Hillel Rosh Hashanah Dinner
Ramapo’s chapter of Hillel, an international Jewish student organization, hosted a dinner party in honor of Rosh Hashanah in the Alumni Lounges on Sept. 20. Upbeat music played as attendees enjoyed kosher food from Ma’adan Catering, including veggie cutlets, fingerling potatoes, hummus and chicken marsala.
“Rosh Hashanah is the end of the old and the beginning of the new… You should not only celebrate the start of the new year but remember the old one,” said President Spencer Seigel-Laddy.
The main activities included Rosh Hashanah-themed coloring pages and writing resolutions for the new year. The resolutions will be saved for attendees to reflect upon at the same time next year.
“The resolutions that we hold ourselves to are important, but remember that happiness doesn’t always stay in that defined goal,” Seigel-Laddy said.
– Danielle Bongiovanni
dbongiov@ramapo.edu
Words of Hope
On Sept. 21, the Center for Counseling Services teamed up with the Psychology Affiliation and the Student Government Association to host Words of Hope, an event meant to promote positive mental health and destigmatize seeking help. Attendees were given pieces of chalk to write colorful and uplifting messages on the asphalt paths in the Grove. Therapy animals from Creature Comfort Pet Therapy also visited to provide attendees with extra comfort and support.
– Rebecca Gathercole
rgatherc@ramapo.edu
Free Speech 101
The Civic & Community Engagement Center (CCEC) and the Office of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Compliance set up a Free Speech 101 table under the C-wing overpass on Sept. 21 to remind students of their First Amendment right to free speech and how to use it effectively and appropriately. They handed out flyers with free speech “do’s and don’ts.”
This comes in response to an individual who set up signs outside the Student Center to preach his beliefs about religion and science, which many students and staff found controversial. The table provided students with supplies to make their own posters if they wanted to counter-protest.
Sydney Mattea, a senior psychology major and a student manager at the CCEC, helped run the table. “We are just letting students have the opportunity to have dialogue safely and respectfully,” she said. She reiterated how the table’s purpose was to remind the Ramapo community to respect the rights of others, even when disagreeing with their beliefs, and “consider when [it] is an effective time to walk away and take care of yourself.”
– Jessica Hammer
jhammer@ramapo.edu
Featured photo by Ash Curtis
