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Freshmen
First year students were the most important group of students that I focused on engaging. The freshmen come to college wide-eyed, and in awe of everything going on around them. Some want to try every new experience, and others would like to find a little bit of stability. The JCSC can provide both excitement and stability to the Jewish students on campus. Armed with free food, you will be able to meet a lot of freshmen, and be able to tell them what you and Hillel have to offer them. The truth is that most of the freshmen, especially during the first two months of school, aren't sure what they are trying to get out of college. Because New Orleans is such a vibrant and chill town, many students become apathetic towards extra-cirricular campus life. It's much harder to get an upper-classman involved because they are already jaded about life at Tulane and in New Orleans. This is why it is important to show the freshmen that they can shape their college experience in a plethora of positive Jewish experiences.
Greek Students
Greek students are a challenging group of students to engage at Tulane. They would definitely fit the definition of engagement students because the overwhelming majority of them have no interest in Hillel activities. The Greek system is filled with Jewish students. The only nationally recognized Jewish house on campus is AEPi, and they are about 90% Jewish. AEPhi, SDT, SAM and ZBT have traditionally been Jewish, but at Tulane they are about 50% Jewish. The challenge with Greek students is that they aren't looking to meet more Jewish friends. Most of them have a group of friends that they hang out with. There is opportunity, however, to try to involve them in community service, Shabbat, the high holidays and sports. We had a Greek Shabbat dinner and a Break the Bread for Passover. I was disappointed that I didn't get more involvement from the Greek students, and I think part of the problem was that I was unsure what they were looking for from Hillel.
Drama Students
There is a fairly big theater program on the Tulane campus, but there aren't any major theater clubs or groups. I wanted Jewish Tulane students of all different backgrounds to be able to have fun, play improv games, and put on a performance. The theater group never took off like I would have hoped; however, the nights we met were a lot of fun. The students varied in age from Freshmen to Law student, and we even had a student from Loyola University, and one from University of New Orleans act in the group. We played a variety of improv games, performed monologues, told many jokes, and acted in one performance. At the end of January, Hillel put on a Murder Mystery Shabbat dinner, and the theater students became the central characters in the Murder Mystery. It was a great time. Unfortunately, the theater group never built on the success from that event, and it slowly slipped away. I was hoping that a student would take some of the initiative, but it didn't happen. Next year, there might be some students who are interested in organizing a theater group.
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STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS
Freshmen
The best strategy for planning programs with Freshmen is to provide a lot of free food. Bring a pizza, or some chocolate into the Residence Halls, and all the students including the Catholics will love you. When you meet some students that seem interested in what you do, invite them out to lunch or for some coffee. I had a lot of students attend my coffee hour and smoothie hour who I met in the Residence Halls first semester. The idea is to get to know a few students, and hopefully as the year progresses they will be able to help you with programming. Every student knows other Jewish students, so the possibilities are endless, although the process isn't easy. When planning a Freshmen event, make sure that there will be a few students who are available to attend. Try not to program on nights when there are other major campus wide or community wide events going on. I made this mistake, and I had an extremely poor turnout because everyone had better things to be doing with their time.
Greek Students
I began the year with the notion that I would create a 2002-2003 Jewish Greek Council. There was a council the two previous years, but some of the feedback I got told me that the council was somewhat of a waste of time. I got to know some of the Greek students individually. I formed a relationship with the President of AEPi. I recommend meeting with the Presidents of a few of the houses and getting to know them so that they know Hillel can be a resource. Just like with Freshmen, providing free food is always a draw. Everyone seems to love free food, and as JCSC you will become a Master at bringing home the Kosher treats. Offer to help the fraternities and sororities with fundraising for an important need in the community such as a food shelter. The truth is that the Greeks don't need the JCSC or Hillel to plan social programs for them.
Drama Students
At the beginning of the year, Hillel gets students to fill out an interest form. I emailed and called many of the students on the interest form who had checked an interest in theater. I got a limited amount of success this way. The best way to find students is to get the word out by personally inviting them to join the group. I would recommend going to the drama department and leaving fliers up there. If I had to do it over again, I would go to some of the drama classes and make announcements. My goal wasnt necessarily to find the students already involved in theater; instead, I wanted to find students who wanted to act as a hobby aside from their normal school work.
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