What Should You Do?

(discussion guide)

The Melting Pot Student Association...

...at your college sponsors a speaker from City Colleges of New York. Dr. Leonard Jeffries is the head of the African American Studies Department. During his speech, Dr. Jeffries tells the audience that the reason that African-Americans are portrayed so poorly in the movies is that Jews and Italians have conspired to keep them out of the entertainment industry. 

Not only that, he says, Jews are responsible for the slave trade in this country since they were the ones who brought Africans over to North America on slave ships. 

What should you do?

An article appears...

...in your student newspaper by Bradley R. Smith from a group called the Committee for Open Debate on the Holocaust. In the article, Smith states that reports of mass murder of Jews during World War II are grossly exaggerated and that the Nazis had no plan for the "alleged" gassing of Jews and others. 

In fact, he says, the gas chambers didn't exist, the new Holocaust Museum is a hoax, and we have no proof that the people we see in the pictures didn't die of typhus. In fact, he claims, we have no proof that those pictured are even Jewish. 

What should you do ?

After your first week in school...

...you're finally feeling comfortable with your new roommate. You come back from the library at about 11:30 one night and notice that your roomie seems to have "company."

What should you do ?

You receive a very nice Chanukah package...

...from your synagogue which includes a Chanukiah and candles. You are about to light it on the first night when the RA from the dorm approaches you and says that it's a fire hazard to light candles. She threatens disciplinary action against you if you do.

What should you do ?

You have an Israeli Independence Day celebration...

...at school which is disrupted by Arab protestors. One of them engages you in conversation and claims that Israel "stole" land from his grandparents in 1948 during the War of Independence. He cites all sorts of facts and figures to support his claim and demands that you answer him.

What should you do ?

You are introduced...

...to your roommate's friend from Iowa who is a very friendly and outgoing person. It is definitely someone you see yourself becoming good friends with. After a few phone calls, you decide to go to a party together. 

After a couple of weeks, you notice that this person is acting a bit differently. Soon, s/he is asking you a lot of questions about Judaism, almost challenging you to answer certain difficult questions about the Messiah, the after-life and your personal belief in God. Before long s/he is suggesting that you come with him/her to a "Campus Life" meeting. 

The meeting is, in fact, a device to get people to "accept Jesus as the true Messiah." All sorts of verses from the Hebrew Bible are used as proof of this claim. You don't find this out until after you've already arrived at the meeting. You are now put on the spot.

What should you do ?

Preparing for college...