Jewish Life on Campus - HELP!!

[CollegeSearching]

posted this in the College Selection forum, but it was suggested I post it here as well. Any thoughts much appreciated!!


Looking for an unusual combination in a school:

- smaller, Liberal Arts school (academically rigorous)

- politically, socially liberal

- active Jewish life on campus/in community

- services held regularly, kosher food available (at least sometimes - willing to be a vegetarian if kosher food not available.)

Seems like a tough combination to find. Any suggestions??

[californian]

Brandies and Wellesley come to mind.

[iplayoboe]

Macalester College
meets 1 & 2 no questions
3- there is a Jewish Organization on campus, MJO, I know they have a lot of Shabaat dinners, I don't know that much about the group though because I'm not a member, but when my RA gets back from her crew trip I can ask her questions. There are a fair number of Jewish students on campus.
4- I don't know about services, I know there are interfaith services, and I think people go off campus for almost every religious service.
5- There is ALways vegetarian food available ( I would say more than a quarter of the daily options are vegetarian, and might venture to say as much as a third), the cafeteria kitchens are not kosher, but there are beef options, and non-dairy salad dressings at the salad bar and such. After freshman year, students can live in the Hebrew House (the HeHo). It is a section of dorm housing with a Kosher kitchen, the kids that live in it prepare meals. Its not a Jewish house, a lot of non-Jewish religious studies majors live in it and I know several people in the house, they all love it.

[dstark]

Go to http://hillel.org/hillel/Hillel_Scho...hools?openform

Start entering information.



You will learn plenty.

[acinva]

Oberlin College

[sac]

female student? Barnard

[walkermom]

Wesleyan immediately comes to mind given all your criteria. Also, Brandeis, Swarthmore, Haverford, Vassar, Bryn Mawr, Oberlin, Barnard, Union and Skidmore.

[stacy]

if you're a girl, smith might work:

~2800-student LAC...you can definitely find challenging work to do here (just ask my Latin prof, who's been piling on the work recently!)

it doesn't get more liberal than Smith, or Northampton.

there are services every Friday on campus (it varies...sometimes conservative, sometimes reform, sometimes musical/learner's/experimental/etc) plus a reform temple a couple miles away (you can borrow a car from the chapel to drive there if you have a license), a conservative temple with an orthodox minyan within walking distance, a reconstructionist temple a short drive or bus ride away, a chabad family in town and one a few towns over, and the jewish (and other) resources of 4 other colleges all connected by free buses.

smith just opened a kosher/halal dining room...it's not available for every meal (i don't think you can get breakfast there, for example) but the food's good and there are tons of non-meat options in all the dining rooms, so you'd be fine.

[twinmom]

Small universities, not LACs - but check out Tufts, Emory, Wash U.

[wjb]

You’ve gotten a bunch of good suggestions, although not all of the colleges mentioned will meet all the criteria you list. The Hillel website is a great place to start, but don’t stop with the info you find there. Be sure to click on the links to individual college’s websites. We've found that there's often significant disconnect between the information about individual colleges’ Hillels on the Hillel.org website and the information that appears on individual colleges' Hillel websites themselves. College websites almost always provide deeper info, and sometimes it contradicts the info on the Hillel.org website. You can also e-mail Hillel directors or student leaders.

You mention you want to find a school with regular services. Do you mean regular Saturday morning services? That can be tough. Friday night services are pretty prevalent. At some colleges you’ll find Reform, Conservative, and Orthodox going on every Friday night, followed by a communal Shabbat dinner. But some of those same schools will have no services at all on Saturdays. At some colleges, observant kids walk to local synagogues on Shabbat morning. You would need to check with individual Hillel directors/students to see if there are choices within reasonably easy walking distance.

[pyewacket]

Goucher also has a fair-size Jewish population given its small size.

If you are female, Mount Holyoke offers a joint Kosher-Halal kitchen for all meals.

[ticklemepink]

Colgate.

We have Shabbat services and dinner, occasional deli lunches and bagel brunches.... we always have leftovers (on purpose for those keeping kosher) so any student is welcome to wander in the Jewish Center to look for a kosher meal. Definitely socially liberal. We also host a bunch of other events throughout the semester.

[fourkidsmom]

Conn college says they will provide what ever food you need, Amherst has Kosher food, Middlebury has services and an active Jewish population...check out the Hillel site and definitely go to the schools individual Hillel sites

[wjb]

One factor to consider when looking at LACS: For some Jewish students, percentages are just not enough. When a college has under 3000 students, even if 15% of them are Jewish, the raw numbers may not provide enough "critical mass" to create the kind of vibrant culture a particular student is looking for. Also, if you're looking at LACs with small Jewish populations (and that's most of them) I think it's important to pay attention to the overall culture on campus, and to decide whether you'll be happy to be something of a non-conformist, or conversely, whether you'll feel uncomfortable being somewhat outside of the dominant culture. (This kind of evaluation is important for any student who in any way classifies himself or herself as a minority.)

[jlauer95]

Crazy as it may sound, Notre Dame is very accomodating to its Jewish students.

Maybe it's not so "crazy", I think Catholics and Jewish people get along quite well in this country --- ever notice how many marry each other?!