San Diego, CA (special) -- On local college campuses, JAM is not 1) a session of cool jazz; 2) something spread on bread with peanut butter, or 3) the state of traffic en route to classes. Thanks to Hillel of San Diego, JAM stands for "Jewish Awareness Month," and it's a time for some pretty creative thinking.

This month comes at no set time of the year; in fact, it is celebrated at different times on different campuses, depending on what else is happening on the academic, secular and religious calendars.  At San Diego State University, JAM came right around the time of Purim. Hillel students began baking hamantaschen, then on impulse decided to dump an entire container of filling into the center of the dough. The result: what might qualify as the world's largest Purim cookie, nicknamed "Megataschen" by the Hillel students. JAM also gave rise to a Purim costume party, in which students wore there 'jammies, and in a local twist, bashed a pinata shaped like the horrible Haman.

Friends at Hillel House at San Diego State University

Who said Jewish holiday celebrations are the same old thing each year?

At UCSD, Hillel students are a-jamming right now. Recently, they created on the library walk their version of Ben-Yehuda Street of Jerusalem, where at booths students could make their names out of Hebrew letters, take tea in a Bedouin tent, or ride a llama.

A llama? Well, grinned Rabbi Lisa Goldstein, who is executive director of Hillel of San Diego, "no one could find a camel."

Other events are being jammed into this Hillel month, including a debate now being arranged in which two professors will square off on what some may believe is one of the most perplexing issues ever to face Judaism: "which is superior-- a latke or a hamantaschen?"

Besides the fun and high spirits which it promotes, JAM also brings together Jewish students to plan and promote the month. It is part of national Hillel's strategy of providing for Jewish students plenty of opportunities to socialize with fellow Jews and to educate themselves about their Judaism in the process.

Kara Pickman, a student who splits her time between Mesa City College and SDSU, recalls introducing herself to Jackie Tolley, Hillel's director at SDSU, and telling her that she had been active in United Synagogue Youth during her high school years and that she was interested in getting involved with Hillel.

When she returned to SDSU a week later "my name was on the newsletter as part of the board," Pickman recalled during a group interview with other students at the Hillel house, located at 5742 Montezuma Road bordering the campus. 

"I thought, 'okay, I am in the organization now' and I felt really good about it. As the year went by I became real active and made a lot of good friends here. It was hard for me last year because I was at Mesa, and I didn't take any classes here. This year I am taking one class here. But it didn't matter. It just mattered that I was a student and Jewish; it didn't matter if I were at State or not."

This coming year, Pickman will serve as the president of the Jewish Student Union, proof positive that no one thought of her as an outsider. The Jewish Student Union is Hillel's on-campus student arm, which for legal reasons has its own bylaws, constitution and officers.

Clarice Estrada, a pre-law student and former vice president of the Jewish Student Union, said she also started participating in Hillel activities even before she transferred to San Diego State University - from Palomar Community College. 

Now a Hillel regular, she says "We see a face here that we don't recognize and we will make a beeline over there to welcome them, and introduce ourselves. It is a very welcoming, warm environment, especially on this campus."

Veronique Schulman, a transfer student from DePaul University in Chicago, chorused agreement: "I came to Hillel in December, and it rained that day, and I must have looked like a drowned mouse," she said. But she immediately made friends, and went with fellow SDSU student (and crew team member) Uri Rosenwald to Shabbat services at UCSD.

"It was wonderful," Schulman said. "I had never seen so many young Jewish people willing not only to accept their Judaism but then also to talk about it. A lot of people will say they are Jewish but then 'let's talk about the Padres.'" 

Rosenwald, a graduating senior, said he affiliated with Hillel after transferring from San Francisco State in order "to be Jewish and to do it in a comfortable zone, with fellow Jews."

"There are social advantages to it," he added. "You get to meet a great bunch of people who share the same feelings. We can argue. We can discuss different aspects of Judaism."

Nick Davis, former president of SDSU's Jewish Student Union, was raised in an Orthodox Jewish community in Ireland, and davens at Beth Jacob Congregation within walking distance of the SDSU campus. While he doesn't pray at SDSU's Hillel House (where services are non-Orthodox), it is where he likes to socialize. Notwithstanding the fact that most of the other
students are less observant, "we have a common background," Davis said.

