A three-sided, eight-foot by 12-foot hut, made of wood and surrounded by a green windproof screen stood on the lawn of the Margaret Sloss Women’s Center on Central Campus earlier this week.

The hut, known as a sukkah, was built last Sunday by students from ISU Hillel, the Jewish student organization on campus, to celebrate the fall holiday of Sukkot.

Sukkot began at sundown Oct. 11, said Catherine Harbur, president of ISU Hillel and senior in animal ecology.

“Generally, it’s viewed as a harvest time,” Harbur said.

Jewish people traditionally eat meals in the sukkah and some people even sleep in it, she said.

Sukkahs are built to commemorate the tribes of Israel who wandered the desert for 40 years, said Vlad Pogre, vice president of ISU Hillel. The sukkah also reminds Jews of their ancestors during harvest time.

“Farmers would come out to fields and work hard to harvest in time, so they built shacks in the fields and stayed there overnight to save time going back between the houses and fields,” said Pogre, sophomore in genetics agriculture.

The roofs of the sukkahs are made of leafy branches, cornstalks and other natural materials, Harbur said. People must be able to see the stars through the roof.

Students have been able to eat lunch and dinner in the sukkah this week, Harbur said. A prepared dinner was served on Sunday, Monday and Wednesday evenings.

Harbur said she cannot be at the sukkah all the time to see everyone who stops by, but she has noticed chairs and tables being moved, suggesting people have been using the hut.

ISU Hillel worked in conjunction with the Margaret Sloss Women’s Center and the Student Activities Center to provide a location for the sukkah, Harbur said.

The organization originally planned to use the sukkah until Friday, but the Student Activities Center advised the group to take it down before Thursday’s Homecoming concert on Central Campus.

The Student Activities Center is concerned about possible vandalism to the structure if it is left standing, Harbur said. She would prefer having someone stand guard at the hut during the concert instead of tearing it down.

Pogre said he would like to keep the sukkah standing until the holiday is over and does not think possible vandalism or discrimination are legitimate reasons to take it down.

“Students should not be afraid to express their religion because of possible discrimination from others,” he said.

ISU Hillel members hope to make building a sukkah on campus an annual event. As of Wednesday night, a final decision about whether to remove the sukkah before Thursday’s concert had not been made.