Sarah Pretsky

Staff Writer

Every Friday at 11am, the Milken community gathers together to celebrate the arrival of Shabbat. Oneg is typically filled with guitar playing, singing, and many flavors of challah, but along with the food and music are breakout sessions that are meant to be fun and build community. However, the focus of Oneg on February 15 was a bit more serious. The event, referred to as SuperOneg, was composed of meaningful conversations led by both student and faculty leaders across campus.

Rabbi David, the creator of 2.0neg, told The Roar that “after a number of successful 2.0neg conversations around a variety of topics, Mr. Steele suggested that we devote an entire 2.0neg to important discussions about issues going on in the world and in our community. Hence, SuperOneg. The goal was to create the type of environment that many experience around the Shabbat table: deep, meaningful conversations that elevate everyone involved.”

One of the nine sessions available was “Unpacking the F(eminism) Word,” which was run by the Talk Project and MENsch clubs. Today, the leaders suggested, there is a stigma around feminism and its significance. “The goal [of the event] was to hear different perspectives about the controversial word ‘feminism,’” says Eliana Robin ‘19, co-President of the Talk Project club. “During the discussion, we were able to hear from both female and male students of different grades about what feminism means to them and why. We hope we were able to inspire a conversation on campus and open student minds to new ideas.”

Another session, “Guy Talk,” led by Mr. Steele created a safe space for all male-identifying students and faculty members to explore the concept of masculinity. It was a chance to discuss the role of men in society and question the part gender plays in everyday life. “I challenged the attendees to pay close attention to how gender plays a role in groups, classrooms, and all sorts of relationships to see if we can distinguish how society’s view of the genders has shaped concepts of privilege, voice, and even the amount of space we are all allowed to take up,” Mr. Steele said of his breakout session.

The conversations that took place at SuperOneg bonded the Milken community in a meaningful way and set a reflective mood going into Shabbat. Students and faculty were engaged, attentive and exhibited genuine curiosity. SuperOneg is only the start of passionate conversations which are sure to continue in the classroom and around campus.

List of the various sessions that took place at SuperOneg.