<p>HouTxmom- I think they are pretty generous with merit money.</p>
<p>This is from an email from the Tulane Chabad rabbi reflecting on Shabbat after the hurricane. FYI:</p>
<p>I have an inspiring story that I’d like to share with you.
Hurricane Isaac left the Chabad Student Center without power, and, after three days of keeping the freezer closed and hoping for the best, we decided on Friday that we needed to salvage whatever we could. Friends in Metairie said that they had some freezer space, so we put out a call to some students to see who could help us move whatever was still frozen.
One of the students that came to help was Andrew, a Tulane junior who is a member of our board. When he came to Chabad, he said to Sarah and me “What is the plan for Shabbat?”. To be honest, until that moment, we were so overwhelmed with dealing with Isaac’s aftermath, and it really did not seem possible for us to do anything for Shabbat. But Andrew said that he would be shocked if Chabad didn’t at least do something for Shabbat.
As we emptied the freezer, discarding about $300 worth of stuff, but saving close to $1500 worth, we came across Challah rolls, kugels and cakes that had been made and frozen in preparation for the new semester.
Andrew pointed out that we could at least give students a mini-Shabbat dinner, so that Shabbat would not be completely ignored. We started trying to think of a place to hold the dinner. Chabad seemed out of the question, because the lack of power would mean that the temperature in the building was around 90 degrees with nobody there! What about on campus? We called Joel, a member of our board who serves as an RA (Resident Advisor) in Monroe Hall. Joel said that Monroe probably wouldn’t work, because there was some damage, and they didn’t really have an accessible space large enough.
Joel suggested Sharp Hall. But, without an RA connection, it is always difficult to get the wheels of Tulane’s bureaucracy moving, and it was already 3 PM, just 4 hours to Shabbat. Andrew and I decided to walk over to Sharp Hall, and see what would happen.
When we arrived at Sharp, we saw a man wearing a Tulane staff shirt sitting out front. We walked up to him, introduced ourselves, and he told us that he was the Sharp Area Director. We quickly explained what we were hoping to do, and, amazingly, he agreed on the spot! No delays, not let me check with the higher ups, just a quick agreement to allow the event to move forward.
I hurried back to a place where I had internet access, and, with facebook and email, did my best to publicize something that would be happening in just 3 hours.</p>
<p>Board member Jackie came over to help transport everything, and by 7 PM, we were all set up, wondering just how many students would get the word and come to a Shabbat dinner that offered not much more than Challah and desserts.
As 7:15 rolled around, students started streaming into the building. Freshmen, upperclassman, nearly 60 students just didn’t want to see Shabbat come and go, without acknowledging it in some way. As we started singing Shalom Aleichem in the public space, with residents coming and going, some students looked at each other uneasily, but they soon overcame their unease, and started singing and clapping along.
“Dinner” was short - we sang Birkat Hamazon at around 8, But, for the students that participated, and for me, it was a memorable lesson that, come what may, Shabbat is important and needs to be honored!
So, I am inspired.</p>
<p>Love it! Thanks for sharing.</p>
<p>Loved the story…so inspirational!</p>
<p>wow… i have the chills.
wonderful story.</p>
<p>Love the story Vitrac! And I’m so glad everyone’s transitions to college are going so smoothly. S2 had a full week to play on campus before classes started. It was a opportunity to learn the campus and attend welcome programs from many of the clubs and orgs on campus. BTW my S did attend the Hillel and Chabad welcomes and told me he will go to high holy day services with Hillel and expects to participate in both groups but I don’t know how active he will actually be. The new Hillel building is behind schedule but is supposed be open in time for Rosh Hashana. Hillel puts out a weekly newsletter which I receive by email and it is very nice to see all that Hillel has to offer. One thing that was really interesting was an article pointing out that allowing students to miss class for the religious observance is the law. Apparently this letter along with all of the holiday dates was sent to the entire faculty. I’m impressed by this proactive effort. I will say that after the first class in physics my S was already putting in hours of work. So far he seems to be on top of what he needs to do. He had originally planned to play intramural sports but came to the realization on his own that before he committed to anything like that he wanted to get into a groove with his school work. He however loves the rec center on campus and is frequently there which is a good thing because that is one of the keys to his sanity. He’s happy with his roomate and suitemates, so far so good.</p>
<p>I agree too…great story Vitrac. Thanks for sharing! :)</p>
<p>It seems like the kids are happy with their college choices! Then we parents have done our jobs well.</p>
<p>Chardo: Glad S is enjoying Bama so far. Phillyartmom: Glad D survived the remnants of Issac! Spectrum: Very glad to hear S is beginning his college experience in such a positive manner. RVM: Nice to hear your S is also doing well and won a prize?!</p>
<p>I’m sure I’ve missed many others but all in all it’s nice to hear great move ins and adjusting well by the kids in general.</p>
<p>Vitrac, great and inspirational story!</p>
<p>Thanks for the great story, Vitrac. Our kids were without power for 5 days. Nice to see that some kids were able to make lemonade from lemons. Sweet story.</p>
<p>Wonderful story about Tulane and it is nice to hear about all the new freshmen who are working hard in their new schools, adjusting, and thriving.</p>
<p>What a great story about Tulane. I’m also very impressed by the super-sleuthing at Elon. I wonder if many of have crossed paths unknowingly?</p>
<p>Wonderful messaged Vitrac! Thanks for sharing. So pleased to hear of everyone’s positive launch stories. I’m going to keep them in mind for next year when the stress begins to build!</p>
