Ithaca College Hillel hosted a card-writing event for 100-year-old Holocaust survivor and educator Judith Altmann, who was hospitalized for heart failure and unable to attend a scheduled Yom HaShoah event on campus. Students wrote messages of support to Altmann, who survived the Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen concentration camps and continues to educate others about the Holocaust.

Emory University recently hosted its annual Israel Fest co-organized by Emory Hillel and other Jewish student groups. The event featured Israeli music, food, and cultural displays, including tables where attendees wrote letters to families of hostages held by Hamas, and Israeli Defense Force soldiers. Emory Hillel President Maya Rezak emphasized the festival’s role in fostering community and sharing Israeli culture.

Boston University Hillel organized its annual “Reading of the Names” program, where students, faculty, and staff publicly read aloud names of Holocaust victims throughout the Holocaust Remembrance Day, or Yom HaShoah. Sociology professor Deborah Carr urged attendees to remember each victim as a person with a life, family, and story. Students from BU’s Holocaust, Genocide, and Human Rights Studies program also shared reflections on the importance of personal remembrance.

Penn Hillel hosted Penn alum and Holocaust survivor Michael Katz for  Holocaust Remembrance Day. During his talk, Katz recounted his escape from the Janowska concentration camp and his involvement in the Polish underground resistance during the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.

At Virginia Tech Hillel, Executive Director Amanda Herring and Chef Greg Herring have transformed kosher campus dining by integrating Jewish values with sustainability. They source regenerative kosher meat and partner with local farms to reduce waste, turning surplus produce into preserved goods like tomato sauce. Their approach not only honors ancient Jewish traditions, but also educates students on ethical food sourcing, fostering a community centered around mindful eating and environmental stewardship.

Activist, actress, and best-selling author Noa Tishby recently spoke at Ohio State University (OSU) Hillel, where over 300 students and community members gathered to hear two survivors of the October 7 Hamas attacks share their personal stories. OSU Hillel CEO Naomi Lamb reflected on the powerful evening, saying, “Hearing both of the survivors talk about their stories of what happened to them on Oct. 7, I felt was the most heartbreaking and at the same time, the most heartfelt stories anyone could hear.”