Kay, Hillel prepare to celebrate Yom Kippur The AU Hillel expects a large turnout for Yom Kippur services this weekend, according to Amy Levine, Hillel program director. Festivities start Friday evening at 6:43 with a candle- lighting ceremony, and fasting also begins at that time.
Yom Kippur is the "day of atonement" for Jews that follows roughly one week after the start of the Jewish New Year or Rosh Hashana. Unlike Rosh Hashana though, Yom Kippur is characterized by fasting rather than celebration, as Jews consider their sins over the past year and promise to atone for past sins and lead a moral life.
"There have been a lot of people at our ticket booth, including lots of community members," Levine said. Tickets are free for full-time students, non-students are expected to make a contribution, according to AU Hillel's Web site.
"I'll most likely be going to services in Kay," said sophomore David Safdie. "As a Reform Jew, Yom Kippur is a time that we have always observed. ... It has a lot of meaning for us as the Day of Atonement."
Both Reform and Conservative Judaism services, "Kol Nidre," begin at 7 p.m. Friday. There will also be additional services Saturday at 9:30 a.m. There is also a Neilah Service for the Reform and Conservative community at 6:40 p.m. Saturday in the Kay Chapel. Conservative services will be held in Kay Chapel, and Reform services will be in the Butler Board Room.
"I am going home for holiday," said sophomore Lyz Menscher. "It's very important in my house so I am going home to spend it with my family."
Ben Horwitz, junior, will participate on campus.
"I'll be attending services at Kay because Yom Kippur is the holiest day of the year for us," Horwitz said. "For me, Yom Kippur is a time for internal reflection and spiritual cleansing."
Horwitz said Jews pray for forgiveness and reflect on repenting sins and what it means to do good deeds. At 7:43 Saturday evening, fasting ends, and a light breakfast will be held in the Kay lounge.
For more information on Hillel events visit its Web site at www.auhillel.org. -KATE OCZYPOK
Student elections soon to start The Student Confederation is holding information sessions on fall elections this week, according to Polson Kanneth, Student Confederation president. The sessions will be Thursday at 11 p.m. and Friday at 6 p.m. in Mary Graydon Center Room 120.
"The sessions will be for everyone who is interested in running for General Assembly, residence hall and off-campus seats, as well as Class of 2008 Class Council and GA seats," Kanneth said.
Information regarding the regulations of campaigning will be discussed. Board of Elections committee members will run the event. -KATE OCZYPOK
WCL dean plans international law association Dean Claudio Grossman of the Washington College of Law has been appointed to a planning group for the Association of American Law Schools' project to create an International Association of Law Schools.
The D.C.-based nonprofit association is composed of 166 law schools, including the WCL. Its purpose is "the improvement of the legal profession through legal education," according to its Web site, www.aals.org.
The association holds workshops, conferences and an annual meeting, and publishes a quarterly newsletter, a directory of law teachers and other publications. AALS represents the legal profession to government and to other higher-education societies.
"This new International Association of Law Schools will be an important step in furthering dialogue with our partners around the world," Grossman said.
Grossman is one of three Americans to be selected for the committee by the executive director of the AALS, along with New York University's Norman Dorsen and Yale Law School's Jean Koh Peters.
He will attend the organization's International Consortium on Legal Education on Oct. 14 and 15, where he will help design curriculum to prepare lawyers for a new era of globalization.
They will also work to familiarize law school students and faculty with the legal issues surrounding terrorism.
"More than ever before, we must work with our counterparts in other countries to convey the crucial importance of the rule of law in society and adapt legal education to the challenges created by globalization," Grossman said.
WCL has been a member of the AALS since 1947. -MARY SPECHT
Politicians lack politeness The Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies and the Office of the University Chaplain continued their Table Talk Lunch series Wednesday with one titled "U.S. Partisan Politics: Is Civility Possible?"
According to Mary Lynn Jones, online editor of the newsmagazine The Hill, politicians are highly uncivil and partisan. Jones cited examples of Democrats comparing Bush with Hitler and Republicans barring Democrats from making comments on bills being passed through Congress.
Lack of civility, Jones said, stems from the fact that politicians are spending less and less time getting to know each other.
David Skaggs, executive director of the Center for Democracy and Citizenship, echoed Jones' words, stating that trust comes to those who know each other. Civility is absolutely essential, said Skaggs, and we are all put on the planet with an unalienable amount of dignity.
"Congressman Skaggs gave a very candid look into the situation on Capitol Hill," said junior David Benzaquen.
Both Jones and Skaggs believe that civility in politics can be strengthened if politicians spend more time in Washington. Politicians are stuck in the growth of the permanent campaign, Jones said.
If more politicians got to know each other and their families instead of campaigning, then politicians would be much more civil with each other, Skaggs said. -KHAI HA
