, and she double majors in English and physics. She said she can see how a writing genre such as poetry helps make her a better scientist.
“When you continue doing a lot of work in one field and you get used to a certain mode of thinking, that’s beneficial in making you an expert in your subject, although you can also restrict your thought patterns that way,” she said. “In poetry, I’m expressing knowledge under a set of conventions that is different, but no less valuable than in science. Engaging with different modes of thinking helps me to see connections across disciplines and approach all situations from a broader point of view.”
The creativity poetry stirs for Park complements what she does with two a cappella groups at K, Premium Orange and A Cappella People of Color (ACAPOC), as well as with Frelon, the campus’ student dance company. It also helps her deal with her own perfectionism.
“Sometimes when I sit down to write, regardless of the assignment, I get hung up on making it perfect,” she said. “Forcing myself to write every day is beneficial in letting a little of that perfectionism go. It helps me write more freely and produce something that I can always go back and edit later.”
Baez Bendorf also offers an intermediate poetry workshop. That class this month is memorizing poems such as Truth Serum and 300 Goats by Naomi Shihab Nye and To Myself by Franz Wright with the goal of reciting them in May.
“We approach it as a kind of ultimate close reading of the work, and then aim to know it by heart, hopefully for a lifetime,” Baez Bendorf said.
National Poetry Month was inaugurated by the Academy of American Poets in 1996. It since has become the largest literary celebration in the world with schools, publishers, libraries, booksellers and poets celebrating poetry, according to the American Academy of Poetry.
The organization drew inspiration for National Poetry Month from Black History Month in February and Women’s History Month in March, and it aims to highlight the legacies and ongoing achievements of American poets, encourage the public to read poems, and increase the number of poetry-themed stories in local and national media. Read more about National Poetry Month at the Academy of American Poets’ website.
Rehearsal for the Festival Playhouse production of Bad Jews. (left to right) Aidan Johnson ’17, Kate Kreiss ’19, Lauren Landman ’18, Kyle Lampar ’17. (Photo by Emily Salswedel ’17)
Festival Playhouse of Kalamazoo College presents the contemporary comedy Bad Jews, a play that explores what it means to be Jewish in contemporary American society. Written by Joshua Harmon, the play will have four performances in the Dungeon Theatre (Light Fine Arts Building) on Thursday through Sunday (Feb. 25-28). It is part of Festival Playhouse’s 2015-16 season “Theatre and Belonging: Stories of Ethnicity and Racial Identity.”
Staged in the round, with production design by Lanny Potts (professor of theatre arts) and costumes by Elaine Kauffman, the story takes place in an apartment in New York City shortly after the death of the family patriarch, the grandfather of Liam, his younger brother Jonah, and their cousin, Daphna.
Liam is Jewish in name only and chooses to pursue everything that has nothing to do with his heritage. Daphna intentionally embraces all things Jewish. Like Melody, Liam’s shiksa girlfriend, Jonah often seems caught in the middle between the extremes of his cousins. It is not until the end of the play we learn where he stands on the question, “How Jewish are you?” The New York Times praised the play as the best comedy of the season, characterized by ”delectably savage humor.” The subject matter and language are for mature audiences.
K’s production is a collaboration between director Ed Menta (the James A. B. Stone College Professor of Theatre Arts) and Jeffrey Haus (associate professor of history and religion and director of the College’s Jewish Studies Program). Menta and Haus invited Dr. Jonathan Freedman, Jewish studies scholar from the University of Michigan, to speak about the play and its themes on Wednesday, February 24, in the Olmsted Room at 7 p.m.. Freedman and Haus will also lead a talkback following the Thursday performance of the play.
The play opens Thursday, February 25, at 7:30 p.m. Additional evening performances occur Friday and Saturday, February 26 and 27, at 8 p.m., and a matinee concludes the run on Sunday, February 27, at 2 p.m. Tickets are $5 for students, $10 for senior citizens, and $15 for other adults. For reservations call 269.337.7333. For more information, visit the Festival Playhouse website.
