How Jewish Students Prepare for the 2020 Election
Part one of New Voices Magazine’s 2020 Election coverage, reporting on Jewish student responses to this historic event.
Journalism by Jewish college students, for Jewish college students.
Article Archive
Beyond Continuity: Speaking Out Against Toxic Hookup Culture in Jewish Youth Groups
“Four years after my entry into youth groups, I’ve finally been able to process the harmful culture I was subjected to. Now, I’m more than ready to join a discussion about consent and power in Jewish spaces; there is still much work to be done, and we need participation from the community as a whole in order to create a healthier culture for every Jewish teen.”
A Strike Against Despair
On the eve of Rosh Hashanah, a University of Michigan undergraduate reflects on the sense of possibility unleashed by the grad student strike.
Here We Are: A High Holidays Podcast
Listen to a new two-part High Holidays podcast “Here We Are,” fresh out of Providence, Rhode Island. In a time of unprecedented turmoil, this group of Jewish students has gathered stories and reflections on how they’re entering the new year in the face of a pandemic, climate change, political upheaval, and personal struggle.
College Relationships in the Time of Quarantine
While states apart isn’t the preferred distance for many couples, for the time being, it seems like it will have to be the norm.
At Columbia, Jewish Students Like Me are Caught in a Culture War
With the release of the Trump peace plan, it’s been made even clearer that the two-state solution is no more than a platitude — and international activism for Palestinian human and civil rights is more important than ever. However, as a prelude to this politically expedient deal, President Trump announced an executive order which risks…
Maccabee Games
“The reason that I went was that everything was paid for,” she said, adding, “It was so clear that there was an agenda, but I didn’t ask who funded it. I didn’t really want to look a gift horse in the mouth.”
Rabbi Lawson Says Hineni
After the service, everyone exits the sanctuary to return to the Hillel House where an oneg awaits. Lawson’s wife Susan presents her homemade vegan challah for the rabbi to bless and the students to nourish themselves with. Despite many requests, neither Susan nor the rabbi will give up the secret recipe.
Second Judaism On Our Own Terms Conference Wrestles with Sustainability
Judaism On Our Own Terms (JOOOT), a network of college students attempting to build Jewish communities without major donor-fueled organizations like Hillel and the Jewish Federations, has only existed since last April. The weekend of September 16th, they held their second-ever national conference on the campus of Brown University. According to one attendee, a former…
A Program that Welcomed Scholars Fleeing Nazi Germany Still Harbors Academics in Exile
Turkish scholar Nazan Bedirhanoglu traveled to the United States after submitting a dissertation for her Ph.D at Binghamton University. Four days before she was set to return to her native Turkey, Bedirhanoglu received the news that she had been blacklisted by the Turkish government.
Creating Space as a Disabled Jew
Growing up, immediately before I attended a bar or bat mitzvah ceremony, I was often filled with dread and embarrassment. I grew up in an interfaith household, and the only time I went to synagogue, other than when my family visited our more religious relatives, was to attend a friend or cousin’s b’nai mitzvah. I…
Red Line Rebellion
Though JOOOT-affiliated independent groups lack the financial resources and name recognition of Hillel International, they offer students a powerful invitation: create the Judaism you want to be a part of. Kahn believes that JOOOT’s impact will extend far beyond the campus. “We’re giving people a taste of what the potential of radically inclusive Judaism can be,” he says.
J Street’s Israel-Palestine Trip Invites Critique and Hope
J Street recently announced the launch of a new free trip that will take American Jewish students to Israel-Palestine this upcoming July. The trip will include meetings with Israeli and Palestinian leaders and stops in both Palestinian cities and Israeli settlements in the West Bank. According to J Street U President and Stanford senior Eva…
Converting to Judaism in Small-Town Kentucky
Before 23-year-old Aleah Gabbard began her conversion to Judaism four years ago, she grew up around deeply-rooted anti-Semitism in Owensboro, Kentucky. Owensboro made national news this past Halloween when a resident wore a Nazi soldier costume and dressed his young son as Hitler. This incident reflects the environment that Gabbard experienced in public schools in…
There and Back Again: Navigating Judaism Between Campus and Home
Sitting at the dinner table over winter break with her parents, holding her very own three-person Shabbat service, Adrienne Sugarman got the distinct sense that home was not quite the place it used to be. Sugarman, a Middlebury College sophomore, was intent on recreating the Shabbat services that she attends every week on campus. Needless…