Tanger Hillel Archives - ��Ƶ

The Impact of War

Susan Landers — Fri, 18 Mar 2022 17:15:25 +0000

Though far from the conflict zone, for reasons personal and academic, the ��Ƶ community is keeping Russia’s war in Ukraine close to its heart.

In the waning days of February, as Russian troops began their assault on neighboring Ukraine, a ��Ƶ student e-mailed his professor. He would be missing some classes, he wrote. He had been attending courses online but was currently in a Ukrainian city under siege and had to focus on trying to get to safer ground with his fiancée. (He eventually did.)

On the Friday evening in early March when Russia took control of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, Eugene Shenderov ’05 couldn’t sleep. The oncologist, Ukrainian native, and Chernobyl survivor tweeted about something not related to medicine for the first time in a while.

“I’m not a political person and I’m not much of a social media person, but that was my threshold,” he said. “It’s just heartbreaking. Given my past history and my current position working in a field where we are doing all we can at times to save one or two lives, to think that people are capable of bringing down such massive death and destruction is horrifying.”

Meanwhile, the Political Science Department had organized an ad hoc teach-in, “an intimate conversation between students and faculty,” as Professor Janet Elise Johnson described it, in which scholars shared their thoughts and expertise, students shared their fears and questions, and the campus’ concern and passion over the issue was at once palpable.

“It was a terrible reason to have an amazingly rich conversation,” said Johnson, who has many contacts in the region and ended up reaching out after the session to a graduate student, a Ukrainian immigrant who mentioned that her parents and grandmother were stuck in the Donetsk region of the country.

Across the ��Ƶ community and its diaspora—which last semester included nearly 300 students who were born in Russia or Ukraine; umpteen more students, alums, staff, and faculty members from other countries in the region; untold numbers with personal connections there; and dozens of professors with deep scholarly ties—the impact of a conflict nearly 6,000 miles and a vast ocean away has been appreciable.

Staff and faculty members have reached out to Ukrainian students to try to connect them with people and organizations that can help, along with counseling students from Russia, some of whom have seen their financial resources disappear overnight due to sanctions. And professors have used their scholarly perch to contribute to the thought collective around the war, from penning opinion pieces and making media appearances to switching up lesson plans in hopes of lending a factual framework to a conflict that has been rife with misinformation.

“For CUNY—an institution that has historically welcomed and educated members of immigrant groups from every corner of the world—there is no conflict anywhere in the world that fails to touch some in our community,” said in a statement in late February, pointing out that New York City is home to the largest number of Ukrainian immigrants in the country.

For many students, including those who have no personal connection to the war, there was a need to do something. at ��Ƶ mobilized students across CUNY to support Ukraine, organizing 30 volunteers to package 3,750 pounds of medical supplies to send to Ukraine and Poland, where many refugees were arriving.

For some professors, it has been a surreal time where scholarship and current events have met head on. Professor Brigid O’Keeffe, of the History Department—which also organized a Zoom session similar to the one the Political Science Department conducted—was at the point in her class, “The Soviet Union as Multiethnic Empire,” where she talked about the Bolshevik revolution. That same week, Russian President Vladimir Putin gave a speech justifying the war.

“Putin was on television saying that [the former head of Soviet Russia, Vladimir] Lenin invented Ukraine,” said O’Keeffe, whose latest book, The Multiethnic Soviet Union and Its Demise, is forthcoming later this fall. “My students had just learned why and how he was lying. We fact checked the speech right there in class. I have been teaching the course for years and I never imagined that the front page of the news would collide with my syllabus in this way.”

She said it was an invaluable moment to talk about how history can be invoked to promote both conflict and peace. In her historical methods class, she has used the war to discuss cultural history and how culture is created.

Johnson, a Central-Eastern European specialist who speaks Russian and regularly conducts research in Russia, is teaching “Democracy, Dictatorship and Development: Politics Around the World.” “I have used every single class to talk about various parts of the story,” she said.

The two teamed up with the Office of the Associate Provost and the Office of the Assistant Vice President for Institutional Effectiveness to put together a panel, “A Conversation on Russia’s War in Ukraine,” in which they pulled in faculty members from various disciplines to discuss their perspective on everything from the history of the region to the current media coverage, so that the broader community can access the college’s expertise.

“There’s a lot of trauma around this, a lot of fear and anxiety as well,” said Johnson, who is trying to square with the possibility that due to the fallout of the war, she may never be able to visit Russia again.

