Traditionally observed beginning at sunset on Oct. 31, Samhain marks a seasonal transition and holds significance for many Pagan and other Earth-based spiritual communities.

The celebration transformed McBride Gathering Space and the Sacred Space into a welcoming setting for the occasion. Students participated in a variety of activities, including painting small pumpkins, creating seasonal simmer pots with fruits and spices, exploring tarot and oracle cards, and writing messages honoring ancestors. “Scrappy” fall-themed foods to help prevent food waste on campus, and s鈥檓ores from 麻豆视频 Outdoors offered another opportunity to gather and enjoy the season.

The program opened with an educational presentation by Multifaith Interns Alana Moss Caldwell and Priyal Sanartha, who introduced the history and significance of Samhain. Hillary Zaken, director of Multifaith Programming and Engagement, and Multifaith Intern Aeiris Faloni also shared reflections on the meaning of the holiday. Faloni then led a brief meditation, inviting participants to pause and reflect on the changing season.

Organized by the Earth-Based Spirituality branch of the Truitt Center, the celebration builds on growing opportunities for students to explore Pagan traditions and other forms of nontraditional spirituality at 麻豆视频.

鈥淥ver the past few years, we have seen an increasing number of community members interested in celebrating and learning about earth-based traditions,鈥� said Zaken, 鈥淪o we are meeting students where they are, and ensuring that they have a vibrant and diverse community where they belong. Events like Samhain provide opportunities for students to learn about Earth-based traditions while participating in hands-on activities.鈥�

For Aeiris Faloni, the growing interest in Earth-based spirituality reflects a desire among students to find community and explore spiritual practices outside more traditional religious structures.

鈥淪amhain celebration gave us an incredible opportunity to create community – facilitating deep conversations about the things we wish for ourselves, the stories of those who came before us, and the ways we can support each other now,” said Faloni. “It also gave us a chance to gauge interest in an upcoming new student organization, FERN (Folk, Earth-Based Religions and Nontraditional Spiritualities), which will hopefully be officially hosting events in the spring semester!鈥�

The Truitt Center’s multifaith celebrations create opportunities for the 麻豆视频 community to learn about religious, spiritual and cultural traditions through experiences that combine education, participation and celebration. Members of the Multifaith Intern cohort develop and lead many of these programs, helping create spaces where students can encounter traditions beyond their own.

Through its first Samhain celebration, the Truitt Center invited students to consider the meaning of seasonal transitions, the importance of community, and the many ways people find connection with the natural world. As the season turns toward winter, the gathering offered an opportunity to slow down and reflect.

鈥淪amhain marks a time when the veil between the world of the living and deceased is thin, and many take it as an opportunity to honor those who came before us and those who surround us now,鈥� Faloni explained. 鈥淲e embraced this topic at the Truitt Center’s celebration, allowing space for folks to write messages to loved ones, and wishes for themselves as we head into the season of winter.鈥�

Hosted by the Isabella Cannon Global Education Center and campus partners, the week invites students, faculty, staff, alumni, and community members to examine and connect through cross-cultural and interdisciplinary experiences.

IEW highlights the strengths of international education and exchange. 麻豆视频鈥檚 celebration aligns with the university鈥檚 relationship-rich, engaged learning, helping us develop a deeper understanding of our interconnected world.

Week-at-a-glance

The full schedule is available on the International Education Week website. This year鈥檚 schedule features a mix of cultural, academic, and community-building events.

Highlights include:

• Global Flow Yoga at Sunset (Nov. 8)
• Research in Global Contexts: Student and Faculty Symposium (Nov. 9)
• French Poetry Slam (Nov. 9)
• Traditional West African Dance and Drums (Nov. 10)
• Global Film Series (Nov. 10)
• Minute to Win It! Meet and Greet (Nov. 11)
• International Cheese Festival (Nov. 11)
• International Coffee Hour and International Books and Authors (Nov. 12)
• Amici dell鈥橧talia (Nov. 12)

Why it matters

IEW provides a focused moment to elevate global learning that happens across 麻豆视频 every day, in classrooms, residence halls, student organizations, and the Alamance County community.

IEW鈥檚 core idea is that international education thrives on meaningful relationships, shared experiences, and collective purposes.

