Listen to the recording the panel here.

On January 4, 2009, at Congregation Ahavat Torah in Englewood, NJ, JLIC held a panel about Jewish Life on Secular College Campus. The panel, moderated by Simone Geller, Operations and Communications Associate for JLIC, included Rabbi Ilan Haber, National Director of JLIC, and current JLIC educators.

Rabbi David Wolkenfeld, JLIC educator at Princeton University, spoke about Jewish life on a relatively small campus, while Naomi Kohl, JLIC educator at University of Maryland, spoke from her experience about Jewish life at a large university. Michelle Sarna gave a slightly different perspective about Jewish life on an urban campus. Adam Teitcher, a student at the University of Pennsylvania, spoke about the two greatest challenges and two biggest influences that face him on campus. The panel featured a keynote address from Rabbi Yehuda Seif, former JLIC educator at the University of Pennsylvania (2002-2005). Rabbi Seif spoke about, "Strategies for Success: Challenges and Opportunities for Orthodox Jews on Secular College Campuses," in which he delineated specific challenges facing Orthodox students on campus, and how those challenges can be successfully met while on campus.

Following the brief presentations, there was time for the panel to field questions from those in attendance regarding specific campus issues and/or general questions pertaining to Orthodox students making the decision to go to college. Questions included where to dorm and who to dorm with, what parents can do to best prepare their students for university culture of questioning values, and how a student can best take advantage of the resources available to them while on campus to grow in their Judaism and dedication to a Torah lifestyle.

With over 120 people in attendance, the panel was a resounding success. Informative, substantive, and interesting, the panel was hopefully able to raise awareness of what the college experience is like, and what resources are available for Orthodox students attending college, and what resources they should look for when considering different campuses.