“For those of us with experience in the area, it’s our responsibility to address this, to call a lie a lie, and to provide context to a complex topic,” said O’Keeffe. “It’s a conversation we simply have to have.”

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��Ƶ Gives Back to Those in Need

Susan Landers — Wed, 02 Dec 2020 14:53:07 +0000

��Ƶ students and staff found various ways to give back to their community during the Thanksgiving break.

at ��Ƶ takes great pride in helping the community, especially during the holiday season. For decades, the organization has opened its doors and served home-cooked meals to scores of people in need during the Thanksgiving holiday, and the tradition has become one of its signature events. This year, the COVID-19 pandemic made Tanger Hillel’s work even more impactful.

Over the years, Tanger Hillel has coordinated and planned large dinners for people in need at its center on Campus Road, typically serving well over 200 people each year. In 2019, more than 200 volunteers assisted with the effort. This year, it partnered with a local food bank, Met Council, and held an event on November 25 at Met Council’s Fulfillment Center in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.

The food was packaged and delivered through a partnership with Uber Eats and local livery companies to offer a safe, in-person volunteering event where students selected a shift that worked for them and packaged Thanksgiving meals for New Yorkers in need. Approximately 60 volunteers helped with the effort.

Yelena Azriyel, Tanger Hillel’s assistant director, said the COVID-19 pandemic has forced them to change their philanthropic efforts for safety reasons, but it hasn’t stopped them.

Tanger Hillel followed CDC guidelines to host a coat drive November 22. They partnered with various clubs on campus, including the Public Health and Medicine Club, Biology Club, Community Health Associated Initiatives Club, and Uzbek Society. All coats and winter clothing were donated on November 24 to a local homeless shelter with which they have a long-standing partnership. Twenty-three students volunteered their time to organize and coordinate the drive, and they collected more than 70 coats and other winter clothing items.

“Volunteering is one of the five core values here at Tanger Hillel. It is a value that is embedded into our DNA,” Azriyel said. “We offer an array of volunteering opportunities for our students to partake in, and we encourage and guide our constituents to spearhead and take the lead on volunteer initiatives.”

Other efforts during this difficult time included partnering with a local synagogue to provide food packages to families in need in a safe, COVID-secure environment. Volunteers were also able to partner with Masbia Soup Kitchen Network and assisted with packaging and distributing meals to communities of all walks of life, cultures, and religions in the Brooklyn area.

“We at Tanger Hillel understood that many students are not able to volunteer in person; that is why we offered a volunteering hybrid program that also allowed our constituents to volunteer virtually,” Azriyel said. “Starting this fall, students have signed up for our Senior Call Bank, where they can connect over the phone with isolated seniors to check in, offer technical support and guidance, and simply be a listening ear. We also have worked with local organizations to assess community needs and mobilized the students to volunteer and address them.”

Not to be outdone, members of Student Activities teamed up with the ��Ƶ Food Pantry to distribute Thanksgiving turkeys to 29 students on November 23 as part of their annual commitment to give back around the holidays. Some students also received grocery gift cards.

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Tanger Hillel at ��Ƶ Continues Thanksgiving Tradition

Susan Landers — Fri, 06 Dec 2019 17:01:55 +0000

A coordinated effort by ��Ƶ students and alumni produced a memorable holiday dinner for the less fortunate.

Continuing its decades-long tradition of giving back at Thanksgiving, Tanger Hillel at ��Ƶ opened its doors and served homecooked meals to 185 people in need on November 27.

More than 200 volunteers assisted with the effort, as student volunteers coordinated, planned, and implemented the program by partnering with fraternities, sororities, and clubs at ��Ƶ.
“We at the Tanger Hillel at ��Ƶ, see this as a catalyst for sharing the core Jewish value of making the world a better place (tikkun olam) with the campus community,” said Nadya Drukker, executive director of Tanger Hillel. “Planning this program is a massive undertaking requiring more than two months of hard work. We are very proud of all the student volunteers who made the Thanksgiving Dinner a festive and meaningful event.”

Avi Greenberger ’11 has been volunteering at dinner for years. He said the event is all about making a difference.“Thanksgiving is a day where we can be thankful for what we have and help others,” Greenberger said. “Doing the Thanksgiving Dinner at Hillel is a great yearly opportunity to give back, as well as connect with alumni, get to know the current students, and make a positive impact in the lives of those who are less fortunate.”

at ��Ƶ offers an extensive menu of activities to meet the range of interests and needs of Jewish students and the diverse commute student community at ��Ƶ.

