Hillel At Syracuse University, housed in Hendricks Chapel, introduced a variety of student-centered programs during the 1998-99 academic year.       "The growth of our staff and development of our program are sure steps toward Hillel's mission to meet Jewish students where they are and work with them to create a vibrant, sustainable Jewish community on campus," says Sivan Kaminsky, executive director of Hillel at SU. "Hillel has adopted a model of giving students ownership in planning and executing their programs. That fosters leadership and ensures that Jewish life on campus fulfills student needs and interests."       By continuing to develop partnerships with campus groups and the Jewish community at large, Kaminsky says, his organization strives to be a focal point of Jewish life on campus.       Hillel's new program director is Philip Lambert, a doctoral student in disability studies in the School of Education's cultural foundations of education department. He works with students in planning such activities as sports events and "Turn Friday Night into Shabbat."       "I was particularly attracted to Hillel by its philosophy of pluralism, which appreciates that there are many and sometimes conflicting routes through which people define their Judaism," Lambert says.

steve sartori Author, political commentator, and two-time presidential candidate Pat Buchanan visited the SU campus last fall as a guest of the College Republicans and to promote his new book on U.S. foreign policy. Buchanan's appearance, which included a speech in Hendricks Chapel on the presidential impeachment proceedings and foreign policy issues, was not without incident. Several political action groups staged protests. "I'd feel uncomfortable if there weren't any protesters," Buchanan observed. "Thank you for making me feel at home."

Two Syracuse University student athletes were honored this past winter as Academic All-Americans in their respective sports. Keri Potts '98, G'99 was named to the GTE/CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America) Academic All-America volleyball first team, and Mark Baniewicz '00 was honored as a member of the GTE/CoSIDA Academic All-America football second team.       A women's volleyball team co-captain, Potts has a perfect 4.0 grade point average (GPA) and is pursuing a master's degree in public relations at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. She is the first volleyball player in SU history to receive Academic All-America honors and complete an undergraduate degree in three years.       Baniewicz, an offensive tackle for the Orange, is a finance major in the School of Management and has a 3.8 cumulative GPA.       The two Dean's List students also are members of the SU Athletic Director's Honor Roll and have been cited as Big East academic all-stars.

Industrial design students Jae-Jun Park and Mark Pedersen created the winning design in the Greater New York 1998 World Traffic Safety Design Competition in New York City. Their Transgenerational Seat Belt earned them a shared $4,000 scholarship, a trophy, and plenty of interest from automobile manufacturers like Buick and General Motors.      One reason Park and Pedersen won was that they did more than just a styling job: They researched the concept, identified a need, interviewed potential users, and came up with a practical solution. The belt, which incorporates a second over-the-shoulder restraint for additional protection, was designed with senior citizens in mind. "After reading lots of magazine articles to determine the extent of automobile safety features for elderly people, we found there was nothing," Pedersen says. "We interviewed elderly people to see what they would or wouldn't be willing to do regarding safety."      Park and Pedersen are now in the process of patenting their design.