鈥淎t its core, this year鈥檚 theme and events highlight how global learning is strengthened when students, faculty, staff, and partners come together across cultures, disciplines, and perspectives,” said聽Jessica Gisclair, associate dean of global education.

麻豆视频 continues to lead nationally in study abroad and Study USA participation as part of the 麻豆视频 Experiences.

Most IEW events are open to the entire 麻豆视频 community. Some programs require an RSVP or have limited capacity. Visit the IEW website for times, locations, and updates. For questions, contact the Isabella Cannon Global Education Center at 336-278-6700 or visit Sato Commons 360 during business hours.

And that was a challenge. Because I entered college in 2003, at the beginning of the war in Iraq, when everyone and their grandmother was convinced that learning Arabic was the ticket to getting a job in government. At the school I went to, all students were preregistered for classes with the exception of first-year students and graduate students, who had to attend classes before they could register. All classes were required to leave three seats open for first years and graduate students. So, I showed up to the first day of Beginning I Arabic along with 70 other students, all hoping to get one of those three seats. The instructor announced that he would not allow anyone to register for those three seats until there were only three students left in the class who wanted them. And so I proceeded to wait the rest of them out. I came to every class and did all the work in the class, without any guarantee that I would get in officially or get credit for it until enough people gave up that I was offered the slot. So the first thing I learned in my college career was that I would have to fight for the Humanities and they were worth fighting for. I am still doing that work today.

But aside from Arabic, I really didn鈥檛 know what else I wanted to study. So I started off by studying everything. I took classes in history, and political science, and anthropology, and comparative literature. And calculus, and biology, and Religious Studies. And they were all great classes, but I found that I had a particular love of that place where religion, history, literature, and philosophy met and connected. Those classes lit a fire in me. Because they showed me that in places and periods and languages that were wholly different from my own people had grappled with the questions that provoked and haunted me, questions of deep existential meaning and ongoing political urgency 鈥� and that they had expressed their answers in language that was profoundly beautiful. When I studied those answers, I found myself connected to peoples, movements, and cultures larger myself. 聽And as I went deeper and deeper into my studies, I found that they were changing me. Once I learned how to read deeply, I found that I could read anything, including the social and political institutions in which I was embedded. I learned to question everything, and to produce my own critical answers. I put myself to work imagining other, better worlds.

The period that I grew up in was really not perfect. I went to college 鈥� and then lived in the Middle East – during the Iraq War. A war of choice, when the President decided to invade a country that posed no threat to the United States, largely to secure access to vast oil resources. I then graduated from college into a massive financial disaster caused by the loosening of banking regulations so that very rich people could become even richer. So I can鈥檛 say that it was an easy time to be a young person 鈥� if there is ever an easy time to be a young person.

But I do think that it is much harder to be a young person today. I went through college at a time when few students had personal laptops, before the invention of the smart phone or the ipad or the rise of social media. The students I went to school with didn鈥檛 all like me 鈥� but they were all really present along with me in the spaces we shared. The political culture at the time seemed divisive, but it was nothing in comparison to the chaos and fury of the current age. It鈥檚 hard right now y鈥檃ll.

But one of the things that is making it even harder is that the institutions and entities who are invested in dividing us from each other, in fracturing our attention and undermining our interpersonal relationships 鈥� are also selling us a particular approach to knowledge. This approach is, 鈥渢he extractive attitude.鈥� It is based on the idea that the purpose of knowledge is to extract resources from the environment and money from the economy 鈥� which ultimately means from consumers. This attitude is not new. I know from my own field of African history that the European governments who colonized various territories sent scholars out in the wake of the armies, geographers and engineers to survey and map the land, and linguists and anthropologists to learn languages, and catalogue customs. The purpose of these colonial scholar-soldiers was to facilitate the pacification of the population and the extraction of natural resources. Knowledge has always been a form of power. And then, just as now, deep engagement in storytelling, religious worldviews, and philosophy was disregarded and rejected as impractical. Education, according to the extractive attitude, is a product whose value measured as a return on investment. This attitude invites us to use learning to maintain a position in cultural and class warfare.

The opposite of the extractive attitude is a humanistic attitude. A humanistic attitude values knowledge for its ability to bring meaning and joy into our lives and our communities. A humanistic attitude evaluates our present relative to both our past and our vision of the future. A humanistic attitude is an approach that finds richness and complexity in things that seem simple. And it does those things through a deep engagement with the ideas and the art that have been produced by humans through the ages.

