The BGU Community’s “Incredible Resilience”
The BGU Community’s “Incredible Resilience”
November 7, 2024
Prof. Chaim Hames, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Rector, in his office on the first day of class, November 3, 2024.
Times of Israel – Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) campus was filled with students and staff returning for the official start of the new academic year on Sunday morning. It was a crisp, sunny day, and outside the centrally located Zlotowski Student Center, students gathered around tables set up for various groups and organizations, laughing and greeting each other while munching on free popcorn.
The start of the new semester was getting underway after a trying year of war — and there is no end in sight. A small but visible number of students were toting machine guns, indicating they, like many thousands of Israeli university students over the last year, were engaging in studies while simultaneously serving in the IDF reserves.
The number of student reservists is unprecedented – a full 30 percent of registered students, according to an estimate provided by the Association of University Heads. During the last academic year and continuing into the current one, universities have provided specialized assistance packages for reservists, which include financial help, private tutors and flexible exam schedules, among other benefits.
At BGU, out of a student body of some 20,000, around 6,500 students were called up over the last year, with 52% of those serving in total over 100 days and another 23% serving 61-99 days, according to statistics provided to The Times of Israel. The vast majority, some 82%, were undergraduate students.
The university doesn’t yet know how many students will be called up during their studies, or for how long, but “I won’t be surprised if we’re back up into the thousands, particularly with everything going on in the north or whichever way you look,” said BGU rector Prof. Chaim Hames, meeting The Times of Israel over coffee in his book-lined office.
“Each reservist has a different story, but when you have more than 6,000 stories, you have to work out a general framework,” he said.
“I think we were successful in helping as many of these students as possible,” Hames said, but acknowledged receiving “tons of complaints” from reservists.
This year, the university’s efforts to help reservist students will continue, building on what was learned over the last year, he said.
October 7 was a signature event that “defined everything we did” and the entire university community “coalesced to work together to help the students,” he said. Now, “We’re seeing our students being called up again and again… people are running out of steam and energy.”
The full impact will be felt in the years to come, Hames said, including the economic impact of a generation of university graduates doing their studies during wartime.
“The ability to have an almost normal academic year shows incredible resilience. We’re not going anywhere, we’re not giving up. We’re continuing to develop and looking forward to a much brighter and better future in a democratic country.”
Read more on The Times of Israel>>
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