"Since Hillel must be a house of worship for the most religious of Jews, it necessarily must also cater to them, perhaps to the exclusion of those who are less religiously inclined," he says.

Rivera says his "disaffection" from Hillel is what led him to join Alpha Epsilon Pi, an international Jewish fraternity that started a Harvard chapter last year.

"It seems as if the common cultural and ideological aspects of Judaism are emphasized in this group," he says.

But Tamar Katz '01, an Orthodox Jew, says she believes in Hillel's goal of pluralism, which she says means "compromise."

"There is no perfect formula for meeting the needs of everyone involved," Katz says. "On a communal level, we adhere to the highest common denominator."

While the highest common denominator means, as Rivera notes, that Orthodox views have to be considered first, Katz points to the compromises that she says help maintain "a sense of cohesion" at Hillel.

"Services are scheduled to accommodate everyone," she says. "And the Orthodox wait to allow everyone to eat together afterward--sometimes two hours or more."

She says that members of the other denominations frequently wait for the Orthodox, as well.