Jewish people are disenfranchisedIn response to your article "Hillel must act boldly by reversing its decision" (Forum, March 29):

Most of the nations of the world have never offered an "inclusive environment" for the Jewish people. There is even a plant called a Wandering Jew. Even here, in the supposed safe haven of the United States, I hear people using the idiom "Don't Jew me down" as if it conjured a happy image.

When I visited the Jewish Museum in Berlin, I saw a wall delineating a feculent river of anti-Semitic epithets used by most nations over the last five centuries. The 1941 Nazi Wannsee Conference featured a "Judenrein" (Jew-free continent) inventory list that called for the murder of every Jew on earth. From Haman to Hamas, we Jews have been critically set apart. It starts with being disenfranchised, proceeds to being dispossessed and ends with being dismembered.

So, if the choice is between those two modalities of thought, I am, without doubt, one of the uncritical ones. One cannot negotiate with one's destroyers.

-Paul Trusten, R.Ph.'73

Stigma is not the problem at Brandeis

In response to your article "Greek organizations should focus more on community service" (Forum, March 29):

The stigma of Greek life, both at Brandeis and at other schools, is not the problem when it comes to Brandeis Greek life engaging in community service efforts.

Because of the Brandeis constitution, we are simply not allowed to hold community service or philanthropy events on campus. We also do not (and have never, and probably will never) claim to be service-oriented clubs, in which case your argument would be completely valid. In fact, in a recent meeting with the deans, the presidents of each Greek organization and of the Greek Awareness Council were asked why our founding members had chosen not to affiliate themselves with service-oriented fraternities and sororities (which do exist).

Our answer was very simple: At Brandeis, a campus with a strong focus on community service, there are countless clubs available for students looking to give back to their community. Had we been looking for service-oriented clubs, we would have joined one of them. However, we were looking for a different kind of organization.

The eight organizations we as a group have chosen to join do put an emphasis on community service, but we joined knowing that there was much more involved. I don't feel a need to go into an in-depth monologue about why I joined Delta Phi Epsilon, but I assure you that while I love that the sorority counts service as one of its main tenets, it is not our primary goal. We have found other ways to engage in community service and philanthropy.

Yes, it is discouraging that we are not able to use Brandeis facilities and resources to promote our philanthropies, but we understand the administration's reasoning and have worked hard over the years to find ways to still support our nationally recognized philanthropies and other organizations.

For Delta Phi Epsilon, this means fundraising for the National Association for Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and the Delta Phi Epsilon Education Fund. We also participate in the Boston-area Strides Against Breast Cancer walk and fundraise and participate in Brandeis' Relay For Life.

In the future, I suggest you discuss your views with someone who is a part of Greek life to get a full, balanced view before you draw conclusions.

While I understand that it appears to non-Greeks that we don't do much, a brother or sister would have been able to tell you otherwise. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or comments.

-Leah Finkelman '13

The writer is co-president of the Greek Awareness Council and vice president of programming for Delta Phi Epsilon

Greek life has social focus

In response to your article "Greek organizations should focus more on community service" (Forum, March 29):

You seem to suggest that Greek life should make philanthropy the central focus of their organization in order to improve their image on campus. While this would probably work, it would also transform the organizations into yet another philanthropic group.

Our social fraternities and sororities are groups of people who have chosen to forge formal social connections among themselves. And yes, this does involve partying and having fun. It also involves philanthropy, as well as academic and psychological aid, not to mention all of the networking possibilities. These organizations are groups of friends. That's the central focus of the organization. I agree that philanthropy is important, but so is hanging out and letting loose.

Also, for the most part I don't believe that the Greek organizations are participating and sponsoring these events just to "better the image of Greek life," but to actually help out because it's the right thing to do. And ultimately, does it really matter if they are doing it with that motive? People are still receiving aid, with no downside to themselves. The only ulterior motive is that the organization gets some press for what it's doing.

-Ross Benar '13

The writer is a member of Alpha Delta Phi

Fight cancer aggressively

In response to your article "An all-night fight against cancer" (Features, March 29):

Thank you so much for all of the work you have done! Last weekend was a chemo weekend for me but I look forward to joining you in the survivor's lap next year!

It is so important to not only raise money but also awareness about cancer-particularly in regard to young adults. About 70,000 people between the ages of 15 and 40 are diagnosed with cancer every year in the United States. Two months ago, I became one of them at the age of 23. While there have been great strides in increasing the survival rate of cancer patients of all ages, the rates among young adults have not improved much in the past 10 years. Young adults are commonly diagnosed with late-stage cancer (I am a Stage IV Hodgkins lymphoma patient myself) because of lack of screening, lack of adequate health insurance and ignoring of seemingly benign, vague symptoms.

I encourage everyone to start monthly self breast and testicular exams now-you aren't too young for either. Get a yearly pap exam starting at 18, even if you are not sexually active. Take swollen lymph nodes seriously. If you feel tired and run-down for more than a week with obvious cause, see a doctor. Catching cancer early can save lives. Please check out http://stupidcancer.com/ and http://www.15-40.org/, two organizations specifically geared toward supporting young adults with cancer and educating all young adults about their risks

-Allie Morse '10

The writer is the University's Alumni
Relations Coordinator

Beit midrash should be set apart

In response to your article "Hillel must act boldly by reversing its decision" (Forum, March 29):

I was an Orthodox Jewish Brandeis student (Class of 2004). I was not given the impression at that time that the Brandeis Orthodox Organization needed or wanted a new or larger beit midrash at all. I always thought that the beit midrash was perfect just the way it was: quaint and inviting. In fact, the most inviting aspect of the BOO beit midrash while I was at Brandeis was specifically the fact that it was under the auspices of the Orthodox community, and that it therefore conformed to Jewish law (specifically it is understood by Orthodox Jews).

While the beit midrash was always open to everyone, and invited everyone in, regardless of their affiliations (especially Thursday night Mishmar with cholent), it nonetheless was a safe haven for religiously Orthodox Jews in the context of a secular campus. Forcing the beit midrash to become "pluralistic" would not make it more inviting in terms of that-its central purpose. It would make it less inviting in that it would be yet another place on the Brandeis campus where the values of Torah Judaism were regarded as merely parochial, and therefore capable of simply being dismissed by more secular minds.

It is important that each student at Brandeis (Jewish and otherwise) feels that their views are not under assault-at the very least-when those students are in their home base (for lack of a better term). For me, and for many of my classmates, the beit midrash was our home base. (The picture featured with your article brings back many good memories.)

Hillel is a wonderful organization. But its purpose is different from BOO's. That specifically is why it is important that the beit midrash, our home base, especially be independent from non-Orthodox auspices.

-Jonathan Lublin '04