Soaring temperatures statewide coincided with Passover celebrations last week, leaving staff in the Center for Jewish Life (CJL) feeling the heat. In the Jewish tradition, it is customary to avoid leavened foods during Passover. The CJL, as the University’s sole kosher dining hall, offers options that adhere to these religious guidelines. The religious holiday resulted in increased workload for staff at the Center. Workers thus have had to endure temperatures in the high 80s, according to Justin Stetka, Senior Operations Manager of the CJL.
“It’s been tough for everybody,” Stetka told The Daily Princetonian.
Strain from high temperatures came at an already stressful time for CJL staff. While the CJL’s dining hall was open exclusively to students observing Passover during the holiday, special preparations meant more heavy lifting than usual for staff — both literally and figuratively.
Air conditioning within the building has been turned off due to nearby construction and is not expected to be turned on until May 15. In the meantime, the University has taken temporary measures to keep the building cool without impeding operations.
“It was very hot and humid in the center for Jewish life during Passover. Which made working a 12.5 hour day very tiring. My biggest complaint would be that there was no communication about our air conditioning not working until we realized it was not working,“ Head Chef Chad Rovner wrote to the ‘Prince’.
“There was a break in communication between departments, If the information was relayed to us sooner we would’ve been able to come up with a solution.”
According to Julie Levey ’24, current President of the CJL, the University provided fans for use throughout the facility. Levey praised the University’s efforts “to expedite a solution” and “cool it down quickly,” noting that the dining hall had fans on “full blast.”
While the kitchen was particularly affected, warm temperatures were experienced by workers and students alike throughout the building.
“It’s been difficult with no air conditioning in the hot weather,“ said Theodore Gross ’24, Vice President of the CJL’s Executive Board. “But building services did an excellent job bringing in lots of fans to the CJL right when it started getting hot.”
Stetka reported that facilities hopes to get portable air conditioning units in the facility soon stating that,“It's only gonna get warmer.”
The recent conditions at the CJL highlight a contrast to residential college dining halls, which have more readily available relief measures from kitchen heat. A campus dining hall worker told the ‘Prince’ that ceiling fans over ovens are utilized to keep working spaces cool. Since the CJL does have air conditioning, the space is optimized for those conditions.
The CJL is not included in the University’s heat energy map, which was introduced in 2018. That year, the CJL completed an energy-efficient renovation that upgraded mechanical systems, windows, and front doors to “reduce energy consumption.” The map is an online visualization of “detailed and live energy information on campus buildings.”
A fan in the CJL library
Justus Wilhoit / The Daily Princetonian
Aside from the fans, Levey also notes that dining hall staff set up outdoor seating for Shabbat dinner on Friday, April 14, when the temperature reached 84 degrees.
“Last Friday, when the heat was the greatest, outdoor seating was set up for Shabbat dinner, which many students chose to take advantage of. We are grateful for everyone around campus and in the CJL who has worked hard to address the issue, and we are very appreciative of the University’s efforts to expedite a solution,” Levey added.
Rabbi Gil Steinlauf ’91, Executive Director of the CJL, commended the students, the CJL staff, and the resources at the University for its continued diligence in combating the current conditions at the Center.
“Our dining staff [is] an incredible group of hard-working people who deserve tremendous appreciation,” Steinlauf said.
“We are also particularly grateful to our students for adapting to the situation. Many had a beautiful outdoor Shabbat dinner this past Friday night. We know the university is hard at work to address the situation as quickly as possible,” Steinlauf added.
Though the Center is currently warmer than usual, that has not swayed away the Jewish community from coming to the Center.
In observing Passover, though the CJL was still available to the entire Princeton community, the dining hall was closed for students eating kosher for Passover meals in celebration of the holiday.
The University this past year celebrated more than 50 years of Kosher dining on campus, accommodating for a key dietary restriction that may pose an issue on other campuses.
“While it has been a bit uncomfortable inside the CJL, it doesn’t seem to be affecting services at all. I think this points to the fact that the CJL is a community of the people who are committed to the community, which is a wonderful thing to see,” said Aaron Faier ’26.
Justus Wilhoit is an assistant News editor for the ‘Prince.’
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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