Hillel BBQ bash welcomes new Jewish students with food, friends

The Helene G. Simon Hillel Center kicked off the school year with its 19th annual BBQ Bash where more than 600 students gathered for food, friends and fun among IU’s Jewish community.
By 5 p.m. Monday, the center’s lawn was booming with loud music and the voices of mingling students, while inside the center, the first floor was filled with homemade food and round tables where students sat and got to know one another.  
Freshman Rachel Herman said the event was good because it gave her a chance to interact with people similar to her.  
“It definitely brings people that have a lot in common with me,” Herman said. “I feel really comfortable, and it’s easy meeting people.”   
The Hillel Center’s director, Rabbi Sue Shifron, said the bash was a way of welcoming people back to campus.
“I hope it will get people involved and let them know what we have to offer at Hillel,” Shifron said.
While the lawn was covered with munching and mingling students, it was also the venue for the Hillel Center’s many student clubs and boards to set up booths. About 15 were set up with representatives waiting to tell new students about their club and sign them up.
Sophomore Matthew Tepperman, chair of the Conservative Ritual Committee, said he and his friends attended the BBQ Bash last year as freshmen and were urged to become involved with the student groups offered at Hillel.
“We signed up for everything last year, and now we’re on the other side,” he said. “Now we’re promoting everything, and it’s a lot of fun.”  
The BBQ Bash is mostly aimed at bringing new students to Hillel, said Mark Swick, Hillel Center’s Student Leadership Cabinet President, but there were some club booths set up for returning students and upperclassmen as well.  
One of these clubs, “Gin and Jews,” is a group of students over the age of 21 who gather and socialize over drinks.  
Gin and Jews Chair, Nessa Feinstein, said the over-21 group aims to add a social spin to the Hillel Center’s community.
“We want to show people the many sides of what it means to be Jewish on a campus that’s pretty Christian,” Feinstein said.
Also present with a booth was the Keshet group, which means “rainbow” in Hebrew, and represents homosexual people in the Jewish Community. Keshet representative Sarah Wilensky said the BBQ Bash brings the group publicity.  
“This is a really good way to get out there at the beginning of the year and make sure freshmen know that we’re here,” she said.
Sophomore Leslie Gubitz sat inside and ate with friends, some new and some old. She said the BBQ Bash offers new students a comfortable grounding point on such a big campus.  
“You come here and you get a taste of what it could be like to come back and get to know the people here,” she said.