“Free Food, Free Thought”
This is the tagline for this year’s Freedom Seder, a program sponsored by the Center for Multicultural Excellence and the University of Denver chapter of Hillel.
Hillel is an organization which aims to provide Jewish students with the opportunity to participate in Jewish events, as well as other social activities and educational programs. The organization also aims to create awareness of Jewish culture.
According to DU Hillel, the seder is being put on in order to “create an event that increases appreciation of cultural diversity, raises social awareness and enhances the sense of community at DU.”
The seder will take place Thursday, March 31 in the Driscoll University Center Ballroom from 6 to 8 p.m.
In Jewish culture, “seder” literally means order. At this seder, the evening is ordered by the diners, who participate in presentations. This event also offers participants the opportunity to learn about other cultures and focus on important themes.
The themes for this year’s Freedom Seder include universal themes such as freedom, peace, hope and unity.
Student groups and organizations who participate in the seder are encouraged by Hillel and the Center for Multicultural Excellence to choose their own universal theme for the evening.
Student organizations or groups are encouraged to get involved and submit presentation ideas that include their unique interpretations of the seder’s universal themes.
If any group wants its presentation included in the seder, members need to submit their ideas to Melanie Zeitler by March 21.
Groups can present their themes through varied means, including music, poetry, dance, speeches, food and art.
In the past, participants included the Vietnamese Student Association, the Undergraduate Women’s Council and Pride, the on-campus undergraduate group for the GLBTiQ community at DU.
At the Freedom Seder in 2004, the VSA presented a number of painted canvasses which depicted their chosen theme of “harmony,” as well as a video which showed the process of creating the canvasses and explaining the meaning of each painting.
Participants will also have the opportunity to take part in an art contest based on the universal themes. The contest will be run through the DU Art Department. Submissions are due by March 20.
Prizes will be awarded to the top three submissions, with $75 for first place, $50 for second place and $25 for third place.
The artistic submissions will be displayed the night of the seder and judged by those attending the seder.
The dinner is free, but it is requested that those interested in attending call beforehand.
Though the Freedom Seder is being sponsored by the CME and Hillel, traditional Jewish dishes will not be served, but standard campus dinner entrees.
To RSVP for the dinner or to involve your student organization in preparing a presentation please contact either Melanie Zeitler, the director of Hillel at DU at melanie@hillel.colorado.org or Lauren Graham, the Freedom Seder Committee chair, at lgraham3@du.edu.
