Norwalk Community College (NCC) has become the first and only of Connecticut’s 12 community colleges to start a Hillel.
The move to form a Hillel at the school began when Prof. Susan Steiz, a public speaking teacher in the business program at NCC and a member of Temple Shalom in Norwalk was approached by Rabbi Brian Leiken of Temple Shalom. Both Leiken, and his friend, Dr. David L. Levinson, NCC president, were interested in starting a Hillel at the community college due to increased diversity in the student population.
“Rabbi Leiken asked me about starting a chapter of Hillel. I wasn’t sure we have a significant Jewish population at NCC, but with 6,000 students, it’s possible,” said Prof. Steiz.
Steiz went to the director of student activities to make sure that there were no issues with starting a religious-cultural organization at a state school and got the okay to form the HIllel from NCC in December. At that time, she approached Rachael Lederman of Norwalk, a student in the paralegal program, about helping get the word out. With her Jewish background, Lederman was the perfect student to get the ball rolling and she was soon actively involved.
“Rachael has been instrumental in getting the word out, contacting Hillel International and pushing the club,” said Steiz, who is now co-faculty advisor along with Linda Lerman.
“I was very involved in BBYO while growing up in Stamford and Armonk, N.Y., so I had this strong connection to learning about Judaism with other people,” Lederman explained. “My family belonged to Temple Beth El in Stamford and I still have a strong connection to the synagogue and to Rabbi Joshua Hammerman.”
“At our first meeting in October, we explained our goals and what Hillel stands for,” Lederman said. “Ten or 12 students came. They’re from all over. One girl has been very active, sort of in a vice president role. She’s from Beacon Falls, Conn. and didn’t grow up with this kind of interaction. We have a big age range,” Lederman said. “Some in the club call themselves very Jewish and some more culturally Jewish, so we can do all kinds of things.”
The local Jewish community has been supportive.
“We’ve gotten support from local rabbis,” Lederman said. “I reached out to Rabbi Hammerman and he gave my name to other NCC students from the congregation. Rabbi Brian Leiken of Temple Shalom in Norwalk came to our first meeting and brought pizza.”
Hillel will hold its first event, a performance of “The Black Jew Dialogues” on Wednesday, Feb. 9, from 11:30 a.m – 12:50 p.m. in the NCC PepsiCo Theater. The play, which will be free and open to the community, uses comedy to explore race and cultural relations in America. It combines fast-paced sketches, improvisations and multi-media.
Andres Gomez, director of Student Activities, brought the idea of the production to Hillel.
“He oversees all the clubs and is very supportive. The biggest goal of NCC is community service and diversity and inclusion,” Lederman said.
“[The Black Jew Dialogues] is a collaboration between Hillel and the Student Activities Office,” Gomez said. “I heard about it, and it was really interesting to me and I proposed it to Rachael. She is an amazing student leader. She’s helping to start Hillel and is also part of student government. She took it under her wing.”
Gomez said they they are hoping many different students and school clubs will attend the performance.
“We’re talking to all the different groups and clubs, from the African Culture Club to our Lifetime Learners program for seniors, and all classes to get teachers to bring their students. We’ve invited the other community colleges.”
“We’re hoping “The Black Jew Dialogues” will bring more interest in Hillel,” Steiz added. “We will approach NAACP to see if they’re interested in being involved…Half my students are international. NCC has such a diverse student body, it seemed to be an appropriate place to hold something like ‘The Black Jew Dialogues,’ which addresses issues of tolerance and how we cope with racism.” Steiz’s co-advisor, Linda Lerman,, is on the regional NAACP board.
Other upcoming activities include “Helping Hands” on Feb. 28 where people can decorate construction-paper hands for a donation which will then be hung in campus buildings. Feb. 28 to Mar. 4 is “NCC Humanitarian Week.” The NCC Service Learning Club will host the Oxfam Hunger Banquet on March 1 and the money raised by Hillel through the strings of hands will be donated to the Hunger Banquet.
For more information on “The Black Jew Dialogue,” or other Hillel events, contact NCC Professor Susan Steiz, faculty advisor to the NCC Hillel Club, at (203) 857-7331 or ssteiz@ncc.commnet.edu.