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NEWS / THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2010 / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / KANSAN.COM
RELIGION
Jewish students celebrate New Year
BY JUSTINE PATTON
jpatton@kansan.com
Students may have heard the long, high-pitched sound of a shofar on Wednesday sounding the beginning of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year.
"Our goal this year on campus is to blow everyone away," Rabbi Zalman Tiechtel said.
KU students crafted their own shofars, a Jewish horn traditionally made from a ram's horn, during Chabad's Shofar Factory on Wescoe Beach Tuesday in preparation for Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, which lasts from Wednesday evening until Friday.
Daniel Held, a junior from Seattle, was one of the first to create his own shofar.
To create his horn, Held inserted a metal wire into his ram horn to see how hollow the horn was.
Then, he sawed the end of the
horn to create a small hole. Next, he attempted to drill into the horn to make the hole bigger, but his failing power tool made the task a difficult one.
"You're supposed to put a lot
pressure on it to widen the hole," Held said. "Unlike what happened with mine."
God and the New Year."
Tiechtel said the specific size or sound of the Shofar is not nearly as important as what blowing into the Shofar represents.
Tiechtel said making and blowing the Shofars is only one of the traditions of Rosh Hashanah. Sweet foods, such as honey or apples, are eaten during the festivities as well.
"Many times when you have something deep in your heart that you want to express,you can't find the right words to say it, so you just let out a cry."
"Many times when you have something deep in your heart that you want to express, you can't always find the right words to say it, so you just let out a cry," Tiechtel said. "That's what it represents — when you stand before
ZALMAN TIECHTEL
Rabbi
tion.
"We eat them, because we want to ask God for a sweet New Year," Tiechtel said.
Thursday afternoon students will perform, Tashlich, which is another longstanding tradi-
This is where they will go to the lake and symbolically throw their sins from the past year into the water of Potter Lake.
"Some people throw in bread, some throw in their friends."
Tiechtel said with a laugh.
Tiechtel said one of his goals during Rosh Hashanah is to make students who cannot be at home during the holiday feel as comfortable as possible.
Meghan Stein, a sophomore from Irvine, Calif., said having friends she can celebrate the New Year with at the University makes her feel more at home.
"Since I'm halfway across the country from where I usually am, I'm really lucky to be around people that love me," Stein said.
Students interested in participating in Rosh Hashanah events can check out the services schedule at www.JewishKU.com.
Edited by Tim Dwyer
Ben Pirotte/KANSAM
Ashley Chookit, a junior from Overland Park (lef) helps Nechama Tiechtel, co-director of Chabad Center for Jewish Life, light candles to begin Rosh Hashana, the Jewish celebration of the new year. To start the celebration, women light candles and say a prayer.
HEALTH
Call center fights suicide in Lawrence
BY ALLYSON SHAW
ashaw@kansan.com
Ten people committed suicide in Douglas County during the first five months of 2010, according to the coroner's office. Headquarters Counseling Center, at the corners of Eighth and Rhode Island streets, provides five phone lines and a welcoming environment for anyone who may be contemplating suicide.
Marcia Epstein has worked at Headquarters since 1975 when she began volunteering during her sophomore year at the University.
This week is suicide prevention week and Headquarters are teaming up with Lawrence Memorial Hospital to help Lawrence residents learn how to prevent suicide.
Epstein has been the director of Headquarters since 1979. She said, this week is not only about awareness, but also action.
"It doesn't do any good to say, Suicide is a problem," Epstein said. "We need to say, 'Here's what you can do.'"
During the interview, Epstein grasped her phone, waiting for a text. She was counseling a KU student who feared for the life of his friend.
Epstein said Headquarters received 50 to 60 calls a day, 10 to 15 of which are people or the friends of people who are at risk of committing suicide. Because of the confidential nature of their jobs, Adam and Chris, Headquarters volunteers, have requested The Kansan not use their last names.
Chris, a senior from Topeka, said that people often can call the center to find out about things such as free clothing, homeless shelters, mental health services, help with bills and rape or domestic violence.
"Sometimes I get people so jacked up, or emotional, that I don't have a chance to say anything for the first 15 minutes," Chris said. "I do a lot of ah-has and um-hums to let them know I'm listening. But then you don't just say everything's going to be hunky-dory, you actually listen to them."
Adam, a senior from Brookville, said he's noticed recently that a lot of calls come from recent graduates or middle-aged people who are having trouble finding a job or struggling with their finances.
Epstein said the center probably.
didn't get enough calls from KU students and recent graduates considering the stress they're under. She said she believed that technology was part of the problem.
neadquarters is filling out applications for funding to provide Internet counseling and text counseling, because that is how students reach out to each other and because this method of communication has worked in national studies.
Epstein is using her own cell phone and money to provide counseling to the aforementioned KU student in need. She said she hoped that soon the center would be able to afford a more secure form of communication.
But the center doesn't just need new technology; it needs new people. Epstein said the center has far
fewer volunteers than they had 20 years ago, and it's declining.
"It's because of a new social-cultural attitude," Epstein said. "People are more self-focused and less community-focused. Centers like ours are closing around the country."
Chris said volunteers need to have the ability to listen and to have an open mind, because often calls come in from people who are confused about their sexuality or are pregnant and don't know what
to do.
"Some call because it's their only outlet for human support or human connection," Chris said. "They might not necessarily be suicidal, they just have no one to talk to. These people just want to know that someone recognizes they have problems."
Call 1-800-784-2433 or 1-800-273-8255 if you or someone you know needs to talk.
— Edited by Michael Bednar
Headquarters Counseling Center provides these tips when someone you know shows signs of being suicidal
-Listen and show you care.
-Ask the question, "Are you thinking about suicide?"
-Find someone to be with the person and someone trained in suicide prevention to help.
-Eliminate access to firearms, large amounts of medications and other dangers.
-Never keep a secret about suicide
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