History
Hillel at Binghamton began in 2001, but there was a Jewish presence on campus for many years before that. When the old lounge was being cleaned out for the move to the student lounge in the New Union, people found papers from 1949 that mentioned a Jewish Friendship Society. This eventually became the Jewish Student Union (JSU), and as a student group it became part of the Student Association (SA). The Jewish population on campus flourished, and in the early nineties a part-time Hillel professional came to Binghamton University. By the mid-nineties the fledgling Hillel and the JSU combined since they were competing for SA funding for similar events. Even with their combined strength the student-run Hillel-JSU could not do as much as Hillels on other campuses with full professional staffs and additional funding.
Students and alumni began asking for a fully funded and staffed Hillel at Binghamton University. The problem was that funding for Hillels usually comes from the local Jewish Federation, and the Broome County chapter was too small to support such a large project. It took a serious event to show the people with the power to make it happen that Binghamton University really needed a Hillel.
In Fall 2000 and Spring 2001 the campus was covered in swastika graffiti numerous times, and Jewish students began to feel under siege. Even the Jewish Week took notice of the situation and wrote an editorial about how the Jewish Federation of New York had abandoned 3000 Jewish students. After this, the Federation of New York and Hillel International raised the money for a three year grant that would cover a professional staff and programming. The newly formed Hillel began working with the University, alumni, the community, and others to build a base and work on long-term fundraising.
Hillel at Binghamton officially began on Monday, September 10, 2001. The next day was September 11, 2001, and Hillel spent most of its first semester dealing with the aftermath of the terrorist attacks. By helping the campus community deal with these tragic events Hillel was able to "create some kind of identity on campus," explains founding Director Gary Coleman. Overall, Hillel’s first three years were devoted to offering "as wide a variety of Jewish programming as possible," says Coleman, noting that "different students have different interests and ways of connecting." Jewish life existed on campus before 2001, but Hillel expanded it to give more students more opportunities to get involved.
As Hillel is ending its fifth year it has developed a mission statement to help guide its work with the three thousand Jewish students and the entire campus community.
Hillel at Binghamton provides quality programming, leadership opportunities and professional support to the Binghamton University community in order to:
Foster Jewish education and awareness
Strengthen community and identity as uniquely Jewish and universally human
Promote the values of pluralism, tikkun olam, Israel, and Jewish Peoplehood
so that students can develop significant relationships and meaningful Jewish experiences.
Also, during the 2006-07 academic year we will be celebrating five years of Hillel at Binghamton and honoring the rich history of the Jewish student groups on campus. Two special events are being planned.
- With the help of many co sponsors we are bringing Paul Rusesabagina, the hotel manager in Hotel Rwanda, to campus on Thursday October 12. He will be speaking at the Events Center at 7:30 P.M. Special programming will continue throughout Homecoming weekend.
- We are planning a celebration in New York City during the spring of 2007, to honor those who have played an important role in the development of our Hillel and inform others of our story.