<p>There isn’t any antisemitism here at UVA. I personally don’t like that there is a church on grounds but I get over it, since it’s not hurting me.</p>
<p>I have to say that UVA has a very Jewish bias. I’m not religious so this is coming from an unbiased view, but people at UVA can point out the negatives about Christianity/Islam/Hinduism/etc and have a calm debate about how they may agree or disagree with the view. But if anything negative is pointed out towards Judaism, it’s suddenly a taboo. It’s as if the person gets labeled an anti-semite for expressing a view about Judaism, even if the person expressed a negative view about their own religion earlier.</p>
<p>I’ve seen the outside and have been inside of the chapel. There are no Christian relics that I can recall. A chapel isn’t offensive regardless. Thomas Jefferson founded UVA on the idea of the separation of church and state, but that does not mean Jefferson opposed those celebrating religion on their own terms. Until the modern era, religion dominated the United States, and it wasn’t even considered an offense to talk about biblical myths as facts in public school classrooms. Of course, I don’t agree with this, but that chapel was built in time where it would have reflected the beliefs of a large percentage of students. It still does. What do you want them to do about it? Tear the chapel down? It’s not as if giving the information meeting in the chapel was a message to students. It was simply a venue large enough to fit the crowd. I hope that students attending UVA are academically mature enough to realize why a chapel is on campus and respect the tradition behind it. Just as I have the right to not worship, I believe others have the right to a close, convenient option where they celebrate their beliefs with those who feel the same way.</p>
<p>I just came across this while searching the UVA forums and want to weigh in because I’m another Jewish mother who took my child to UVA for the admissions session and was at first put off by the chapel. It was unclear to me whether there was an intended message about religion and who is welcome at the school. I know some people who aren’t Jewish may find this overly sensitive, but please understand that our forbears were brutalized for centuries in the name of Christianity so we may have a visceral reaction when meetings are held in churches. It can feel threatening, like a subtle message that your “kind” is not welcome here. That said, enter we did, with a bit of a nervous laugh and shrug (“okaaaay”). Immediately, the speaker explained why the meeting was being held in the chapel (space and timing), talked about the building’s role in school life, and made it clear that the school is secular. So I quickly exhaled. By the end of our day, UVA became–and remains–my daughter’s top choice. I just hope all of us can be tolerant and understanding of other people’s sensitivities. I also believe that when you are the minority of course you are going to be vigilant, but it is also in your best interest to temper your worries with an open-mindedness and tolerance that doesn’t assume the worst of others. Often, they don’t mean to offend. If we had walked away from the meeting because of its location, we would never has known what a great fit UVA would be for my daughter, who is applying next fall. We are OOS, so it’s going to be very difficult. But she found out today that she got a 35 on her ACT and her GPA is in the top 5th percentile. So there is hope. Let us pray. (!!!)</p>
<p>I’m atheist/agnostic (sometimes, almost militantly so) and I think the chapel is pretty. The bells make pretty sounds too. I wouldn’t mind an info session being held there on account of room.</p>
<p>We seem to have a really close Jewish community. I know many of my friends get together for dinner for Jewish holidays (don’t want to offend anyone by trying to name / spell them!).</p>
<p>This is clearly not non-denominational. It might be a non -denominational Christian Chapel but it is clearly not a non-denominational religious chapel. The chairs and art work on top of the pews do in fact represent the “cross”. As a non Christian I would clearly not feel that this chapel is non-denominational and question a public institution claiming that it is.</p>
<p>We acknowledge that space is limited and our usual location is under construction at the beginning of each session in the chapel. In addition, the locations for the sessions are posted many months in advance. If someone is uncomfortable with going into the chapel, they can attend on a day when we are in Maury Hall or Alumni Hall.</p>
<p>Dean J, There is currently a big discussion of this subject going on in the Parents Forum (Colleges Your Child Crossed off the List). That is probably what prompted cama to reopen this issue here.
Great. Just saw you responded to this on the Parents Forum.</p>