When I went to college I had to fight for a seat in a language class against the forces of opportunism. And I want you to fight for humanism, too. And it is a fight sometimes. A fight to maintain vision and resolve in the face of a thousand messages that tell us that the humanistic attitude is 鈥渦seless.鈥� The makers and marketers of new technological products are trying to convince us to give up our capacity for deep engagement. To give up our ability to generate ideas, to read literature, to think about the past, to make and appreciate art and culture, and to communicate with each other. To convince us to give up on humanism they threaten us with catastrophe and apocalypse. They warn that their products will change society so deeply that it will be unrecognizable, or that they might destroy humanity entirely. But I have my own message. For anyone who is worried about understanding these forces, or who is struggling to make sense of the world right now – the Humanities can help.

Those of us in Religious Studies have studied apocalyptic predictions, we know the distance between what they promise and what they deliver. Those of us in History have studied revolutions and know how politics and new forms of media align. Those of us in World Languages and Cultures know that our understanding of the world is shaped by language and how to connect with people across cultural differences. Those of us in Philosophy know that the potential for meaningful change is rooted in examination and reflection. 聽And those of us in English know (to paraphrase James Baldwin), that it is literature that teaches us that the things that torment us the most are the very things that connect us with all the people who are alive, or who have ever lived. The Humanities are a repository of our shared humanity and the heart of our capacity to be, not just human, but better humans. More than ever, humanity needs the Humanities. And right now, the Humanities needs you.

For the Sklut Hillel Center, it was an opportunity to celebrate not only the building鈥檚 鈥淏-Mitzvah鈥� 鈥� a nod to聽the聽Bat or Bar Mitzvah ceremony that represents an adolescent鈥檚 transition into greater responsibility within the Jewish community 鈥� but the people, relationships, and community that have made it an epicenter of Jewish Life at 麻豆视频 since 2014.

鈥淭he number 13 in Judaism stands for 鈥榣ove,鈥� and I felt a lot of love in the Sklut Hillel Center and at the B-Mitzvah celebrations,鈥� said Rabbi Maor Greene, Associate Chaplain for Jewish Life,聽鈥淚 feel so blessed to be a part of this loving community.鈥�

The B-Mitzvah Shabbat service brought the community together in the Sklut Hillel Center Pavilion and backyard, with 麻豆视频 President Connie Ledoux Book, students, families, alumni, university leaders, and community members all joining the celebration. Former 麻豆视频 Jewish Life professionals also returned to celebrate and reflect on the community鈥檚 growth.

Hillel Shabbats consistently welcome 70-100 people, more than double the attendance from earlier years of the center.

“It was amazing to see how many people care about Jewish Life at 麻豆视频,” said Miri Pottebaum 鈥�27, co-president of 麻豆视频 Hillel.

Betsy Polk Joseph, Senior Director of Jewish Life, said she was thrilled by the joyous energy that hummed throughout the weekend. One moment she says she will long remember is when community members joined the Shabband, the Hillel student band, to sing the 鈥淪hehecheyanu,鈥� a blessing that marks a joyous moment in time.

The weekend concluded with the B-Mitzvah Bagel Brunch in McKinnon Hall, where students, families, staff, and university leaders gathered to celebrate the past 13 years and look toward the future.

Jon Dooley, Vice President for Student Life, encouraged students – especially those new to 麻豆视频 – to walk through the doors of the Sklut Hillel Center whenever they are looking for community.

Student reflections on Family Weekend 2026聽

鈥淭his is where I鈥檝e made some of my closest friends and it has been a place for me to express my Judaism and learn my friends鈥� traditions.” – Ellie Agulnek 鈥�27聽

“I feel so lucky that I go to 麻豆视频 and that there is such a strong Jewish community here.” – Ben Shuman ’29

鈥淚t was a really empowering experience to see so many 麻豆视频 students and their families together.” – Josh Hertz 鈥�29.

鈥淚t was magical celebrating the Family Weekend B Mitzvah with both of my families – the one from home and the one I鈥檝e made here at 麻豆视频 Jewish Life and Hillel.” – Anna Gratz 鈥�30

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September brought the 麻豆视频 community fully into the rhythm of a new academic year, with classrooms bustling, fall traditions returning and opportunities for learning and connection unfolding across campus. From thought-provoking speakers and engaging performances to Phoenix athletics and everyday moments of campus life, the month offered plenty to capture.