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Meet Our 2019 Salutatorian

Susan Landers — Thu, 16 May 2019 11:04:44 +0000

Psychology major Nina Steinfeld is passionate about the role special education plays in addressing the needs of those students who require the most attention and plans to make a career out of giving back to her community.

Nina Steinfeld is a Brooklynite; she was born and raised in Sheepshead Bay. When she says she is part of the ��Ƶ family it has a double meaning: She is the fourth ��Ƶ degree holder in her family, following proudly in the footsteps of both parents, as well as her brother. With a 4.0 GPA, she impressed both families—the one at school, and the one at home—by making the Dean’s List in each semester of her enrollment, and by winning the Fanny Gerber Memorial Award for academic excellence in fall 2017.

It is an understatement to say that Steinfeld utilized her time on campus well. She served as secretary and president of the Hillel Club and volunteered as a counselor for 30 children from a local homeless shelter, an afterschool program that is run by at ��Ƶ. She worked with nine other counselors to develop recreational activities for the kids and tutored students from grades one to seven in math problem solving, reading comprehension, and writing skills. She also planned and supervised the collection of donations for Thanksgiving dinner for these children, their families, and others from nearby shelters, which was upwards of 350 diners in all.

As president of Hillel, Steinfeld networked with a broad range of other campus clubs and organizations, including Bulldogs for Israel, Gift for Life, SGS Student Government, The Orthodox Club, and Zeta Beta Tau fraternity among others.

Steinfeld will receive a bachelor of arts in psychology with a minor in children and youth studies. Working under Assistant Professor Rona Miles in the Department of Psychology, Steinfeld did crucial research composing the literature review for an article examining mental health literacy in college students and collaborating with other researchers on a study examining religious disaffiliation.
In addition to her activities on campus, Steinfeld was a youth programmer for the Marine Park Jewish Center, supervising 50 children and eight counselors in the implementation of programming and educational activities that develop religious and cultural identities. She also was a lead teacher at Flatbush Park Day Camp, where she managed a classroom of 24 preschool children.

An avid reader, poet, and yoga practitioner, Steinfeld is eager to make a career in giving back to her community. She is enrolled in the New York City Teaching Fellows program and will pursue her master’s degree in adolescent special education from ��Ƶ. She plans to earn post-graduate degrees in addition to her work in education. She is passionate about special education and servicing the needs of the students who require the most attention. Steinfeld credits her experience at ��Ƶ in teaching her that diversity leads to a culturally rich classroom and superb learning environments.

“Differences and diversity do not obstruct community building, but rather strengthen communities and broaden their impact,” says Steinfeld. “By having a diverse and inclusive community at ��Ƶ, our vested interests expand; community efforts reach and support more people. I have learned the power of creating diverse communities filled with individuals who accept and support each other.”

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Chemistry Student Scores Big Prize

Susan Landers — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 12:21:23 +0000

Benjamin Rudshteyn, a junior in the Macaulay Honors College at ��Ƶ who is majoring in chemistry, made campus history when he won a Goldwater Scholarship, one of the most prestigious and competitive awards for undergraduate students who plan to pursue careers in science, mathematics or engineering.

Rudshteyn is the first ��Ƶ student to win the award since it was established in 1986. He is one of 282 scholars selected out of more than 1,100 applicants this year.

“This will open doors for me,” says Rudshteyn, a Brooklyn native who would like to earn a doctorate and is planning for a career as an industrial chemist or a professor. He added that receiving the honor “makes me feel like an important person.”

Rudshteyn, who grew up in Midwood and is a member of the student board of trustees at ��Ƶ , had to submit an essay detailing how his present academic work will prepare him for his career. He is currently conducting research with Alexander Greer, professor of chemistry, investigating biochemicals in an effort to determine the origin of life and the possibility of its existence on other planets. He is also conducting research with Greer on possible cancer therapies.

The Goldwater Scholarship is federally funded and managed by the . It is named after the former U.S. senator and Republican presidential nominee. Each year the foundation selects some 300 students who were nominated by their colleges and universities. The purpose of the scholarship program is to help alleviate a shortage of researchers in the so-called STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields.

Rudshteyn will receive $7,500 from the foundation to spend on tuition, books, and room and board next academic year.

“I was very happy and surprised when I found out the news,” Rudshteyn says. “I immediately ran and told all my professors who wrote recommendations for me.”

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