Amy Elman, the Weber Professor in Social Science, traveled to Bristol, England, in September as an invited speaker at an international colloquium on contemporary anti-Semitism. Her talked was titled “The Enduring Significance of an Abandoned Definition: the EU’s Working Definition of Anti-Semitism and its Foreign Policy Ambition,” and it focused on the the past year’s developments in the European Union. The paper builds on Amy’s recently released book The European Union, Anti-Semitism and the Politics of Denial (University of Nebraska Press, 2014). Amy also wrote the chapter “The EU’s Responses to Contemporary Anti-Semitism: A Shell Game,” which appears in the book Deciphering the New Anti-Semitism, edited by Alvin Rosenfeld (Indiana University Press, 2015)
Director of Jewish Studies Jeff Haus speaking with students
On Wednesday, October 29, at 7:30 p.m., the Jewish Studies program at Kalamazoo College will host a panel discussion titled, “Boycott Divestment Sanctions: Alternative Narratives.” The discussion will take place in the Mandelle Hall Olmsted Room and is free and open to the public. This program will add to the campus discussion of the issue of boycotts and divestment targeting Israeli companies and academics by placing the current conflict between Israel and the Palestinians into a broader political and historical context. The panel will also consider the implications of some of the rhetoric surrounding the BDS movement.
Participants include historian Kenneth Waltzer and political scientist Yael Aronoff, both members of the Jewish Studies program at Michigan State University (Aronoff is the present director of the program, and Waltzer is her immediate predecessor), and political scientist Amy Elman, the Weber Professor in Social Science at Kalamazoo College. Both Waltzer and Aronoff will consider the issue of Jewish self-determination (which is often left out of BDS discussions), and provide a critical assessment of BDS and its implications. Elman’s presentation will discuss her recent research on the European Union and its policies toward Israel and Jews, and the inherent contradictions contained therein. Jeffrey Haus, director of Jewish Studies at Kalamazoo College, will moderate the program, which will also include a question and answer period for the audience.
Claire De Witt ’14, president of the Jewish Student Organization at K, prepares for the Passover Seder with students, faculty, staff and guests on campus.
When Associate Professor of Religion and History Jeffrey Haus came to Kalamazoo College nearly a decade ago, the Jewish Studies program was almost non-existent.
With just a handful of classes that focused on Jewish faith, culture, and history, Haus got to work building a comprehensive, multi-disciplinary curriculum from the ground up. Today, he directs a Jewish Studies program that boasts 14 classes, ranging from beginning and intermediate Hebrew language courses to “Women in Judaism” to the “American Jewish Experience.”
“I’d like to say it’s all been my doing,” jokes Haus, who came to K from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. “But you can’t start a program if nobody cares. The College made a commitment to support the program; the administration made a commitment, too. There’s an openness on the campus to Jewish students.
“It’s indicative of how K has changed over years and become more diverse. The Jewish Studies program is part of that change for the better.”
It’s hard to pin-down exactly how many Jewish students there are at K, Haus says. The College does not ask students their religious affiliation and doesn’t keep track of such information. But his best estimate puts the number somewhere between 100 and 150 students.
Associate Professor of Religion and History Jeffrey Haus directs K’s Jewish Studies Program.
It’s a demographic that has more opportunities than ever before on campus to celebrate their faith, engage with other Jewish students, and feel a sense of inclusiveness.
“I have heard from Jewish alumni from the ’70s and ’80s who said when they were students here, they didn’t feel out of place, but there was no real organized Jewish life.” says Haus. “It’s different when you know you have a critical mass of Jewish students to support one another and create some cohesion.”
During the 2013-14 academic year, six students (Jewish and non-Jewish) signed up for the Jewish Studies concentration. As the program continues to grow, its deepening reach bodes well for the College in many ways. In addition to increasing awareness of and appreciation for the Jewish history and traditions, the concentration’s courses provide an arena for discussing issues of identity, power, and social justice.
“Jewish Studies,” says Haus, can therefore “serve as a nexus where K students can connect different parts of a liberal arts education. Studying Jewish history and religion, they can apply lessons learned from other subjects.”
In addition, the College’s curricular emphasis on social justice increases the relevance of Jewish Studies courses. “Social justice, human rights, and the relationships between majorities and minorities are central themes in Jewish history, religion, and culture,” Haus says. “Jewish communities the world over have always been committed to caring for the less fortunate. The history of Jews is therefore a history of extraordinary communal creativity in areas such as education, economics, and charity.”
Currently, there are two study abroad sites in Israel for K students—one at the Rothberg International School at Hebrew University in Jerusalem and the other at the Ben-Gurion University in Be’er Sheva, located in the Negev, a starkly beautiful desert region in the south of the nation. Both sites have their advantages, Haus says, but the Be’er Sheva site might provide a bit more authentic experience—and a better deal.