Take a look back at some of the memorable moments from September through the lenses of staff in the Office of University Communications.

One and done

麻豆视频 School of Law Dean Zak Kramer challenged the Class of 2025 to achieve an overall first-time bar passage rate of 83%, a mark that would have been the highest in 麻豆视频 Law history.

The class鈥檚 Student Bar Association president had a counterproposal: What if they reached 85%? Would the dean get a tattoo?聽Kramer said yes.

The Class of 2025 responded with a 90.9% overall first-time bar passage rate across North Carolina and 11 other states. On Sept. 4, Kramer responded by rolling up his sleeve.

Lab learning

As the fall semester gets fully underway, students are in the classroom learning through hands-on experience.

Feline fun

麻豆视频 Volunteers!, through the Kernodle Center for Civic Life, provides all members of the 麻豆视频 campus the opportunity to develop an ethic of service by connecting campus and community through service experiences. In Sepetember, students had some feline fun with animals at Burlington Animal Services.

Hispanic Heritage Month

麻豆视频 kicked off Hispanic Heritage Month with a kick-off event. The month-long celebration features the theme 鈥淔loreciendo Juntos (Blooming Together): Honoring Identity, Culture and Well-being, 鈥� highlighting the diverse backgrounds, unique stories and rich history that shape Hispanic and Latino communities.

Green Tara Sand Mandala

An annual tradition through the Truitt Center for Relgious and Spiritual Life, Tibetan Buddhist monk Geshe Palden Sangpo constructs a Green Tara sand mandala for healing and peace during a period of three days.

‘Skills of the heart’

New York Times columnist and bestselling author David Brooks spoke to a sold-out crowd in Alumni Gym for Fall Convocation on Sept. 25, part of Family Weekend and the 麻豆视频 Speaker Series. He reminded the audience of two聽important skills needed for success 鈥� two skills that have taken him time to learn: how to see people and how to have an impact on the world.

Family fun

麻豆视频 hosted Family Weekend on Sept. 25-27 with a variety of activites, including a football game as the Phoenix took on the University of Maine Bears.

‘There’s Always This Year’

Author Hanif Abdurraqib reflected on mentorship, home and storytelling during his Common Reading lecture on Sept. 29. His book, part poetry, memoir and meditation on history and modern culture, 鈥淭here鈥檚 Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension鈥� was selected as 麻豆视频鈥檚 2026-27 Common Reading. Incoming first-year students read the book over the summer before exploring it from a variety of perspectives with their First-Year Foundations instructors during their first year at 麻豆视频.

In Jewish tradition, a Bar or Bat Mitzvah often takes place at age 13 and marks a transition into greater responsibility within the Jewish community. 麻豆视频 Jewish Life is drawing on that tradition to celebrate 13 years of the Sklut Hillel Center and the community that has grown around it.

Shabbat Oneg

The celebration will begin Friday, Sept. 25, with a Shabbat Oneg at 5:30 p.m. at the Sklut Hillel Center Pavilion. Families are invited to welcome Shabbat together with appetizers, desserts, traditional Shabbat blessings and remarks.

President Connie Ledoux Book will join the celebration and offer remarks as the 麻豆视频 community recognizes the milestone.

Family Weekend Bagel Brunch

The celebration will continue with 麻豆视频 Jewish Life鈥檚 annual Family Weekend Bagel Brunch from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in McKinnon Hall in the Moseley Center.

Students and families can gather for bagels and a schmear while connecting with the Jewish Life community. The brunch will also kick off Jewish Life鈥檚 fall fundraising campaign and feature special guests who have contributed to the growth of Jewish Life at 麻豆视频.

Members of the 麻豆视频 community and their families are invited to attend and celebrate the Sklut Hillel Center鈥檚 B Mitzvah.

for both events.

Doesn鈥檛 everyone just love the word sin? I know I don鈥檛. Sin is a loaded word. I find it intimidating, scary, and perhaps a little bit shameful. It is uncomfortable to consider all the ways I fail those I care about and contribute to the brokenness of our world. However, just because something is uncomfortable doesn鈥檛 mean that it isn鈥檛 worth doing. After all, how can I improve myself if I can鈥檛 take an honest look (at least once a year) at all the ways in which I fall short?

