YU Student Government Forms Committee to Enhance Out-of-Town Student Experience

Yeshiva University’s Wilf and Beren student councils formed the Committee for the Representation of Non-Local Students last month. The committee’s purpose is to address the needs of students who live outside the Tri-state Area and improve the out-of-towner experience at YU.

The committee was formed in response to the decision by YU to hold three days of in-person classes between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur on Wilf Campus. This prompted criticism from students from “out of town,” many of whom had to choose between going home for Rosh Hashanah and missing class. The committee is led by Aiden Harow (YC ‘26), a student from Florida, whose recent article for The YU Observer, “Out Of Town, Out Of Luck,” brought attention to discontent among YU students from outside the New York City area. 

The committee is made up of 11 students and has begun to initiate change through meeting with administrators and researching ways of improving student life on campus, such as creating a vibrant in-Shabbos atmosphere.

The committee’s efforts have resulted in a decision by the administration to instruct the Wilf faculty to avoid giving exams and penalizing students for absences during the days after Rosh Hashanah, and to assist students with catching up on missed material.

“[Y]ou may have heard that some of our students are disappointed with our decision to hold in-person classes on those days,” Deans Rebecca Cypess, Rabbi Yosef Kalinsky and Noam Wasserman wrote in an email to faculty. “This has especially affected students from outside the greater New York area, who would like to (or, in some cases, must) spend the holiday of Rosh Hashanah with their families.” The email went on to instruct professors to “consider postponing any exams,” scheduled for those days, avoid “penalizing students unduly if they must be absent,” and “work with students” to “catch up on material they miss.”

“This email represents a huge victory for our new committee, both in terms of legitimacy and effectiveness,” Harow told The Commentator. “We put a lot of time and energy into gathering feedback from the student body and working with the deans to find common ground, and we are really proud of what we have accomplished. I commend the administration for collaborating with us to establish an open and fruitful line of communication, and look forward to working together with the deans to further enhance the YU experience!”

Prior to the establishment of the committee, the Wilf and Beren student governments issued a form to undergraduate students allowing them to describe and offer solutions to the issues that pertain to the out-of-town experience at YU. This form brought to light many of the difficulties that these students face. 

“Many YU policies are definitely, if unintentionally discriminatory towards out-of-towners. Facilities, cafeterias, and libraries close on the last day of classes before breaks because in-towners have gone home. Classes periodically begin on Thursdays, which forces us to either miss class or sacrifice an entire weekend at home,” Harow told The Commentator. “Travel days are often on Fridays, making us pay extreme markups for flights and scramble to get home on erev Shabbos. I firmly believe that these policies are all able to be remade in a way that maintains the goals of the administration in making them while also considering the fallout for the student body.”

Although the students on the Beren campus did not have in-person classes between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, members of the committee said that Beren out-of-town students face problems as well. 

“It can be disheartening to see our campus empty out every weekend and watch resources become scarce, especially when, unlike local students, we can’t just escape to our homes for a good meal when cafeteria food is limited or find a quiet place to study when the library is closed on Sunday mornings,” Leora Taub (SCW ‘25), a committee member, told The Commentator. “However, this forces out-of-town students to fully invest in our community by taking part in the wonderful Shabbos life created by the campus couples or exploring the city on Thursday nights and motzei Shabbos. It also encourages us to advocate for positive change, which is the goal of the out-of-town committee. There are definitely changes to be made, but they would benefit everyone at YU and hopefully create a campus environment that students won’t feel the need to escape from.”

The committee has already begun working to improve the Yeshiva University experience for these students. Beren Campus Student Government (BCSG) President Shalhevet Cohen (SSSB ‘25) said, “The first important step the committee has taken is a meeting with Dean Cypess … highlighting a clear step towards increased communication between students and the administration.” 

The committee also intends to improve the Shabbos experience on campus. 

“We plan to overhaul Shabbos on campus. We have been in touch with rebbeim and students from all corners of YU and, with our TBD programming budget, we plan to make Shabbos on campus something to look forward to rather than a last-resort option,” Harow told The Commentator. “We are confident that engaging programming will act as a draw for some of the hundreds of students who feel the need to find a place to go to avoid staying on campus, and that the combination of activities and community will elevate Shabbos to a whole new level.”

“Our committee acts as a bridge between the out-of-town community and the administration, doing whatever possible to ensure student satisfaction and happiness while also recognizing and respecting the goals of the deans for YU as an institution,” Harow noted. “Through respectful and open dialogue, we have already made progress by helping the deans see these issues from the perspective of non-local students.”

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Photo Caption: The new committee is addressing challenges faced by non-local students, aiming to improve their campus experience.

Photo Credit: Yeshiva University