Hillel JUC celebrates milestone anniversary, highlighting its role as a ‘home away from home’
'It sounds cliché to say it's a safe space, but there's really nothing else like it on the university campus'
Since accepting a role with Hillel JUC a decade ago, Jennifer Poller has continually articulated the critical nature of her work. Speaking with the Chronicle weeks before the organization celebrates a milestone anniversary, Poller repeated that trope when describing an influential perspective she heard from a donor: Jewish life is a continuum functioning similarly to a school bus. The first stop may involve Jewish preschool. The next stop may be summer camp. Other stops can exist, but the “last best chance to reach Jewish youth on that continuum before they go out into the world is college.”
If talented staffers meet Jewish students at that “last stop on the bus,” then there’s a chance to deeply impact the Jewish future, Poller, Hillel JUC’s director of development, said.
On April 12, community members will be reminded of the message when Hillel JUC marks 25 years since dedicating the Edward and Rose Berman Hillel-Jewish University Center building.
Located in Oakland neatly between Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh, this “wonderful space and facility has allowed thousands of students to enjoy meaningful Jewish campus experiences and go on to be leaders in Jewish communities across the country,” Hillel JUC Executive Director and CEO Dan Marcus said.
Dedicated in 2001, the building is home to routine programming, including Challah for Change, Shabbat dinners and guest speakers.
At its core, Hillel JUC is a gathering place, Poller explained.
In 2018, after the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, it’s where students congregated.
After the events of Oct. 7, “that’s where students wanted to gather again,” she said. “It sounds cliché to say it’s a safe space, but there’s really nothing else like it on the university campus.”
Hillel JUC board chair Adrienne Indianer told the Chronicle that the past few years on college campuses have underscored the need for the building.
“A safe place, whether it’s the idea of a safe place or coming to that safe place, is really important for Jewish students right now,” she said.
“As has always been the case over the last 25 years — but brought into sharper focus over the last few years, particularly since the tragedy of the Tree of Life massacre, Oct. 7 and even the current days we are living in — having the safe dedicated space, knowing that every Jewish student can gather in and create community in, is essential,” Marcus said.
Staffers and volunteers hope the community recognizes that having a building has not only created a sense of place but engendered a wider sense of purpose.
“This has a broader impact than just the students of Pittsburgh,” Poller said.
“If we want our campuses to be attractive to students from all over we have to show them that this is an amazing place to be,” Indianer said.
Celebrating 25 years is a chance to look back, but also ahead, Marcus said. Along with “honoring the legacy and the vision of the community members who made Hillel JUC possible,” there should be an awareness of the vital work required to “engage every Jewish student.”
“Aside from being a beautiful building and a wonderful space, it’s important that people understand that for many students, Hillel is the center of their Jewish life,” Indianer said. “It is a place. It’s not just an idea, it’s not just an organization. It is a place. It is a home away from home.” PJC
Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.
comments