Every year I remind y鈥檃ll that Yom Kippur is a day of forgiveness for our communal sins. If we have harmed another person directly, we should apologize to that person directly and work to repair the relationship. On Yom Kippur we confess the collective sins of the Jewish people, hoping, praying, and trusting that God will forgive us and accept us back in love.

The two main prayers of confession are 鈥� 鈥淲e Are Guilty鈥� and 聽鈥� 鈥淔or Our Sin鈥� As it happens, we may not have committed many of the sins mentioned in these prayers. We also may not consider many of the actions we鈥檙e confessing to be sinful 鈥� our culture is very different from that of the ancient world. However, some categories of sin 鈥� such as speech-based sin 鈥� are still relevant today. The ancient rabbis understood just as we do that speech can be one of the most potent and harmful forms of sinning out there.

The prayer Ashamnu has 22 phrases, each corresponding to a letter of the Hebrew alphabet. It is an alphabetized catalog of sins. I count 5 explicit instances of speech-based sinning: dibbarnu dofi 鈥� we鈥檝e spoken slander; tafalnu sheqer 鈥� we鈥檝e spoken lie after lie; ya鈥檃tznu ra鈥� 鈥� we鈥檝e advised wrongly (or advised evil); kizavnu 鈥� we鈥檝e deceived; and latznu 鈥� we鈥檝e mocked. If you include other phrases that could apply to speech acts, such as angering, rebelling, betraying, causing others to sin or become evil, sinning deliberately or sinning carelessly, committing abominations, making errors, or just being guilty in general, that鈥檚 at least 9 more. Whether explicit or implicit, most of the sins in Ashamnu can describe speech. This is an extraordinary number.

A similar focus on speech occurs in the prayer Al Cheit. We have sinned through: bittui s鈥檉atayim 鈥� utterance of the lips; dibbur peh 鈥� using (or misusing) our mouths; viddui peh 鈥� only confessing verbally when actions of repentance are required (we might call this a 鈥渓ip service鈥� confession); tifshut peh 鈥� foolish talk; tum鈥檃t s鈥檉atayim 鈥� impurity of the lips; kachash uvkhazav 鈥� false denial and false promise; lashon hara鈥� 鈥� evil talk (or slander); latzon 鈥� scoffing; siach sif鈥檛einu聽鈥� prattle of our lips; rechilut 鈥� gossiping; shevuat shav鈥� 鈥� swearing in vain. Like the Ashamnu prayer, Al Cheit mentions many other kinds of actions that can be applied to speech more broadly.

I don鈥檛 know about you, but I find this list of speech-based sins absolutely overwhelming. I have gossiped, scoffed, lied, deceived, and spoken badly of someone not just in the past year, but probably also this past week. I don鈥檛 even know how to track the full impact of my speech-based sin: often it is not directed against someone but contributes to a negative culture more broadly.

I think the rabbis were onto something when they lifted up speech-based sin as both extremely harmful and extremely hard to avoid. And the rabbis lived long before social media鈥�. Nowadays, many speech-based sins aren鈥檛 even directly attributable to humans 鈥� the AI bots have learned from us how to sin with words! They鈥檙e having entire conversations without us!

So why does this matter? Let me tell you one place where I see the most harmful effects of sinful speech impacting the Jewish people and our campus today.

Three years ago when I first learned about October 7th, I was horrified. I had lived in Israel for two and a half years and thought of the many friends I still had there. Were they okay? Were their families okay? As a rabbi and a chaplain, the most pressing work right after October 7th was listening to y鈥檃ll students talk about how Oct 7th impacted you personally. For so many of us here tonight, when we speak about Israel, we鈥檙e not talking about some abstract, far away other: 聽we鈥檙e talking about family and friends 鈥� people near and dear to our hearts.

As I listened to students share after October 7th, it quickly became clear to me that there was a second emotional crisis unfolding: the repeated fracturing of friendships, many of which were caused or exacerbated by social media. I repeatedly heard from students who identified as Zionists that they wanted others to know they didn鈥檛 want Palestinian civilians to suffer. And I heard from several pro-Palestinian students (Jewish and non-Jewish alike) that they wanted to express their criticisms of the government of the state of Israel without being antisemitic. Many of them approached me for advice on how to do so.