As Hillel provides a forum for Orthodox to meet the non-Orthodox, so too does it introduce Jews who always have considered themselves secular to the world of Jewish belief and practice.

"Some of the people I talk to are a little intimidated about coming here because maybe they are secular or were raised in a family that didn't necessarily observe, and so they are intimidated about going to Hillel," Estrada said. "That is why we like to schedule events that are purely social, like bowling or broom ball, but it is with other Jewish students."

"Yet," she continued, "our Shabbat services are the center of what we do. That is when we get 50 people together at one time. And a lot of people who come aren't necessarily that observant, but they come by because it is a nice feeling -- a very peaceful environment to be in. You and your friends davening together and having a discussion, and then enjoying a great meal together.
And there are so many people with different backgrounds who come."

At UCSD on Friday nights, Hillel conducts three simultaneous student-led services -- one for  Orthodox students, one for Conservative and one for Reform -- then on some weeks will reconvene as a single group for a celebratory Shabbat dinner.

"People come because they know that other people will be there," commented Matt Solnit, a junior who also is president of Alpha Epsilon Pi, a Jewish fraternity. "The dinner is a big draw too. It is catered by Western Kosher (Restaurant): chicken, rice, vegetables--the works."

Amy Reynolds, a UCSD freshman, said typically services will begin at 6 p.m., followed by dinner which will last a couple of hours, and which may include a speaker as well. "Not too many people stay for the guest speaker," she confided.

Before she came to college, she added, "being Jewish and going to shul on Saturday mornings" with her family was a big part of her life. "It is so wonderful to have a place to go Friday night on campus and to be with friends who really feel at home here," she said.

* * *

Besides being a place for fun and socializing, Hillel is also an ally for Jewish students when they must occasionally fight with the bureaucracy. 

When SDSU transfer student Veronique Schulman was studying at De Paul University in Chicago, she learned to her dismay that by attending Rosh Hashanah services, she risked flunking out of the theater conservatory program at that Catholic institution. 

To get excused from a production of Peter Pan, "I had to get six different signatures," she recalled. "To me, that was the most difficult thing in the world: there wasn't an authority to whom I could say, 'well listen this is Rosh Hashanah; it is one of the highest holidays of the year...I have to be in shul."

More recently, while attending SDSU, Schulman needed to miss her television production classes, this time to attend a young leadership retreat sponsored by the Conservative movement of Judaism. Thanks to the fact that there was a strong Hillel house on the campus, she was able to go to director Tolley for assistance.

"Jackie wrote a letter saying 'yes, she is doing a Jewish-oriented thing and it is important to the SDSU community to have more leaders' and that was that: it was done," Schulman said. "In Chicago, it would have been impossible."

At UCSD, Jewish students can sympathize with the problem Schulman had at Rosh Hashanah. Although the conflict between Jewish High Holidays and scheduled activities aren't so serious that they could cause someone to flunk out of school, they have been known to make Jewish students feel that they have been put at a disadvantage.

For example, freshman Reynolds said she is dreading "move-in day" during the fall quarter that begins in September. This day--when students park their gear in their dorm rooms and meet their roommates--has been scheduled on Saturday, Sept. 19. She points out that Erev Rosh Hashanah is the very next night, followed by first and second day of Rosh Hashanah on the
following Monday and Tuesday. The first day of classes will be two days later on Thursday.

Her family lives in Los Angeles, so she will drive down to San Diego on Saturday to move in --"on Shabbat," she grimaces -- then will drive home to be with her family for Rosh Hashanah, then will drive immediately back to UCSD, so she can have at least one day before classes begin.

"It is a big challenge, pragmatically speaking, to have the High Holidays so close to the bustle of moving in," suggests Michael Rabkin, who as the Jewish Campus Service Corps (JCSC) fellow at UCSD is one of three Hillel staff members serving UCSD.

Worse than the move-in day problem, says Solnit, is "they have cases when Yom Kippur is the first day of class and there are professors who are allowed to say, 'if you don't come to class we will drop you...so a student has a choice between being dropped from his or her class and going to High Holiday services."

Once again, however, it is Hillel to the rescue. "One of the things that we do as a staff representing students is that we develop close relationships with the dean, and other university officials, so it really helps when there is a conflict like this," Rabkin said."We can talk to somebody and let them know what is going on."

It's much the same at SDSU, said director Tolley, who has been involved with the Hillel program there since 1977. "The university is sensitive but things always can fall through the cracks," she said. 

