Volume 67, Issue 4

A Message from IBC President Elior Shiloh

For the past couple of weeks, many students have been engaged in debate over whether students attending Yeshiva University should be required to wear a kippah at all times.  We all understand that there is an unwritten rule that all students attending Judaic Studies classes should wear a head covering.  But, the questions is, should that unwritten rule encompass secular classes, the cafeteria, or even strolling around the Wilf campus?  Well, a quick glance around campus these days, which would reveal quite a few bare heads, will tell you that the unwritten rule seems to apply only in the classroom, revealing a sharp contrast between the religious and nonreligious students on campus.  In fact, the Kippah issue is merely scratching the surface of the religious differences in this institution.

We all came to Yeshiva for a wide variety of reasons, some of which include: the knowledgeable Rebbeim, the vast, in-depth Judaic studies course selections, the beginners’ program in Judaic studies.  But the main reasons is: to be part of  a Jewish environment.  Though we are a relatively small population of students, our community here is extremely diverse, with students from many different backgrounds both of the religious and non-religious variety.  Unfortunately, not all the cultures here on campus interact with one another. This lack of interaction amongst students is a shame, for we all have much to learn from one another.  

It is hard for me to say this, but much of the polarization amongst students stems from events held here on campus. Why would an I.B.C. or  J.S.S. student want to come to ‘Dorm Talks’ when his Rebbeim are never even invited to lecture?  How can the whole University attend an Achdut (Unifying) Torah program held in the Main Beit Midrash, when the program doesn’t cater to the entire University?  Moreover, when students from I.B.S. or a J.S.S. are informed about it merely two days before the event, how are they expected to attend? I asked a number of J.S.S. students whether they had heard of the program; they just shrugged their shoulders with puzzled looks on their faces. 

The other day I read a sign that said, “Agunah Symposium.” This program also seems to cater to exclusively one type of student.  How many students actually know what an Agunah is? Maybe the organizers of this program should have given a brief description of what the lecture was about or at least advertised FREE DOUGIES. (Don’t get me started on Dougies!)  Apathy towards events here on our campus is created when organizers do not fully put the time together in creating a proper event.  We must not assume that all students know what topics will be discussed at events.

Furthermore, at Yeshiva, we are not all on the same page religiously, and we must consider our mutual differences.  That means taking the extra step in understanding where each and every individual Jew comes from.  Respecting each other’s differences would slowly lead to uniting our student community.  Students here have one thing in common: they are enrolled in an Orthodox learning institution, established on the basis of Torah U’Madda.  For that sole purpose, we must respect each other and our surroundings.  Through upholding the unwritten rule of wearing a kippah at all times on campus we are respecting our environment.   By respecting our surroundings as well as one each other, we slowly will come to bridge the gap between our diverse student body.¨

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