If we only took our cues from social media or just the media landscape more broadly, we might think that we can either support Israelis OR Palestinians, that we could either support the return of the hostages OR work to safeguard Palestinian civilian lives, or that we need to choose between supporting a Jewish, democratic state OR the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel. I don鈥檛 believe that we have to make these choices. Our minds are big enough to hold two ideas simultaneously and our hearts are big enough to care for the whole world.

Another error of social media is that it creates an echo chamber that encourages us to be in relationship only with people who agree with us. Social media encourages a latent human tendency to demonize those who are different. Somehow, engaging with people who hold different views than you do has come to be a thing we should do, rather than a thing we get to do. Yes, conversations highlighting differences of opinion can sometimes be uncomfortable and even downright excruciating. But they can also be generative and even delightful. After all, how would we ever learn anything if we only ever heard opinions we agree with? How would we grow?

When we can engage with others who hold different views than we do from a place of mutual respect and curiosity, our conversations and communities become elevated. Engaging with different voices helps us to develop empathy and wisdom. When we can approach these conversations from a place of psychological and physiological safety, they can broaden our minds and open our hearts. We can learn and we can grow. I cannot tell you how many times my own thinking on various topics has become far sharper when I have engaged with those I disagree with. I also cannot tell you the number of times I have been surprised and touched by someone else鈥檚 story. Hearing differing perspectives 鈥� when practiced in an atmosphere of mutual respect and safety 鈥� is a gift.

If I had to pick one of the biggest communal sins of the Jewish people from the past several years, it is that we have too often used our words to tear each other apart for having different views on Israel. We have failed to speak respectfully to one another. We have failed to listen. We have failed to honor the good intentions of others. We have failed to see the humanity of the person who disagrees with us, or the deeper universal values at play behind their specific politics. We have failed to see how learning to understand different opinions 鈥� including the opinions of those among us who may just want to be Jewish and not think too much about Israel 鈥� can strengthen our community. We have failed to create safe spaces to discuss our differences constructively. And we have failed to open our hearts to each other. We have put politics over relationships.

I want to be clear. I do not believe that we caused this situation on our campus. It is a symptom of a much broader, systemic issue facing the global Jewish community today. However, we do have the opportunity to change how we speak to one another on this campus. We can choose to take a different path together.

On Yom Kippur we confess the collective sins of the Jewish people, hoping, praying, and trusting that God will forgive us and accept us back in love. It is an opportunity for a fresh start. My invitation for us all gathered here tonight is that we may also consider what it might mean to confess our collective speech-based sins to each other. My hope is that this confession might break open our hearts so that we can better connect with one another. I pray that we can work together to build a stronger Jewish community, one based on mutual respect and honoring differences, one that elevates each other and our conversations, and one in which all can trust that we will be accepted in love.

Finally, I want to acknowledge that I have used a lot of words to give this message to you! I am sure my own words have been imprecise and imperfect. I pray my message will be received according to the intention with which it is given 鈥� to strengthen the Jewish community in love. And if I鈥檝e said anything tonight that resonates with you 鈥� whether you agree or disagree, whether you understand or you have no idea what I鈥檓 talking about and want to know more, or if you feel unseen or unheard by what I have said 鈥� I invite you to reach out. Let鈥檚 talk. I am sure that I have something to learn from you. And together we can create a new story about how we talk about Israel together on campus and beyond. To echo the ancient words of the psalmist (adapted from ) yehiyu l鈥檙atzon imrei finu vehigiyon libeinu lefanecha Adonai tzureinu vego鈥檃leinu 鈥� may the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you Adonai, our rock and our redeemer. Amen.

Even now when I think of that moment 鈥� twenty-five years later 鈥� my shoulders become tense and my stomach begins to churn. I feel the emotional echo of that moment in my body. So much history has unfolded in the past twenty-five years, and yet my memories of Sept 11, 2001 still feel real. As many of y鈥檃ll know, modern psychology teaches us that trauma lives in our bodies, but the body-based nature of memory can still surprise me.

