Newly elected Hillel president discusses plans for coming year

The Daily Pennsylvanian spoke with College junior Alex Jefferson, the new president of Hillel, about his plans for the Jewish community hub.

DP: Right after being elected President of Penn Hillel, you flew to Denver, Colorado to attend the Jewish Federations of North America’s General Assembly. What was this conference all about?

A.J.: The goal is to get as many passionate Jewish minds as possible into one place at one time … as a Hillel President-elect, I got to speak [with other Hillel leaders] and learn about how their board works and their programming. I met with the national Hillel board and picked their brains … I also met with Federation leaders from across America and got to network professionally. There was also so much idea sharing — between day schools, rabbis, synagogues … it was about getting people who care and are involved to share their experiences.

DP: What does your vision for Penn Hillel involve?

A.J.: It involves a new model of Jewish involvement … in the “fortress” model, you come and participate [in an event], but other people planned it. This won’t lead you to make Judaism an inherent part of your life. Judaism is a living, breathing part of my daily experience … and my question is, how do we create that across campus, and make Judaism an active part of [students’] lives? In the “ten person” model, it’s not a committee planning an event … people are planning it for themselves and their friends. Their Jewish identity [will] be enhanced by being part of the process. I want to work on smaller, intimate events to empower people – not just the Hillel regulars.

My first goal is to create ways to make the community of [Hillel] regulars more cohesive, collaborative, and socially communal, so people can get to know and learn from each other. Second, for the people who are not Hillel regulars … I want to engage them and help them explore Judaism. How do we help that first group relate to groups outside of the building? If we don’t have a greater Jewish community, we’ve lost sight of our goal.

DP: What do you see as the biggest challenge facing you in the coming year?

A.J.: If we can get this model up and running … my fear is that the experience I’ve created won’t really be inherently Jewish. Will [these events] still contain what makes Judaism so special? In breaking down the traditional institutions, are we losing the reason we want to do this?

DP: Will your plan involve any changes to Hillel board?

A.J.: This is the year that National Hillel has put an emphasis on restructuring leadership. Currently, the Steering Committee comes up with a vision and then works with the lower committees — I think that model is flawed. Research shows that we need to evolve into a new model, where bureaucracy isn’t … top-down. My goal for the next three weeks is figuring out how to structure the board. A potential model might [include] a position on the steering committee that will share a general vision [and] oversee events but allow people to run them on their own.

DP: What are your plans for interfaith and community service programming at Hillel?

A.J.: My position is much more focused on the Jewish community at large … but we will work with PRISM, Christians, Muslims, etc. to collaborate on events and build a relationship. … And social justice, outside of its religious component, is the biggest focus of Hillel, so it will certainly stay a top priority.

This article was updated from its original version to clarify Jefferson’s explanation of the Hillel board’s current model.

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