Barnard College - Mortarboard Yearbook (New York, NY)

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From Queen Esther to Rosalyn Yalow, the Jewish woman has always estabhshed a place for herself in history. We as Jewish women at Barnard are eager to emulate these role models. Barnard has enabled us to integrate our desire for academic achievement with our commitment to Judaism. The Jewish experience at Barnard is one which is a joint endeavor with Columbia. One only has to step into the Jewish office at Earl Hall and glance at the calendar which lists the endless number of activities designed to serve the interests of the college commu- nity. Jewish activities don ' t only abound on the weekend; pick any night of the week and you can find some event taking place. The year begins when an orientation is sponsored for incoming Jewish students. As the year progresses, the Council of Jewish Organizations, or the CJO as it is fondly called, buzzes with activity. In any given week, you could find yourself wavering between going to an Israeli movie sponsored by Kadima (the Zionist group on campus), a Sukkot party hosted by Yavneh (a religious student organization), or a rally sponsored by the Student Struggle for Soviet Jewry, organized to speak out against the oppression of Rus- sian Jews. Various activities are scheduled during the day, keeping in mind the ever increasing commuter population. For example, the Nosh at Noon, which gives the harried commuter the opportunity to dis- cuss topical Jewish issues and or relax while munch- ing on bagels and cream cheese (lox from Zabar ' s is just too expensive!). Over the weekend, the resident I 1 ' 1 i WMP IV ' student is made to feel at home. Shabbat meals com- munely prepared are served to a large but intimate group of students who want to share in a spirited traditional Friday night meal. Barnard is blessed with Jewish students from a wide range of backgrounds, from women who define their ' Jewishness ' as ethnic rather than religious, to the denim skirted students who spent the year in Israel ' s Michlalah immersed exclusively in religious studies, to the women considering careers as Rabbis. For these women, there are a variety of Sabbath ser- vices offered which are sponsored by the Orthodox, Conservative and Reform groups. For those interested in communal Jewish living, or others in search of a niche in the neighborhood, the Bayit is just the right place to be. A family atmosphere predominates with everyone assuming responsibility to maintain the spirit of daily Jewish life. If you ' re a Barnard woman who was lucky enough to get a dorm, you can eat to your heart ' s content on the Kosher meal plan, recently instituted in BHR, or join a Kosher suite in 600, 616 or Plimpton. It wasn ' t too long ago that a trip downtown to a Kosher deli, or a trek over to J.T.S. was the only option available to the famished student observing the dietary laws. Not only does the college campus lend itself to Jewish life, but students are also fortunate enough to find themselves in New York City, which is one of the great centers of Jewish culture and activity. Many synagogues and institutions offer lectures, courses and events which are open to the student in search of a deeper understanding and appreciation of her Jewish identity. Adena Berkowitz B ' 81 Roxanne Kleiman B ' 81 11

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Some heartlanders assert that New York City is not really part of the United States. This is something of an exaggeration but, as most of us already know. New Yorkers are certainly a unique bunch. Where else can you take a cab driven by a Russian immigrant to go to a Cuban Chinese restaurant? But all kidding aside. New York is a great cos- mopolitan city and it is precisely this ethnic diversity that makes it this way. New Yorkers can trace their origins to all corners of the globe. Most are immigrants or the children of immigrants who came here in search of a better life. Immigrants preserved their institutions and cultures, frequently creating scale replicas of the towns and villages they left behind, on the new soil. Today one can go from little Italy to Chinatown to Spanish Harlem to Lubavitch Brooklyn, all in the span of one after- noon. Barnard shares in this ethnic mix. It is a microcosm, however imperfect, of the city in which it is located. Some of its students are first generation Americans for whom a Barnard education is the first step toward achieving success. Though many students come to college hoping to break away from what they feel are the prohibitive constraints of their native cultures or religions and try to form new identities, most Barnard women value their ethnic heritages. Ethnic student organizations celebrate these traditions as an important part of the Barnard experience. What is even more important though, is the broadening of ideas that occurs in meeting and associating with people from different cultural and reli- gious backgrounds. The education that comes from becoming close with someone from a different background and learning to under- stand and appreciate their culture is more important than any book knowledge. This is the first year that Mortarboard has included an ethnic section. There was some initial resistence to the idea. Considerably fewer ethnicities are represented than exist at Barnard. All beginnings are hard and we hope to have a fuller section next year. We at Mortar- board believe that ethnic student organizations are an important feature of life at Barnard and deserve to be remembered. Carol Green B ' 81

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Being a Hispanic student at Barnard is quite an ac- complishment. A very small percentage of Hispanic- Americans go to college and the number of women doing so is even smaller. The fact that some of us attend a selective, academically demanding institution such as Barnard makes us pretty special. Aside from the pride and joy that stem from our success, we face certain challenges as we move from the world of our culture and community to that of American academia. As Rosa Alonso, ' 82, points out, The people I went to high school with are still in town, working in stores and banks, getting married and divorced, as is often the norm in our communities. Choosing college and a career means that we ' ve broken away from our culture to get the better part of Anglo culture, and to return to ours. We ' re not breaking away totally. We ' ve got an opportu- nity most of our Latin sisters don ' t have, remarked Magda Garcia, ' 81. For many of us, it is a challenge and a com- mitment to make the best of it, bringing the best of both worlds back to the community. The degree of support we get from our families is not something to be taken for granted either. While few of us at Barnard have had to deal with total opposition, there is sometimes a certain degree of reluctance on the part of our parents, faced with a daughter so determined to break with tradition. As Carmen Sanchez, ' 81, explains, for His- panics, if yo u ' re twenty-one, and not married, well . . . . My father used to say, ' why do you have to want such a long career for a woman, ' about my plans to go to law school. Now he ' s happy about it, remarks Rosa Alonso. Others such as Idalia Lopez, ' 82, are luckier: My family is thrilled that I ' m going to school. They won ' t accept any- thing less than a Ph.D., and they tell me that there ' s always time for marriage and children. On a social level, life at Barnard is much more positive for most of us. While keeping our own cultural identity, we share and grow with our friends and classmates. I ' m very Hispanic, but I don ' t find my friends on that basis, states Idalia. As a minority sponsor in Orientation, I wanted to do something for minorities on campus, something not be exclude others, but something from the Latin community to the f reshman class. Carmen Sanchez adds, Barnard pro- vides an opportunity to mingle. I can choose to sit with someone because I want to, not because I ' m Hispanic. On an academic level, we often find that Barnard helps us grow, even in terms of our own culture and history, as we are given the opportunity to bridge the intellectual gap often found in our immigrant communities. I felt I couldn ' t express myself in Spanish as I wanted to, explains Magda Garcia. I took a Spanish course, and saw that there was more to it than language. However, being a His- panic is not the only perspective I come to class with. Being a woman is also very important to me; a lot depends on what end I ' m feeling oppressed from that day, she quipped. Rosa Alonsa added, I was thrilled to be able to hear Borges, and shake hands with Cortazar. It ' s something I can relate to, and learn about my own culture. Carmen Sanchez agreed, That ' s something Barnard gave me that I didn ' t have back in the ghetto — to be able to hear about someone like Cortazar. Our aspirations don ' t end at graduation, either. Many of us have definite plans for professional careers, with an eye towards serving as role models for our communities, and for all women. As we look towards the future, we know we will remember Barnard as a place for challenges and growth, and will feel very proud to have left the mark of our efforts in Barnard ' s history. Kenia M. Fernandez B ' 83 Rosa Alonso B ' 82 12