Outfitted in a gray and white hard hat, Elyssa Hammerman stomped across the muddy construction site to the empty shell that will soon become her home away from home.

‘Is there anything cool in there, or is it just beams?’ Hammerman asked.

Amid the sounds of hammering and piles of sawdust, several officers of Syracuse University’s Hillel caught their first glimpses of the organization’s future headquarters.

The students toured the Winnick Hillel Center, located on the corner of Walnut and Harrison streets, Friday afternoon. The building will officially open in June and will be ready for students to use in the fall. Hillel will welcome students to a barbecue at the site of the center, made possible by a $2 million donation by SU alumni Karen and Gary Winnick in April.

‘We’ve been dying to see it,’ said Hammerman, a sophomore elementary special education major and vice president of social programming for Hillel. ‘I’m just excited that we’ll finally have our own building.’

Scott Fein, coordinator of Jewish student life, acted as tour guide and explained how the maze of steel beams formed the foundation of each room in the facility.

The main floor holds the future lounge, auditorium and entertainment area. Upstairs sits workstations, a conference room and offices. The house will also have a kosher dining room.

‘I think it’s going to be a great success,’ said Rachel Neuman, a sophomore communication sciences and disorders major and financial vice president of Hillel. ‘It has all the amenities you’d want in an office, study area and sanctuary.’

The dining room will serve kosher foods and should accommodate about 200 people, Fein said. Students will be able to swipe their I.D. cards and pay for each meal with their regular meal plan.

‘It’ll be much more convenient to have services and dinner in the same facility,’ Neuman said.

Members of the Hillel board hope the center will attract more people to the organization, especially incoming freshmen.

‘One of the most exciting thoughts I’ve had from it is the prospect of new members,’ Neuman said. ‘It’ll accommodate anyone who seeks it out.’

Hammerman said that although the facility is being built for Hillel, all students are welcome to enjoy it.

‘We’re not exclusive at all,’ she said. ‘You don’t have to be Jewish to enter. It’s open to all students.’

Published on April 6, 2003 at 12:00 pm