Hillel at University of Oregon

By Amy Kaufman

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While other students may have rested on the beaches of Cancun during spring break, University of Oregon sophomore Amy Burian went to Uruguay with Hillel and helped impoverished families build two homes from the ground up.
The "Alternative Spring Break" in Uruguay in 2006 was one of several "social justice opportunities" offered by Oregon Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life. With its own house on the UO campus, Oregon Hillel is supported by the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland, which will provide $54,041 in funding for the coming year.
Hillel is a "home away from home," said Burian. She said she was originally attracted by the packed calendar of activities and also "wanted to find a good fit for services during the school year."
"I decided to go and never turned back," she said.
Before the 16 Hillel participants went to Uruguay, Burian said, they were amply prepared with information about South American culture, basic carpentry, safety and shots.

"We wore gloves so we wouldn't get nails in our fingers," she said.
The students helped build two wood houses for families in the hills outside Montevideo, she said. They dug holes, installed posts, built walls and put in floors, and hung doors and windows.
"It was more like a one-room shed, but it was a roof over their head," said Burian. "They had been living in tin dwellings with wood scraps, tarps on the mud—the kind of thing you see on TV. The families that move in are supposed to paint if they can afford it and add their own special touches and make it a home. The family also helped us build the house, so we got to interact with people who didn't speak English. It was really a life-changing experience."
Fund-raising for the project "was almost like having another class," Burian said. Each student had to raise $1,200 toward air fare; Hillel funded the remainder of the expenses.
"We had weekly meetings and sent out letters to family members and friends to donate money. Then we had parents' night out and invited families in the community to come to Hillel House for movies and games and stuff, while we watched the kids for a couple of hours."
Last summer Burian also went to Israel on a trip co-sponsored by Hillel and birthright Israel. She said she also found it "really special" to have her bat mitzvah in Israel at age 19 with a friend she had known since they attended the Early Childhood Learning Center at the Mittleman Jewish Community Center.
Burian said she enjoys participating in the student-led Reform and Conservative services held every Friday night at Hillel House.
"The Conservative service takes a little longer. The Reform has a little bit more chat. We do the blessings together over wine and food and have dinner together.
"Cooking is a huge thing at Hillel. For Friday night dinners we have a cooking chair, and people come and help, and they make their own challah."
She said hundreds attend the annual Shabbat dinner at Hillel. "It's a nice way for the Jewish community to get together. We also invite non-Jews, and community members attend."
The "Shabbat 200" dinner last year attracted 200 guests, said Burian, who is now working on "Shabbat 300," to be held Nov. 3.
"Even though I'm in college, I still have a real strong Jewish community here," said Burian. "It's really nice to come back to school and have that, because often people will go away to college and say, 'I can't be Jewish.' At some schools, people don't know what's out there as far as the Jewish community. Hillel is sitting at tables and advertising and getting themselves known, so people have the option. They are aware, and they know there's a place to go to."
As engagement vice president on Hillel's student board, Burian seeks out new students and informs them about Hillel activities. She said she has developed the ability to "go up to people and figure out what their interests are, see what they like and tell them the right thing so they can go to the right events and want to come back."
She said she intends to remain active in Hillel long after she graduates.
"There is a position called Jewish Campus Service Corps Fellowship, a nationwide program, where a graduated senior works at a Hillel for a year or two. I would love to do that," she said.
"Hillel is one of the best things I have encountered at this school. It's a home away from home. Not that I had too look very hard for it."