<p>So here’s a question - looking for thoughts from my “cc-friends”. S is thinking of applying ED to a certain school. I don’t want to name it, because I’m looking for your opinions on this dilemma, not the specific school. My issue is that I am not certain that I agree with his choice. While I like the school for him, but there are 2 schools which I believe may be a better fit for him. So my question is… does Mom trump S’s ED decision? (He is not certain yet, however he’s definitely been mentioning it so I can see where his mind is going). I have not yet mentioned this to my S, since he has not yet made his own decision, and I want to give him space as he’s debating with himself. However, I am getting this feeling. FYI, I believe I can “spin” his decision-making, but I don’t know if this is fair? So this is the advice I’m asking. (Let me add - if I was ADAMANT that I didn’t like the school, then of course I would use my trump card. This is not the case.) Thoughts? Thanks!</p>
<p>My first thought is – is there a cost factor involved? That would be a legitimate reason to voice your opinion.</p>
<p>If not, I will let others chime in…I don’t really know what to say otherwise…</p>
<p>I think two big issues here are certainty and finances. Ask him why he wants to apply ED and his reasons for deciding this is “the one”. Perhaps he feels this is the best way for him to get accepted. Discuss the binding nature of it, and ask him to consider the possibility that he may change his mind and if he can be happy attending any of his other choices.</p>
<p>The other issue is finances and if any merit/FA is in the works, you may get a better situation elsewhere. Since you are paying the bill, you do have the right to intervene here. </p>
<p>If he is absolutely sure and has no hesitation, and you can afford any of his choices regardless, then maybe going along with it is a good option so that he has the best chance of acceptance. However, if he is the least bit uncertain and/or finances are a factor, then perhaps he needs to reconsider.</p>
<p>Whatever you both do, an open and honest discussion before he submits his application will hopefully help resolve this.</p>
<p>Champs, am I remembering correctly that your son was the one who hadn’t found a school that really excited him? Has he changed his mind, or does he have some other reason for wanting to apply early decision? I can understand wanting to get an answer early, but the binding aspect of ED gives me pause.</p>
<p>In my view, Early Decision is appropriate when you 1)have a clear first choice and 2)need the extra “bump” of ED commitment to boost your attractiveness to the admissions committee (and, for many people, when you can pay for it no matter what the package is they offer you–it’s awkward and disappointing to have to back out if the financial aid numbers don’t work, and sometimes it takes quite a while to adjudicate an appeal or whatever and people have to let the acceptance go). If the student is a top candidate for admission (e.g. in the running for merit money), I’m not sure there’s any advantage to applying early. If the student isn’t in love with the school, there’s a real disadvantage.</p>
<p>There are some schools that really do fill up quite a bit of their class in the early round, but unless that is the school I desperately wanted to attend, I don’t know if I’d be willing to limit my options if I were the applicant, and I think I wouldn’t want my kid to.</p>
<p>My daughter had no first choice school and did not apply ED anywhere. She did apply by the “priority deadline” to our home state school, which gave her an answer in early spring, IIRC, as well as taking advantage of an invited “priority” round of applications at another school (separate from their ED process), so she didn’t have the agonizing wait for the first admissions decision. But she preferred to keep her options open. Unless your son has some really clear reasons for wanting to commit to this school ahead of time (and certainly, those reasons do exist for many people), I think I would encourage him to keep his options open.</p>
<p>I’ll chime in, too. Have ya’ll visited all the schools you’re considering? We noticed a big difference for some schools. They looked perfect on paper (think Syracuse and WPI), but realized they clearly did not “fit” for S when we visited.</p>
<p>When we saw another school (RIT), which he was initially very resistant too, it was love at first sight and ED was a clear choice.</p>
<p>Maybe if he has not visited, that would be a good next step. Barring that, we made out a balance sheet with pros and cons for his top two choices and that sort of helped see things more clearly.</p>
<p>champs, without naming the school(s) can you tell us what factors are making you think that other schools would be a better fit?</p>
<p>Back from launching S at University of Vermont, followed by a New England vacation. Move in went great! Lots of help! Plus, after 2 days, one of the boys in his forced triple room moved out. The extra breathing room is a blessing. Spoke with him last night (about 10 days later), and he sounds fabulous. Meeting tons of people. Joined a few intramural sports teams. And, most importantly, he is really trying to keep up with all his work. Keeping my fingers crossed that this all continues!</p>
<p>Empty nest at home now. A few tears when we said our goodbyes to S, but we were all ready for it. S needed his independence, and I needed to stop worrying about him on a daily basis. It was time for him to leave and start fresh elsewhere. Will definitely take some getting used to, but so far, H and I are enjoying our new freedom!</p>
<p>Glad to hear that all the move-ins went smoothly!</p>
<p>Thank you for all the replies. Money is not a reason for my feelings (if this was an issue, then I would certainly make it known to him). I guess I want him to be able to make a decision without my influence, since I know he highly values my opinion, and would probably change his mind based on my suggestion. My reasons may be more “overprotectiveness”, hard to say. </p>
<p>And yes, DeskPotato, until recently he didn’t really have a first choice. I don’t know if experience in the process has made him get more focused. I wonder if visits so long ago (last Feb) was too early for him to be taking the process seriously. Maybe if he saw a school now (as a Senior) he would have a differerent reaction than the lack of interest he had last Feb. - for the same school. Now he is taking the tours / info sessions more seriously. Sorry if I’m a little unclear. But once again - thank you for your help.</p>