"Much as we try to review the calendars and get the word out (about when the High Holidays will fall), there are professors who will schedule an exam then, and give students a hard time. That is something we get involved with, and 99 percent of the time when professors are confronted, and the importance of these things are pointed out, they will go along."

* * *

Rabbi Arthur Zuckerman of Congregation Beth Am is the Conservative movement's rabbinical representative on Hillel's board in San Diego County. Rabbi Jeffrey Wohlgelernter of Congregation Adat Yeshurun and Rabbi Jonathan Stein of Congregation Beth Israel represent the Orthodox and Reform movements respectively. The Hillel board is one of the few places where rabbis from the three movement sit together.

Zuckerman said when Jewish students move from the relatively safe harbor of their homes to the universities, Hillel is there to help reinforce their Judaism. "The non-Jewish world has made an effort to win over these youth," he said. Hillel is there to help "Jewish kids to take pride in their Judaism, whether it is by celebrating something about Israel, celebrating Shabbat and the
Jewish holidays, or simply providing the comraderie the students need to feel they are not alone."

Whereas at SDSU, Hillel has a house which serves as a drop-in center and a place to grab a quick nap or gulp down a kosher snack, Hillel at UCSD shares cramped trailer offices with a similar organization for Catholic students and, as of recently, with the Campus Crusade for Christ--which is a missionary organization.

The priest who directs the Catholic organization, Father Jim Moran, is considered a friend of the Jewish community. He was a speaker at a campus rally sponsored by Hillel last November on the anniversary of Yitzhak Rabin's assassination. Moran joined many others in calling for Middle East peace.

Asked by HERITAGE whether, in contrast, being at such close quarters with the Campus Crusade for Christ could present a problem, Reynolds, Rabkin and Solnit made light of the possible conflict. 

"They pass out fliers in classes but they aren't forceful or aggressive at all," said Reynolds. "They are just really nice people.You see their presence on the campus but they don't come into your lives in a negative way and they don't try to convince you to join them. They are accepting of the fact that you do have your own religion."

"At this point no issues have come up and I don't expect that they will come up," added Rabkin, the Hillel staff member."Regardless of what they do on campus, I think in the office they will understand that (proselytizing) would not be appropriate.,"suggested Solnit.

Whether their assessment proves correct or not, Hillel is not passive about going out itself to meet and "engage" Jewish students. Now that Hillel has three staff members per campus--a director, program director and a JCSC fellow--it is able to program time to go onto the campuses to meet Jewish students who've not yet been exposed to Hillel.

Rabkin at UCSD and Sean Forman, who is his JCSC counterpart at SDSU, employ a variety of techniques to get Hillel's message before Jewish students. One is "tabling," which is not a parliamentary procedure, but is the name given to the process of setting up a table on the campus, covering it with signs calling to Jewish students, then talking to any student who comes up.

"What I do is sit out there with a table in the center of campus and have fun toys to play with such as a slinky or balloons," said Rabkin, who received his bachelor's degree in philosophy two years ago from the University of Colorado at Boulder 

"I made these stress balls--fill a balloon with sand or rice--and during mid-terms people can play with their stress balls. It's a good gimmick, and people come up to the table, and ask 'Hillel? What do you do?' and I say 'we have this program coming up,and you might want to come.'"

Forman, a graduate of Ithaca College, said in addition to "tabling," he has been assigned various segments of the student population to approach. One group he immediately set out to make contact with were the students in fraternities and sororities, called "Greeks," because their houses are named with Greek letters.

"There was one student I met earlier this year who was the president of a fraternity on the campus and we worked together to get some Greek Jewish programming, " Forman said. The first event was a dinner for about a dozen people at D.Z. Akin's Restaurant.

"At the beginning it was everyone talking about everything in general, and pretty much after everyone had finished eating, we just got together and talked about what we would like to do from there," said Forman. 

"People were really excited about it. Some people volunteered to do p-r (public relations), some social activities....We've had a couple of programs since--a day at the beach, bowling night, and there are a couple of people who are interested in being president next year."

The new organization named itself the "Chai Greek Council."

Barbara Hirschorn, who is Hillel's program director at SDSU and a recent graduate of that university, said once Jewish students are identified, staffmembers make a point of learning about their personal situations.