“Jerusalem is where the action is, but it’s also more expensive, and there are more limits when it comes to course offerings,” says Haus. “There are also many more Anglophones in Jerusalem, and you can get by just speaking English. In Be’er Sheva, you have a little more diverse course offerings and it’s a bit more cost effective. There are also more chances to use and learn Hebrew and hang out with Israelis. You can get by with English, but you need to use Hebrew.
“I think that no matter how many Jews there are on campus, there’s never been a better time to be a Jewish student at K,” adds Haus. “Between the strong support from the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life, strong support from the administration, and growing number of Jewish activities on campus, as well as this program, it’s leaps and bounds better than what was seen here decades ago. It’s great to have that in a liberal arts setting.”
Jewish students looking for a sense of belonging have traditionally become a part of the Jewish Student Organization, which is open to Jewish and non-Jewish students and has been on campus for decades.
Claire De Witt ’14 is deeply rooted in K’s Jewish student culture and community. The East Lansing native and double major (history and religion with a concentration in Jewish Studies) is the president of the JSO
About 10 to 15 students are part of the JSO each year, De Witt says, and they are involved with organizing campus-wide events for Jewish and non-Jewish students, faculty, and staff. Many events center around Jewish holidays, when traditional meals are prepared, such as baking hamentashen for Purim. Other activities include building a sukkah on campus for Sukkot and donating trees to Israel for Tu Bishvat.
The biggest event the JSO organizes is a Passover Seder, with a full dinner and service put on by student members. About 60 K community members annually attend the Seder, De Witt says, a time when JSO members can educate other College members about the Jewish faith.
“I enjoy JSO because of the community I am able to cultivate through our events and weekly meetings,” says De Witt. “We are a close-knit group that enjoys movie nights and cooking events together throughout the year. As a Jewish student I truly appreciate having a safe space to gather, celebrate, and share the cultural heritage with which I so strongly identify.”
JSO isn’t the only group that has become a support network for students of the faith.
“Even six years ago, you didn’t have an option about what kind of Jewish student you wanted to be on campus. Today we have Jews from many different traditions,” says K Chaplain and Director of Religious Life Elizabeth Hakken Candido ’00. “There is more diversity among Jews. JSO used to be the primary vehicle for support, and in the past there was a feeling that if you were Jewish, you needed to be involved with JSO. There is enough room now to not have to be in JSO, if you don’t want to, and still feel supported.”
Madeleine Weisner and Jennifer Tarnoff feel that sense of belonging. The two seniors will graduate in June and have seen the campus become more inclusive and supportive of those who share their faith.
Several days a week, you can find Weisner, from Minneapolis, and Tarnoff, from Chicago, in the basement of Stetson Chapel in a cozy, albeit cramped, space called “The Cavern.” It’s a safe spot for sharing stories, hanging out and sampling free cookies and tea, or picking up “George,” the Cavern’s communal acoustic guitar. Although not tied to any particular religious tradition, there is an element of faith that permeates the space.
Currently, there are eight Jewish student chaplains, the most ever, Hakken Candido says. Student chaplains are the primary volunteers who help organize activities for the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life. Haus recalls that when he arrived at the College there were no Jewish students in those roles.
Tarnoff is a student chaplain, while Weisner works a paying job as a chapel intern.
“My dad wanted me to look at big state schools that had Hillels (a well-known Jewish campus organization),” Tarnoff says. “But I wanted to find a school that could continue the community feeling I had growing up Jewish. There were many other things that trumped going to a big school. There’s a lot of Jews at K. There’s definitely a community here.”
All too often, the Jewish high holiday of Yom Kippur occurs during orientation and move-in week. Although there is not an official College policy for them to do so, many professors and teaching staff will let Jewish students out of classes to attend services if they wish to, Hakken Candido says, and her office works with JSO to provide free rides to the synagogue of their choice. There are two synagogues in Kalamazoo—the Congregation of Moses, affiliated with the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism; and Temple B’nai Israel, a Reform temple. Similar efforts are made for Rosh Hashanah, which also takes place in the early part of fall term.
The Office of Religious and Spiritual Life also hosts a “Break the Fast” dinner after Yom Kippur for new and returning Jewish students. The event is a great opportunity for freshman Jewish students to meet their older counterparts on campus, develop connections, and find out about Jewish life at K right at the beginning of the year.
“I didn’t grow up perhaps as religious as Jennifer. I didn’t really seek it out,” Weisner says. “But as my college life went on, I looked into my faith more. Having the college support me meant that I had room to grow in my own spirituality.”
Article by Chris Killian. Photos by Susan Andress.
