Last Tuesday, roughly 42 people gathered in the University Center lobby to share hot dogs, hot chocolate, s’mores and conversations in solidarity with those affected by the Holocaust.
“Talk about it S’more” is a biweekly series hosted by the Office of Student Involvement, which offers cultural events accompanied by s’mores and other refreshments. Angelina Buitron, a business major and student assistant at the Office of Student Involvement, said the series is meant to promote diversity and evoke constructive dialogue among students.
“We started this series to promote diversity on campus and have people learn more about different religions, cultures and things like that,” Buitron said. “Personally, I got to visit the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C., so that’s what inspired me to organize this event.”
Meera Joseph, a nursing major, said she first attended a “Talk about it S’more” event regarding autism, and was impressed by the amount of information she received, encouraging her to attend the rest of the series.
“I like the format of this, and the fact that they get professionals to talk about the subject because, otherwise, I don’t know where I would look for this type of information,” Joseph said. “I came with my little brother because I also want him to be exposed to this type of stuff and become familiar with other cultures.”
Once the crowd had a chance to take a seat and have that first bite of their s’mores, they were greeted by Paulette Gindler-Bishop and Debra Gatz of Temple Emanuel in McAllen, who offered valuable information on Judaism.
They addressed misconceptions about their religion, discussed their history, described the details of their favorite holidays and answered many questions from the audience along the way.
Before giving the floor to Rabbi Javier Claudio Kogan of Temple Emanuel, Gatz gave a personal anecdote on how the Holocaust personally affected her and her family.
“My grandfather, when he was a young man in Poland, came to the U.S., leaving all of his family behind shortly before the war,” Gatz said. “Think of all the first, second, and third cousins you have–I didn’t have that, because other than my grandpa, one of his brothers and one of his nephews, everyone else was killed.”
Kogan then gave a brief presentation on the historical context of the Holocaust, providing all the important dates, numbers and statistics related to the horrific event, in which six million people were killed by Adolf Hitler during World War II. Those targeted were predominantly Jews, as well as Romani people, homosexuals and the mentally ill.
He ended his presentation with a message of hope. He explained to the crowd how the Holocaust was only possible because people did not have the courage to speak out, leaving a lesson to be learned about staying quiet in times of injustice.
“The message here is never again,” Kogan said. “To speak out and not be afraid, to see something you think is wrong, and try your best to do something about it even if it doesn’t affect you.”
This was the last event for the “Talk about it S’more” series this spring semester. There will be more events scheduled in the fall.
