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Letter to the Editor: L'Chaim! To Life - Celebrating 100 Years of Jewish Life at Princeton

This past weekend, I was one of 850 plus alums to attend a conference on campus titled “L’Chaim!: Celebrating 100 Years of Jewish Life at Princeton.” For myself, and for many other attendees, this conference was healing, therapeutic and the antidote to what we experienced as students. Personally, I was from Brooklyn, and before Princeton, saying I was Jewish was as ordinary as saying I had hazel eyes or brown hair. After a few months on campus, I found myself lowering my voice when I said I was Jewish. Where did that come from?, I wondered. As I thought about it, the reactions I got made me self-conscious about something that prior to Princeton was just part of the fabric of my life.

I want to thank the current students for sharing the campus with aplomb with so many people during the regular semester for three days. I don’t remember there being any outside conferences when I was a student— at least, not one this large. Nor could I have imagined that such a conference would take place in the future. I am so grateful to University President Christopher Eisgruber ’83, to everyone who worked so hard to bring this to fruition, and to the current student body for sharing their Princeton home with all of us.

Enjoy the rest of the semester!

With gratitude,

Emily Lewis Penn ’77

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