Nov 15, 2004 -- On a sunny day in Washington Heights, the sky seemed especially bright over Yeshiva University's Wilf Campus. It was no doubt a positive portent for the school, as hundreds of prospective students and their parents attended Sunday's Open House 2004 program, meeting with President Richard M. Joel, YU professors, and current students of YU's Yeshiva College and Sy Syms School of Business. In Nathan Lamport Auditorium, President Joel greeted the crowd and, just as he did for the undergraduate women at the Beren Campus Open House two weeks ago, extolled the virtues of education at Yeshiva University to future undergraduate men. He explained that YU was a quality institution that thrives on its quality students. "The people who come to this school are those people who want to be leaders," President Joel said. As proof, he called upon about 20 current YC and Syms students, among them the president of the student body, the director of next spring's YC Arts Festival, and a student with a radio show on WYUR. "I'm not here to preach to you," President Joel told the Lamport crowd. "I'm here to invite you today to 'kick the tires.' Meet our rosh yeshiva. Meet our faculty members. Meet the students." WILF CAMPUS OPEN HOUSE 2004 PHOTO GALLERY Jacob Bayer, a senior from Lawrence, NY, who attends Hebrew Academy - Five Towns and Rockaway (HAFTR), said he plans to make YU his college home. "Jewish learning is important to me," Jacob said. "The truth is, after high school, most kids stop Jewish learning. At YU, you're going to keep learning throughout college. For me, this is important. Also, academically YU is a top-ranked school." Jacob said he'd like to focus on a major in the humanities, either history or English. Jacob's interests in Jewish learning combined with a desire for secular education were reaffirmed by current students during a program called "You Can't Afford Not to Go to YU" for about 120 prospective students in Furman Dining Hall. The obviously enthusiastic future recruits asked questions about what kind of workload to expect at YU, whether Jewish studies interfered with secular studies; they asked about the food, about a dress code, about a curfew. All queries reflected a serious and practical interest in YU. At the conclusion of the Furman program, Hillel Davis, PhD, vice president of university life, provided examples of the types of students and activities one could expect at YU. Dr. Davis told stories of YU students dedicated to their Jewish heritage, from students who served in the Israeli army to students who, in just 72 hours, organized a trip for more than 100 to the Netherlands to protest the International Court's criticism of Israel's security fence to a student dedicating his time, with help from other students, to help agunot, Jewish women trying to secure divorces from recalcitrant husbands. "The experience of Torah Umadda and the overall education and Jewish studies you experience here is unsurpassed," Dr. Davis told students. "Living a Jewish life of meaning is more significant (at YU), by leaps and bounds, than anywhere else in the world." Another high school senior kicking the tires at YU was Yosef Berman of Teaneck. A student at Torah Academy of Bergen County (TABC), Yosef said he was impressed by YU. His brother, Yonah, is a graduate of Yeshiva College. For his part, Yosef said he plans to consider the offerings of other schools, but said YU had a lot going for it. He stressed YU's emphasis on a dual curriculum and its diversity of extracurricular options. "I really like the idea of the radio station (WYUR)," he said. "And I'm captain of my high school wrestling team, so I'm interested in YU's wrestling program, too." Students and their families also took advantage of tours of dorm rooms, visits with yeshivot from Israel, learning about the Jay and Jeanie Schottenstein Honors Program, and discussing areas of study with faculty and current students. From the looks on the fresh faces kicking YU's tires Sunday, the future of YU appears bright indeed. As President Joel said to students at the start of the day, "You won't come (to YU) to earn a living, but to build a life."