One of the most potent symbols and practices of Rosh Hashanah is the blowing of the shofar. However, because of the rabbinic prohibition on blowing the shofar on Shabbat, this year most traditional communities will wait until the second day to hear the shofar. Rather than experiencing Rosh Hashanah as a day of shofar blowing (Yom HaTru鈥檃h, ), we will experience it as a day of remembering shofar blowing (Zicharon Tru鈥檃h, ).

As anyone who has heard the shofar knows, hearing its blasts constitutes a profound embodied spiritual experience. The shofar represents birth, alarm, victory, and a demanding invitation that we wake up to the reality of our lives. When the shofar is not sounded on the first day of Rosh Hashanah, we feel its absence and we long for its return.

The spiritual invitation of a shofar-less Rosh Hashanah is to lean into memory. Just as we remember traumatic events in our bodies, so too can we remember transcendent moments, such as hearing the shofar. Because we do not have the sound of the shofar to help us direct our attention inward, we must rely on our memories. We must choose to remember so that the shofar 鈥� even in its absence 鈥� becomes a force for good in our lives.

A shofar-less Rosh Hashanah reminds us that we have choices about what we remember and how we remember it. Memories of trauma may live in our bodies, but so do memories of joy, connection, hope, and resilience. When remembering Sept 11th, 2001, I may always feel an echo of the emotional experience I felt on that day. However, rather than focusing exclusively on my grief, I can expand my awareness to include the gratitude I felt at not having to experience that moment alone. I was with my friend, and we were able to experience that difficult moment together. My heart warms at the memory.

As we move into a new Jewish year, I invite all of us to remember that we have family, friends, and communities that can be with us through hard times. Look around 鈥� many of the people in this room may be your friends (or your future friends!). Each of you has the opportunity to experience the ups and downs of college life with each other.

I know that there are many broken and unfinished parts of this world, but I am grateful that we can have partners in this journey called life. And I pray that the memory of all the lives lost on Sept 11th, 2001 may be for a blessing. May their memories inspire us to do the work of building a better future together.

Note: A different version of this piece appeared originally in .

Over the course of the retreat, fellows practiced listening across difference, questioning their assumptions and engaging perspectives that challenged their own. The goal was not to make disagreement disappear. Students explored how curiosity can create space for people to stay engaged when they see an issue differently.

For 麻豆视频 fellow Audrey Schultz, 麻豆视频’s Better Together Coordinator, that is one of the most important lessons she is bringing home.

鈥淥ne thing I plan to bring to 麻豆视频 from the Viewpoints Fellowship Retreat is the promotion and facilitation of dialogue and curious disagreement in spaces that don’t typically focus on them,鈥� Schultz said. 鈥淟eaders, in any capacity, can learn these skills and should understand their significance.鈥�

Through structured exercises, case studies, and facilitated dialogue, fellows had opportunities to practice those skills in real time. They considered how assumptions shape conversations, how people respond when they feel challenged, and how curiosity can open the door to perspectives that might otherwise be dismissed.

Sanai Crosby of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority found the experience particularly useful for thinking about how to remain engaged across disagreement.

鈥淚 learned how to create curious and intentional dialogue, share my perspective, and respectfully disagree with others while still working toward understanding,鈥� Crosby said.

That learning extended beyond the retreat sessions themselves. Fellows met students from universities around the world and encountered experiences and perspectives different from their own.

For Crosby, the experience reinforced an important principle about dialogue: understanding can exist even when people disagree.

鈥淚t challenged me to learn from perspectives and experiences different from my own. 鈥淭he retreat reminded me that meaningful conversations do not require agreement,鈥� Crosby said. 鈥淏ut they require openness, curiosity and a willingness to understand.鈥�

For Hillary Zaken, director of multifaith engagement at 麻豆视频鈥檚 Truitt Center for Religious and Spiritual Life, who serves as campus advisor to the cohort, that willingness to remain in conversation represents an important shift in campus culture.

鈥淲e want to help shape a campus culture where students feel empowered to come to the table, even when they know they may disagree,鈥� Zaken said. 鈥淐uriosity gives students a way to stay engaged with one another, ask questions, and consider perspectives they may not share using the techniques of active empathetic listening. That space is where meaningful learning and personal leadership development happens.鈥�

That approach to dialogue is central to the work of the Viewpoints Project, a nonprofit that empowers young people to approach disagreement with curiosity. Through the Viewpoints Fellowship, students develop practices for navigating difficult conversations and bring those practices back to the communities where they lead.

