Admit Lorenzo Nourafchan to BC

The following is a letter of petition to the Boston College Office of Admissions to allow for consideration of Lorenzo Nourafchans final transfer application, upon receipt of his official transcript from Israel, in order that he may remain at Boston College and resume his vital role in the Boston College Community.

It is my understanding that complications in the Israeli mail system, including a postal workers strike, have prevented Lorenzo Nourafchans official transcript from arriving to Boston College from Bar Ilan University to complete his transfer application for Fall 2007. In addition, Lorenzo has been informed by your office that his credentials are sufficient to remain at Boston College upon receipt of his official transcript as a formality, which is needed for final approval of his enrollment. Due to a miscommunication with a BC Admissions employee, Lorenzo paid nearly 300 dollars in order to acquire a translation of his transcript from Hebrew to English, with the belief that this measure would suffice for his enrollment. My knowledge of the current situation is that Lorenzo still awaits the arrival of his official transcript from Israel, which he requested almost a month ago, while BC informed him that final decisions were to be sent out Monday, May 07, 2007 and that Lorenzo should contact the school again in January 2008. It is my firm conviction that to conclude in this manner Lorenzos assiduous effort to remain at BC would be a huge mistake by the University.

My initial contact with Lorenzo was during the fall semester this year when I was still BC Hillel president. Since that meeting, in a very short time, Lorenzo has single-handedly revolutionized BC Hillel (The Jewish Students Organization) and invigorated the Jewish Community in a way that Boston College has never seen. Lorenzo brings a unique background to Boston College as a practicing Chassidic Jew, and he has not only served as a social leader and organizer for Hillel but, more importantly, as a spiritual guide for students. In the past year, Lorenzo has been without a doubt, the number one driving force in the spirituality of BC Jews, who are most often by nature of familial upbringing in the United States, non-practicing, without knowledge of the religion, and disconnected from the teachings of the Torah, the holiest Jewish text available. Lorenzo has been engaged in the greatest deed of all according to Judaism, by bringing the Torah down to earth and spreading its teachings for many students at BC, who largely lacked grounding in the text. Lorenzo has spearheaded weekly Shabbat gatherings (celebration of the Sabbath, a critical aspect of Judaism), which were once a meeting of three or four people over some challah (Jewish bread), candles, and a glass of wine, with a prayer for each, and have now flourished into a full weekly Shabbat prayer service, followed by a fully prepared meal, with as many as 50 people in attendance, and encompassing all the joys of Shabbat, as Jews have experienced it for over 3,000 years. This Shabbat gathering connects most BC Jews to their faith beyond prior experience just as an exercise of its own, but Lorenzo goes above and beyond a sufficient role in this endeavor, each week preparing stories and bits of wisdom stemming from the weekly Torah portion, to share with the group and spread joy and enrichment in our lives. From my personal experience as a Reform Jew, recently opening my mind to the entirety of the religion and on the personal quest to transform myself into a fully practicing Chassid, Lorenzo has served as an invaluable spiritual guide and help to me in my religious journey, and I know that he does the same for the wider BC Jewish Community. What Lorenzo has done is truly a part of the Jesuit tradition he has brought us closer to G-d. Lorenzo is a great student and an even better person.

Given Lorenzos critical and irreplaceable role in the BC Community and his unique leadership as an undergraduate student, it would not only be a disservice to Lorenzo to deny his enrollment at BC based on circumstances beyond his control but also a grave disservice to the University as a whole. In addition, it would put in jeopardy the progress that has been made in the BC Jewish Community in such a short timeframe due to Lorenzos efforts, and it would be a terrible injustice to the Jewish students of Boston College to deny Lorenzos return. I am writing this letter both as a friend of Lorenzos and a concerned member of the BC community, and I sincerely feel that his departure would be a tremendous loss to the BC student body Jews, Catholics, Muslims, and atheists alike. I thank you for your consideration in this very serious matter.

Sincerely,



William Markis
Presidential Scholar Program
BC Hillel President Emeritus
Class of 2007



A signature affirms agreement with all aforementioned content in William Markiss letter.