Hillel receives 'suite' donation

Hillel, Baruch's largest Jewish campus organization, will be expanding their club space this semester, with hopes of the club growing along with it. Currently, it occupies two rooms in the student organizations area on the third floor of the Vertical Campus.

Ruth Perelson (‘58) and her husband Sam Perelson (‘56), both former editors-in-chief of The Ticker, recently made the gift to the "Baruch Means Business" campaign, a fundraising initiative geared towards raising private philanthropic support for the college, according to a campus news press release.

"The donation gave us a chance to rethink the role of our work on campus," said Matthew Vogel, executive director of Hillel.

"We hope to use it to bring together Muslims, Jews, Christians and raise the profile of faith-based groups at Baruch."

Renovation efforts will reconstruct the hallway adjacent to the Hillel offices into an open lounge by extending the glass wall of the nearby game room.

The comprehensive lounge will be named "Hillel at Baruch - The Ruth and Sam Perelson Suite" in honor of its donors.

As members of the Jewish community, the Perelsons earmarked their donation to specifically assist the already prominent organization.

Included in the renovation will be a seating area in the empty hallway space to generate a welcoming atmosphere to the area.

In addition to improving the appearance of the club space, Hillel's staff is important to the construction's symbolic role to the Baruch community.

For Vogel, increasing inclusivity on campus is a prime issue.

"I've heard from other students that most of the time club members stay in their offices with closed doors," he said.

"We want to show students that our doors are open and invite different organizations to come into the space just as Abraham and Sarah opened their tent to people from all walks of life."

Nearby student organizations are accepting of the changes being implemented.

"We know where they are coming from," said Benjamin William, small group coordinator for Intervarsity Christian Fellowship. "They are one of the prominent clubs and they do have influence, and either way it's not going to hinder us from what we have been doing on campus."

Still, other students are reluctant to assume a positive impact from the changes.

"It sounds like a great gesture but it's not logical for us to change our minds and start hanging out at Hillel's club space just because they built a lounge," said Omar Zahrigeh, a junior and member of the Muslim Student Association.

"Unless they go a little further and maybe conducted interfaith sessions in the lounge there is no reason for us to change how we already do things."

Although the new space will bear Hillel's name, Vogel stated that construction of the lounge is being conducted with the other student clubs in mind.

"There are 185 or so organizations on campus and we want to use the limited space the best we can," said Vogel. "We just hope this will continue our role as a value-added partner to Baruch."