Sacramento State’s new Jewish Life and Resource Center, is an Equity and Affinity space dedicated to supporting Jewish students and faculty, opened on Wednesday, May 8.
Located at Modoc Hall, Suite 1010, the new resource center is part of Sac State’s efforts to support its diverse ethnic and religious groups with safe and supportive spaces, Sac State President Luke Wood said.
Wood headlined the opening ceremony, which was attended by Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg, District 1 City Councilmember Lisa Kaplan, community members, Sac State students and faculty.
After starting as the university’s president, Wood said he learned that the campus life offerings for the Jewish community were very limited in comparison to what he expected, which promoted his outreach effort to learn more about what could be done.
“We spent a whole semester, 92 listening sessions, 75 minutes each, with over 1500 students, faculty and staff,” Wood said.
Suggestions included increased kosher food options on campus, training sessions for faculty members about antisemitic rhetoric and the opening of a task force to combat antisemitism at Sac State.
In 1965, Hillel International, a Jewish campus organization, opened a space for the Jewish community across the street from UC Davis. While this resource center is available to students living in and around the Sacramento area, the commute can be long, according to their press release.
Conversations between Wood and Hillel eventually centered on establishing a space at Modoc Hall, which sits across State University Drive from the Hornet Commons apartments..
“It was important for us to create a Hillel at Sacramento State, so our students can have access to an environment that supports and cares about them,” Wood said.
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Mayor Steinberg said the center is more than just a building among many buildings, but a place where Jewish students could embrace their identity.
“This is one further message to the Jewish student body, that you can proudly say ‘I’m a Jewish American, and this is my campus,'” Steinberg said.
Councilmember Kaplan said the event had additional meaning to her as she is one of two Jewish individuals on the city council.
“Having a place for our Jewish students to go is of the utmost importance right now,” Kaplan said.
Kaplan said she hopes to see students take an active role in the services and events that will be held at Modoc Hall. She wants to see the center become a place of knowing and camaraderie for Sac State’s Jewish and Israeli students.
Senior computer science major Michael Berbach said that although the center comes at a time when he is close to graduation, it could help future students experiencing the challenges he had at finding Jewish peers.
“We’re a commuter campus, so it can be difficult to build a community here,” Berbach said. “Having this space is helpful. Now I can say at the very least there is a place where people can meet.”
For junior computer science major and Pi Kappa Phi member Ilai Sirak, the center represents a big moment in progressing Jewish life at Sac State. Sirak is an engagement intern for Hillel, and said he hopes that the center will make Jewish life more vibrant on campus.
The opening ceremony culminated with Rabbi Ben Herman, of the Mosaic Law Congregation, placing a mezuzah, a protective ornament meant to remind Jewish families of the presence of God and to teach future generations, on a doorpost while reciting a Hebrew blessing.
“So many Jewish students here wanted their own place, where they can be for Friday nights, for holidays,” Herman said. “I can’t think of a more fitting time for such a space to be established.”
