New Semester, Same Silence
The Fall 2025 semester has officially begun, and with it comes a season of new beginnings. From fresh faces to new schedules, everything — whether this is your first or final semester on campus — looks, and certainly feels, quite different.
Yet one thing has remained stubbornly the same. Despite the sunny weather, the administration has yet again chosen to keep the students in the dark.
Project Yamim, the title under which YU’s new club guidelines were unveiled, landed in our inboxes on Aug. 27.
“We recognize that our foundational mission of quality educational experiences and genuine leadership training can be elevated through enhanced mentorship, higher standards, and comprehensive support and guidelines in our student organizations,” the email read.
In that vein, YU announced a series of new rules and regulations on “student organizations” geared towards “elevating student participation from involvement to meaningful leadership training that aligns with our university's religious and educational mission and the broader vision of the Yamim project.”
That sounds fair enough … right? But the concrete meaning behind those buzz-phrases is murky.
Of the new rules, the most impactful is the requirement that every club reapply for recognition, effectively halting all student organizations for the foreseeable future. The remaining rules follow a similar pattern: prospective club leaders must complete a spring “preparatory leadership course” (with an accelerated option this fall), accept a Torah advisor appointed by the administration and avoid any formal partnership with outside organizations.
That last restriction suddenly became fuzzy at last week’s Office of Student Life town hall: administrators said there could be exceptions and the policy isn’t final. Confusing, to say the least.
What these rules look like in practice remains unknown. Many student inquiries about the status of their clubs have yet to yield clear answers. The original email warned that purely social events would be barred, yet OSL now says it won’t shut down social clubs like AMC or Broadway. So what do the rules really mean? Anyone hoping to join a club or start a new one is left wondering whether their organization will pass the test or even get off the ground before the snow starts falling.
More confusing still is where these rules are coming from. OSL appears to have had little involvement in the initiative, leaving students uncertain where to turn. No announcement has named the Torah-mentors who will supervise clubs, the committee that drafted the guidelines or the body that will enforce them. We do not know how applications will be judged, what criteria will be used or who will sit on the review panel. And if a club falls short of these unclear standards — where, exactly, can students appeal?
The answer is one we, especially here at The Commentator, have heard before: nobody knows.
Finally, the new guidelines’ ban on external partnerships seems to violate the Undergraduate Bill of Rights, which states that “students have the right to associate and interact freely with other individuals, groups, organizations and institutions, provided they do not infringe on the rights of others or interfere with the mission of the University.”
If YU’s mission has indeed changed, the administration must spell that out for the student body. If the mission is unchanged — and the rules are less rigid than they read — students should be told that, too. Right now, Project Yamim raises far more questions than it answers, and we deserve those answers.
My intention here is not to criticize the administration, but to call attention to a communication gap that can, and should, be closed. Last week’s town hall was a great first step. The next is to articulate clearly the rationale and motives behind Project Yamim so students know what to expect. More clarity, and better execution, should be the goal going forward.
This new year is ripe with change and possibility. Let's ensure transparency, trust and an open dialogue are part of that renewal.