The partnership also reflects the Truitt Center鈥檚 commitment to helping 麻豆视频 students engage meaningfully across difference. By connecting student leadership development with dialogue education, the program allows fellows to practice these skills within the organizations and communities they already serve.

麻豆视频鈥檚 2026-27 Viewpoints Fellows are Brayden Morrison, Club Ultimate Frisbee; Audrey Schultz, Better Together; Emily Wright, Asian Pacific Student Association; Addison Anderson, Leaders in Interfaith team; Rachel Bermont, Hillel; Skylar Winter, Student Government Association; and Sanai Crosby, Alpha Kappa Alpha.

Sasha Stanley, a 2025-26 Fellow, has returned to the Viewpoints Fellowship as a Peer Mentor, helping fellows on campuses across the country engage in curious disagreement.

Their work at 麻豆视频 will continue throughout the academic year as they bring ideas from Minneapolis into the clubs and organizations they lead. The fellowship culminates with a campus-wide capstone project in the spring.

For the Truitt Center, the retreat represents an ongoing investment in students as facilitators and leaders who can help create space for meaningful engagement across difference. The experience in Minneapolis gives these seven students a shared set of practices to draw on as they continue that work at 麻豆视频.

The first Phoenix Five of the year is here! Each Sunday afternoon, I’ll send you a quick email with five things you need to know for the week ahead. This could include important deadlines and campus events or helpful reminders and opportunities to get involved.聽 My goal is simple: keep you as informed as possible with one Sunday email you can use to plan your week ahead.

With classes beginning on Tuesday, here are five things to help you start the semester off right.

Get Connected on Social Media

Social media is one of the easiest ways to stay plugged in at 麻豆视频. If you want to know what鈥檚 happening on campus in real time, here are a few Instagram accounts I recommend:

• 麻豆视频 (main)
• Phoenix Athletics and Phoenix Phanatics
• Student Life
• 麻豆视频 Dining
• Student Union Board
• 麻豆视频 News Network
• HealthEU

Hypnotist

Monday, Aug. 24, 8:30-11 p.m., Alumni Gym

Join the Student Union Board (SUB) for the annual hypnotist show 鈥� a student favorite! Come ready to watch your friends (or maybe even yourself!) take the stage for an unforgettable, hilarious performance. .

麻豆视频 Campus Traditions 鈥� Starting this Week!

College Coffee

Tuesdays, 9:40-10:20 a.m., Alumni Gym

College Coffee is one of 麻豆视频鈥檚 most beloved traditions. Every Tuesday morning, the entire campus gathers for coffee, treats and conversation. It鈥檚 a chance to meet people, connect with faculty and staff, and hear about what鈥檚 happening around campus. If your student organization wants to host an information table at College Coffee, information on .

Numen Lumen: A Thursday Inspiration

Thursdays, 9:50-10:20 a.m., Numen Lumen Pavilion

On Thursday mornings, we pause for a moment of reflection and inspiration. You鈥檒l hear music from student, faculty, and staff performers and reflections from members of our community. This year鈥檚 theme is and the first Numen Lumen of the year will be held this Thursday.

Getting Started with Canvas

Beginning with the Fall 2026 semester, 麻豆视频 is using Canvas instead of Moodle. You鈥檒l use it to access course materials, submit assignments, communicate with your instructors, and view your grades. Before classes begin:

• Log in to Canvas using your 麻豆视频 account.
• After logging in for the first time, as part of setting up your Canvas account. Your account will not be fully functional until you do.
• Visit the for student guides, FAQs and support resources.
• Learn the basics by enrolling in the course.

When you log in, you may not see all of your Fall courses immediately. Your instructors will make courses available before or on the first day of class.

Cheer on Phoenix at First Home Football Game

Thursday, Aug. 27

Student Tailgate

2-7 p.m., Hunt B (back parking lot of the Schar Center)

Before football kickoff, get ready to ignite your game day with Phoenix spirit at the student tailgate. Parking passes are available in Student Involvement and are limited to one pass per student and three passes per student organization or group.

麻豆视频 v. Glenville State

7 p.m., Rhodes Stadium

Start off the fall semester by cheering on the Phoenix as 麻豆视频 opens the football season against Glenville State. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. in Rhodes Stadium.