I can’t change mehitzot or create a co-ed Beit Midrash. But I have some good news for the women of Stern College who feel marginalized uptown.
I, too, have ventured to Wilf for an event only to seek an escape from awkward encounters, have waited for a shuttle in Morg while some life-or-death sports game is on TV, and have searched desperately for a safe space for minhah
That is, until I was let in on a secret—one that I am nervous to share lest it become invaded suddenly by the men of Wilf. It is a place I refer to fondly as The Cave. It is an abandoned locker room that sits unassumingly near the ladies room in the Heights Lounge—abandoned, except for the Stern women who seem to be davening minhah there at any given hour amidst suitcases, backpacks, and purses left trustingly to fend for themselves.
The men must think it haunted. One by one, the women descend the few stairs to The Cave—“to the restroom,” the men must think—only to never return. The Cave has even intrigued our fellow Stern women, with some speculating that it might be the destination of a hidden portal residing on the mysterious 245 Lexington Floor 2M, built as an initiative of YUConnects (see February 2013 issue of The Observer). Whatever purpose The Cave was initially intended to serve, the men are oblivious to its existence, and we were probably better off with that being the case. But I risk their awareness of it now because there is one thing I’d like to change. And that is… must it really remain a cave? Why not transform it into—dare I say it? —a women’s lounge uptown!
Let’s gut it of the brown lifeless lockers (except for maybe a few usable ones to protect the stranded luggage). Replace the two pink chairs that sink too low when you sit— instead put in some couches, or tables, or we could go all out and order carpeting and bean bags. Rid it of the hanger-less coatrack supporting only siddurim (placed atop it by some knowing individual for the frequent daveners) and build some bookshelves! Why not create a women’s-only Beit Midrash, Margot-Reinstein-style (see August 2012 issue of The Observer)
And, lest you think this vision farfetched, I’d like to introduce Dr. Chaim Nissel, University Dean of Students. In a meet-and-greet with Stern RA’s and GA’s during their training preceding Fall Orientation, Dr. Nissel asked the University Housing and Residence Life staff what they most loved and disliked about our university. Many RA’s saw the valuable opportunity in an audience who might constructively use their feedback for the better, and a lively discussion quickly ensued involving experiences Stern women face when spending time on the Wilf campus. Present at the meeting was RA Hadassah Tirschwell, who voiced that “the Yeshiva University campus should be a place where all students, male and female, should feel comfortable.” The popularity of RA Michal Schechter’s recent article “Feeling Marginalized Uptown: A Stern Student’s Perspective”— with 140 current likes on Facebook—reflects a widespread feeling that the Wilf campus has much room for improvement by way of accommodating Stern women’s needs.
Sitting before our very own Dean of Students with the support of a roomful of RA’s and GA’s was the prime opportunity to speak of the potential of our humble Cave as a stepping stone to greater women’s comfort on the men’s campus. So I spoke. And I left that meeting hopeful.
Dr. Nissel took notes on the location of The Cave, considered the potential to revamp it as a women’s lounge, and subsequently journeyed down the steps to The Cave to see the space himself. In a recent email correspondence with Dr. Nissel on October 7th, Dr. Nissel confirmed that he mentioned the idea to Vice President Jeff Rosengarten, who oversees facilities, and amazingly enough, they will be removing the lockers and securing furniture for the creation of …drumroll please… a women’s only lounge, uptown.
I know nothing of the new design—whether there will be bean bags, or couches, or bookshelves for sefarim, but I know that the receptivity of our administration to a new kind of space, a women’s space, is a good thing. I await the day when The Cave becomes a space with so much women’s pride that it makes the guys uptown jealous.