"The Bryant Street building, and even much more so [the current] one, have given marvelous space and visibility to be a real center, not just for students, but for the community," Rosovsky says.

Today, Hillel is a vibrant center of Jewish religious and cultural life, and regularly hosts talks, discussions and social events, like last Saturday's fall dance.

A large part of Hillel's success can doubtless be attributed to its size. About 150 students attend weekly services, according to Hillel Chair Adam M. Kleinbaum '98, who is a Crimson editor, making Hillel one of Harvard's largest religious student organizations.

But many student religious leaders lament that size and resources are closely linked. Without resources-such as a visible, permanent building a large community is difficult to develop. And without a strong presence with many members, it is difficult to recruit the support to lay the groundwork to establish a permanent space.

Cramped in Canaday

Take, for example, the plight of the Islamic Society.

In the early 1990s, members of the society regularly prayed in a room in the basement of Memorial Hall.

The society in 1993 was forced out of Memorial Hall as the University prepared to renovate the space. The group relocated to several different spaces-including rooms in Vanserg Hall, the basement of Memorial Church, and the basement of Canaday Hall A-before settling in its current location: a basement room in Canaday E.

The current prayer space can comfortably serve about 30 to 40 worshippers, according to Mitsuru Watanabe '98, president of the Islamic Society. "During Ramadan, the month of fasting, a lot of students come, and it gets tight," Watanabe says.

But the Islamic Society attracts an estimated 100 worshippers for its weekly congregational prayers, and must relocate to Lowell Lecture Hall each Friday for these services.

"[The Canaday basement room] is certainly sufficient for our daily needs, but it doesn't allow for any expansion beyond the current state of the group," says Umair A. Qadeer '98, a former secretary of the Islamic Society.

The Islamic Society has been working closely with College officials for several years to begin exploring options for a permanent building for the organization.

"We've been pondering the idea for a long time for acquiring funds from other Muslim nations with the help of Harvard," Watanabe says.

The Islamic Society's desire for a permanent space has been encouraged by the presence of Hillel and the Catholic Student Center, located at 20 Arrow St.

"When you see Rosovsky Hall, and see how well thought-out it is, it's admirable that they were able to do that," he says. "That's something we'd like to be doing in the future as well."