Hillel to host Holocaust survivor
Professor Roger Loria to speak to the W&L community about growing up during the Holocaust
Roger Loria is a professor of microbiology and immunology at Virginia Commonwealth University. He says his research and teaching both were inspired by his experience as a young boy in the Holocaust.
March 29, 2015
As part of Washington and Lee Hillel’s annual Holocaust Remembrance Week, Professor Roger Loria will be coming to campus to share his perspective about the Holocaust, which he lived through as a young boy.
Loria came to the United States in 1964 and has spent his career teaching and researching solutions for immunological problems. Loria is currently a professor in microbiology and immunology at Virginia Commonwealth University. He said his research was inspired by his experience in the Holocaust.
Megan McLean, director of Hillel, contacted the Holocaust Museum in Richmond to get in touch with Loria.
“[Loria] has inspired countless students with his amazing spirit and dedication to tikkun olam,” McLean said.
Tikkun olam means repairing the world and is one of the most important Jewish values.
According to McLean, the Student Board of Hillel is responsible for organizing the program and wanted to bring a survivor to speak at W&L.
Benjamin Brams, ’15, President of the Student Board of Hillel, said the board thought is was important to bring Loria to W&L because in the next few years, the community may not be able to listen to a survivor’s firsthand account of his or her experience.
“We believe it’s important because genocides continue to happen across the world,” Brams said, “and only by hearing from victims can we hope to understand how to prevent such tragic events from happening in the future.”
Patricia Jessie, ’17, said she is particularly looking forward to Loria’s lecture.
“While I have never attended an event at Hillel, I am really excited about this opportunity,” Jessie said. “I am currently taking a history course and this opportunity will really enrich my learning experience at W&L.”
The board hopes Loria’s talk will have a profound impact on both the members of Hillel and the greater W&L community.
“We are proud to give the community the opportunity to hear his unique story in hopes that more people appreciate the variety of ways in which the Holocaust had an impact,” Brams said.
Loria will be speaking on April 7 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. in the Hillel Multipurpose Room. Other events during Hillel’s Holocaust Remembrance Week include a screening and discussion of the films Raise the Roof and The Boy in the Striped Pajamas.