"Are they involved in anything on campus? What do they do? What their life is encompassing?" she said. "We try to see where Judaism may play a role in that. I don't come right up to them and say 'well, you need to come to Shabbat services;' they will go running away. What I try to do is develop a relationship with them and by doing that they might feel comfortable."

Noting that only fellow Jews are approached--and no effort is made to ever convert someone of another religion--Hirschorn said: "Judaism has added so much to my life that if they realize what is out there, they will know that it can add something to their lives."

As program director, Hirschorn's main responsibility is to work with students as they develop events and other programs. "My responsibility is to make sure that they follow through with putting banners on the campus, produce flyers, make phone calls to people. A lot of students think if we put it on the calendar it is going to happen and my job is to tell them, 'No, you're wrong.' I do a lot of chasing around and phoning."

A "mitzvah day" coordinated by Forman recently drew approximately 70 SDSU Hillel students who performed such good deeds as cleaning up a beach near the Belmont Park roller coaster; serving meals at the Rescue Mission; working on projects with children at the Polinsky Center; helping at Habitat for Humanity's resale store; putting on a program about Israel's 50th
anniversary at the Jewish Family Service senior center, and- Tolley's personal favorite--repainting the inside of the Hillel House.

At UCSD, projects have included a Hillel retreat to the local mountains as well as a pair of visits to the Centro Social Israelita in Tijuana, to spend Shabbat with the Chabad-led congregation there. 

"It was interesting for me to meet Mexican jews who speak Spanish and Hebrew and have kosher Mexican food for Shabbat dinner," commented AEPi president Solnit. "It was a wonderful feeling to know that Judaism is a common bond between people of both cultures."

* *
Jackie Tolley and Rabbi Lisa Goldstein serve as directors of SDSU Hillel and UCSD Hillel respectively, with Goldstein having the added responsibility of serving as executive director for the entire San Diego region. The two complement each other. With her background as a Reform rabbi, Goldstein provides answers on religious questions as they arise. Tolley has more than 20
years experience as a teacher and counselor.

In interviews, the students spontaneously express their appreciation for the role played by these adult leaders. 

Hillel "makes me feel more at home socially," commented UCSD's Amy Reynolds. "Academically and religiously, it is a wonderful thing and the staff is incredible and really helps build a community on campus and makes me feel a part of it."

At SDSU, Clarice Estrada says of Tolley: "Jackie really makes an effort to make people feel welcome. She learns people's names. Even people who are here only once or twice, Jackie makes sure that she knows their names. When I come here I always have to find Jackie and say hello, and when I am leaving on Shabbat I always have to find Jackie to say goodbye. She
is so knowledgeable and we can ask her things. If we want to have a conversation about something, or if I have a question about a thing, she is always willing to discuss."

With Jews of so many backgrounds attending Hillel, Tolley and the students have worked out a modus vivendi for what can and cannot be eaten at Hillel house. Foods cooked in the kitchen most have certification that they are kosher. Non-kosher foods must be eaten in the garage, which has been converted into a recreation room. Goldstein estimates that there are between 200 and 300 students regularly attending Hillel functions at UCSD, with an additional 200-300 participating in an event or two. It is estimated there are between 1,000 and 2,000 Jewish students among UCSD's total population of between 17,000 and 18,000 students.  Tolley estimates that the Jewish population at SDSU is perhaps 10 percent of the student body of 30,000 -- so 3,000. Of that, she says, Hillel has a mailing list that includes

SDSU  Hillel's kitchen is  kosher

between 400 and 500 students. She said she probably can name a couple hundred students who participate in Hillel activities on a fairly consistent basis.

She added: "We've had site visits from (Federation) committee members -a community Shabbat. It was really interesting: the reaction beforehand was 'why do we have to go? We all went to college. We know what college is like.' After they left, it was reported back to us that they were blown away. 

"Most of us do not have a vision of college life as it is today. The reality is that the campuses are not the same place they were10-20 years or more ago. Lisa and I can talk until our faces are blue about the wonderful thing that happens. All you have to do is come to an event, and see these students and talk to the students, and ask them what their life is like as a Jewish student."

Goldstein told HERITAGE that "in the past couple of years, the community has begun to understand the importance of supporting college students. I think that both through Federation and through the community priorities (process) that there has been a real recognition that college students are making clear decisions about their Jewish futures and that this is an investment
worth making."