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I need some advice on what experience to use for the challenge-type essays. One experience is pretty much safe and normal, the other is unique and powerful, but much more controversial. The basic stories are below. Which would you suggest using?
The "safe" one: I was doing a year studying in a yeshiva (Jewish religious school) in Israel after high school, as is traditional among orthodox Jews. However, the yeshiva I went to initially was not at all what I had been led to believe. When I went to brush my teeth the first morning the bathroom reeked of alcohol and vomit. I didn't get a decent night's sleep for weeks because my roommates would come back in the middle of the night from a bar or club. So I was thousands of miles from home, in a country whose language I didn't yet speak. But I guess I figured if this place isn't working out, I'll find another. So I took buses around the country visiting other yeshivot, and I found a yeshiva in the Jerusalem where I was a great fit and wound up having a very fulfilling and productive experience.
The "unique" one (sorry if this is so long, it was a very complicated situation): I was president of an orthodox jewish club on campus, and we were partnered with an outside, local organization which was giving us assistance and advice. To make a long story short, that organization tried to wrest control of the club away from the students so that they could pursue kiruv (bringing non-religious jews into orthodoxy), and were using deception and intimidation of the student board to achieve their ends. The student board tried, with the help of our faculty advisor, Hillel, and members of the local Jewish community, to resolve the situation so that the students could pursue our goal (building a social network and community for orthodox Jews on campus), and that organization could pursue kiruv. I formulated an agreement that I though would be mutually acceptable and protect the club from further harassment from that organization. Under ordinary circumstances that would have been the end of it (and I suppose I would be writing about being diplomatic and calm in the conciliation despite the underhanded tactics of the other party), but not only did the organization egregiously and repeatedly violate the agreement, we had their motivations all wrong. It turned out they wanted to do campus kiruv because it would be very profitable, as they could get kickbacks from speakers, obtain very billable students for counseling, and raised tens of thousands as a "campus kiruv" organization. Furthermore, I percieved them as a danger to the students in a number of ways for several reasons. I went to the provost to tell him about the situation and my concerns, and the CUNY legal department (I'm at one of the CUNY colleges) banned the organization from every campus in the system.
The "safe" one: I was doing a year studying in a yeshiva (Jewish religious school) in Israel after high school, as is traditional among orthodox Jews. However, the yeshiva I went to initially was not at all what I had been led to believe. When I went to brush my teeth the first morning the bathroom reeked of alcohol and vomit. I didn't get a decent night's sleep for weeks because my roommates would come back in the middle of the night from a bar or club. So I was thousands of miles from home, in a country whose language I didn't yet speak. But I guess I figured if this place isn't working out, I'll find another. So I took buses around the country visiting other yeshivot, and I found a yeshiva in the Jerusalem where I was a great fit and wound up having a very fulfilling and productive experience.
The "unique" one (sorry if this is so long, it was a very complicated situation): I was president of an orthodox jewish club on campus, and we were partnered with an outside, local organization which was giving us assistance and advice. To make a long story short, that organization tried to wrest control of the club away from the students so that they could pursue kiruv (bringing non-religious jews into orthodoxy), and were using deception and intimidation of the student board to achieve their ends. The student board tried, with the help of our faculty advisor, Hillel, and members of the local Jewish community, to resolve the situation so that the students could pursue our goal (building a social network and community for orthodox Jews on campus), and that organization could pursue kiruv. I formulated an agreement that I though would be mutually acceptable and protect the club from further harassment from that organization. Under ordinary circumstances that would have been the end of it (and I suppose I would be writing about being diplomatic and calm in the conciliation despite the underhanded tactics of the other party), but not only did the organization egregiously and repeatedly violate the agreement, we had their motivations all wrong. It turned out they wanted to do campus kiruv because it would be very profitable, as they could get kickbacks from speakers, obtain very billable students for counseling, and raised tens of thousands as a "campus kiruv" organization. Furthermore, I percieved them as a danger to the students in a number of ways for several reasons. I went to the provost to tell him about the situation and my concerns, and the CUNY legal department (I'm at one of the CUNY colleges) banned the organization from every campus in the system.