Student Government Hosts Panel on Religious Law, Personal Values & Social Work

Students, faculty and administrators crowded into the 9th floor common room on Wednesday, October 17th, to hear a discussion about religious law, personal values and social work. Reverend Dr. Frederick J. Streets, a recent addition to the Wurzweiler faculty, and the former chaplain of Yale University, introduced the featured speaker, Gavriel Fagin, a therapist at Ohel, a New York agency that provides services for abandoned, neglected, abused, and disabled Jewish children, and a doctoral candidate at Wurzweiler.

Fagin, a stout, bearded young man with an expansive and welcoming manner, described two scenarios from his practice, one involving a pregnant adolescent seeking an abortion and a second about a woman considering marital infidelity, and then encouraged the audience to to identify their personal, religious and professional values, as identified in the social work code of ethics, about these dilemmas, and how they would proceed in their own practice.

Following his presentation, the discussion was opened to a panel which included Professor Lynn Levy, Rabbi Dr. Norman Linzer, and Reverend Dr. Streets. The ideas and opinions expressed became grist for class room discussions which continued throughout the afternoon.

This was the first of several "Lunch and Learn" programs scheduled for the semester.

Next Wednesday: a presentation about homelessness in NYC.