Explorations floor unites

Conflict in the Middle East — the phrase regularly stumbles out in today's vernacular.

But on one NYU explorations floor, it's not supposed to be about conflict, but understanding. Located on the third floor at Carlyle Court residence hall, "Exploring the Middle East: The Middle East meets the East Coast" is a themed floor where Jewish and Muslim resident's live together in hopes of learning more about themselves and each other.

"I don't know of too many places where this type of learning can occur," said Anna Schmidt, assistant director of academic development in NYU's housing office.

But life on the floor did not start out as smoothly as planned. A Palestinian flag was prominently displayed on one Muslim students door with the phrase, "With our spirit and blood we will liberate, oh Palestine," written in Arabic. Jewish residents were offended.

CAS junior Joshua Borenstein, who is one of the two students who originally proposed this explorations floor, said other than the "flag incident," there haven't been any problems. But he said it may be too early to tell whether it will stay this serene.

"We really haven't had too many group gatherings, so it is hard to see how things will play out," said Borenstein, who is a member of the national board of directors of Hillel: the Foundation for Jewish Campus Life. "I would love to see some sort of mutual understanding of one another, though, and to co-exist as friends."

CAS sophomore Jason Leibowitz said he and his friends were initially concerned about the floor, but everyone has gotten along well. He added that there is an "unspoken understanding" not to discuss politics.

Initially, this floor grew from two different proposals for floors in NYU's "Create Your Own Explorations Community" program. After working with student coordinators, it became apparent that the two separate floors had very similar ideas, Schmidt said.

"We all agreed that the groups would greatly benefit from living and learning with one another in one residence hall community," Schmidt said.

Stern senior Waleed Gamay said he had no idea what to expect, but everyone seems to be working well together.

When asked about certain religious traditions that may affect residents — the Muslim's five daily prayers, for example — Leibowitz said he does not think the traditions have negatively affected the floor or his opinions of those living there.

Jordie Gersom is the faculty affiliate for the floor and a rabbinical student at Hebrew Union College, and said he hopes students get to know each other as people, instead of just Jews and Muslims. Islamic Center Chaplain Khalid Latif is the other faculty affiliate for the floor.

"I want this to be a safe space for the students to get to know one another," Gersom said. "I think it will be great for students to open up and see how they look through each other's eyes."

The floor's RA, Rachel Fertel, mentioned various programs the floor participated in this year, including the Ramashana Party — a celebration of both Ramadan and Rosh Hashanah. This year, Yom Kippur fell during the holy month of Ramadan — an occurrence that only happens once every 30 years.

"It was a great, active environment," Fertel said. "All of the students were participating in the discussion and were eager to hear about future plans."

At their first floor meeting, Fertel set the tone for her floor and explained to her residents that the floor's mission was to learn about different cultures and heritages.

"It's a learning experience for everyone," Fertel said. "It's to bring all the backgrounds together, to learn about different cultures."

Numerous activities have been planned for the year, including a public policy debate that will focus on the relations between the U.S. and the Arab countries in Middle East and between the U.S. and Israel. On the lighter side of things, the floor will host a hummus-baking contest, in which Fertel hopes students will use family recipes.

Fertel also hopes to take advantage of another new explorations community at Carlyle — "Food for Thought: Healthy Living in Theory and Practice" — and look at the taboo of eating pork in various religions.

After living on an explorations floor during her freshman year, Fertel said she knew she wanted to lead an explorations program by becoming an RA this year. She said she specifically chose this floor because it was something she felt was interesting.

"I don't have the educational background in this field," said Fertel, a communications major in Steinhardt. "But I'm really interested in the culture and I knew it would be a big learning experience for myself as well."

By the end of the year, Fertel hopes to unite the floor.

"It has been a challenge, bringing the floor together," Fertel said. "But with the help of the programs, I hope students can mingle and really get to know one another and try to bond."

Charity Halsdorf, Carlyle's community development educator, said she hopes this explorations floor continues next year.

"This floor is so original," she said. "No other university has something like this. We also have the chance to bring people together to learn about other cultures, which is something that is very important in today's society."