The Student Newspaper of Saint Joseph’s University
Volume XCV | Est. 1929 | www.sjuhawknews.com
March 8, 2017
Crimes against local Jewish communities St. Joe's Institute for Jewish-Catholic Relations issues statement of solidarity MOLLY GRAB ’17 Editor Emeritus The string of vandalism and threats targeting Jewish institutions across the country has now reached Philadelphia. Over the weekend of Feb. 25, close to 100 Jewish headstones were toppled in Mount Carmel Cemetery in Wissinoming, Pa. The vandals have not been found. Then, on Feb. 27, the Perelman Jewish Day School and the Kaiserman Jewish Community Center (JCC) in Wynnewood were forced to evacuate due to bomb threats. “These events are especially shocking for many people because there’s appropriately a sense, for many American Jews, that this is a very tolerant society,” said Adam Gregerman, Ph.D., assistant professor of theology and religious studies and assistant director of the Institute for Jewish-Catholic Relations (IJCR). “There’s a sense of shock that outbursts like this happen. Fortunately, there are not broader patterns of anti-Semitism in American society in any mainstream way. It shakes people’s sense of comfort, it shake’s people’s sense of being at home.” Saint Joseph’s University’s IJCR is the oldest organization dedicated to Jew-
(Photo by Luke Malanga '20).
ish-Catholic relations in the country. For the first time in the history of the organization, the ICJR issued a statement of solidarity on Feb. 27 in reaction to the “horrific occurrences” taking place in local and national Jewish communities. “We have never done this before,” said
Phillip Cunningham, Ph.D., professor of theology and religious studies and director of the IJCR. “We’re not a political action entity; we do not advise on policy decisions. But because we’re friends with people, we react and respond to their emotional states.” The IJCR’s statement, which was issued
before the most recent bomb threats hit Philadelphia Jewish centers, highlights that the vandalism at Mount Carmel Cemetery left the Christian graves “unharmed, indicating a targeted assault on Jewish graves.” The statement also connects the vandalism with similar acts at Chesed Shel Emeth Society Cemetery in St. Louis, Mo. the week before. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has also taken notice of the recent targeting of Jewish communities. It reports that there have been 90 threats against Jewish institutions since January 2017, and on Feb. 27, the ADL put out a security advisory to all Jewish institutions nationwide, stating that they should review bomb threat safety guidelines. “It’s very upsetting and very disturbing,” said Rabbi David Ackerman, spiritual leader of Beth Am Israel in Penn Valley and member of the IJCR’s board. “And even if it turns out that these are adolescent prank acts, [it’s] still notable that its Jewish cemeteries that are singled out.”
CONTINUED ON PG. 3
Culture of conversation
Classrooms open for professors to learn from colleagues CHARLEY REKSTIS '20 Assitant News Editor The Office of Teaching and Learning (OTL) held an open classroom program the week of Feb. 27 for professors of Saint Joseph’s University to learn new teaching methods from their colleagues and apply those methods to their own teaching. OTL was established in the fall of 2016 to help centralize the teaching and learning resources that are used at St. Joe’s. “It [OTL] was created to be a way to promote effective pedagogy across the university and to foster communication among faculty on what makes the best practices in
teaching," said Director of Office of Teaching and Learning Usha Rao, Ph.D. "We want to really look at current research on student learning and see how we can apply that to what we already do here.” Along with the open classrooms, the office also has workshops and lectures that are given by teachers for teachers, teaching and learning forums, and a book discussion group. “As part of some of the new programming we, for the very first time, offered this open classroom initiative where we had 24 faculty who opened up 28 courses and 56
sections of courses that were open to any faculty and staff," Rao said. "It was a way for us to explore different styles of teaching across different disciplines.” The program is meant to create more conversations throughout different departments in both the Ervian K. Haub School of Business and in the College of Arts of Sciences (CAS). “The idea of going across disciplines and getting ideas about good teaching from something outside of your area of expertise, it just seemed like something that would jumpstart a broader conversation and foster a cul-
ture of thinking and talking about teaching and learning," said Jeffery Hyson, Ph.D., assistant professor of the department of history. Hyson was inspired by other colleges opening their classrooms and mentioned the idea to Rao after the Office of Teaching and Learning was established. “We are supposed to be a very teaching oriented institution and I think there’s lots of really good teachers but I think there is also not enough time spent in sharing our experiences and our insights on teaching outside of our departments,” Hyson said.
CONTINUED ON PG. 3
Hawks take advantage of networking opportunities
St. Joe's students connect with Philadelphia employers and representatives on fifth floor of McShain Hall (Photos by Luke Malanga '20).