By JESSICA ANDERSON
In the last few years, Jewish high school students (and their parents) contemplating college choices are realizing there are new considerations in examining Jewish life on campus. Since Oct. 8, 2023, Jewish life on college campuses has, in some cases, been very altered, and students who want to take part in Jewish life are asking new questions about their safety and how welcoming campuses feel. 
Secure Community Network has partnered with Hillel International to educate students and parents as they look at colleges and as students settle into college life. As we approach the time for decisions, I’m sharing some resources recently published by SCN to help navigate these issues.
The reality is that Jewish community concerns are justifiably elevated due to foreign terrorist organization messaging, domestic violent extremist activity, and heightened anti-Israel demonstrations.
SCN and Hillel recognize that families need clear, proactive tools to assess campus safety. The resource empowers parents and students to ask the right safety questions during the decision-making process, and it reaffirms the collective commitment to community protection and preparedness. The new resource is a guide titled “Essential Safety Questions to Ask Before Deciding on a College.” This PDF resource is available on the SCN website at securecommunitynetwork.org/resources/essential-safety-questions-to-ask-before-deciding-on-a-college/. We’ll shortly have the same resource directly on the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland’s website. 
This resource is designed to help Jewish students and families navigate the admissions and send-off process and ensure that important decisions about their future are informed by the seriousness with which colleges and universities are addressing and responding to the increase in threats and incidents directed at Jewish students, staff, faculty, and organizations on college campuses.
The questions were developed in close consultation with campus security experts, Jewish communal leaders, and higher education subject matter experts. The goal is for the information to equip students and families with essential questions to assess campus safety policies, accountability, and Jewish life support. Tangentially, the resource provides a framework to evaluate campus administrative responses to hate and violence against Jewish students and gauge coordination with Jewish organizations.
SCN and Hillel want to promote situational awareness and encourage dialogue between families and institutions on safety standards and ensures students, know who to call if there are issues, and have training available to them. 
This program builds on SCN’s broader campus safety initiatives, including its longstanding partnership with Hillel International. In August 2024, SCN and Hillel International announced the launch of Operation SecureOurCampuses, an effort to expand resources to over 50 college and university campuses to include full-time intelligence analysts dedicated to monitoring campus developments and enhanced coordination with law enforcement, public safety officials, and centers of Jewish life. 
SCN also recently announced the SafeU: Campus Safety Initiative, developed in partnership with Hillel International, the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism (FCAS), and three-time Super Bowl Champion Julian Edelman, a first-of-its-kind training program designed to equip university students with critical situational awareness and first-aid skills.
This training program is based on real experiences from students. In each of the training modules, a different scenario is discussed: someone being swept up in protest activity, a student being challenged in a class, another student being followed, and other situations where students will need to call upon experience, situational awareness, and strategic planning to stay safe. Each scenario is carefully deconstructed, and I share concrete tools and strategies with students for their consideration. PDX Hillel and I are planning to bring together students from campuses across northwestern Oregon to work through this material. If you know of any students who would benefit from this information, please have them contact me. More information can be found at the SCN website: securecommunitynetwork.org/articles/secure-community-network-hillel-international-and-fcas-team-up-to-launch-safeu-campus-safety-initiative-with-three-time-super-bowl-champion-julian-edelman/.
As always, if you or someone you know is experiencing safety and security concerns, please contact me at janderson@securecommunitynetwork.org or 872-273-9214. If you know of antisemitic or biased incidents, please report them to me through our incident reporting form at jewishportland.org/incident-reporting.