<p>I recognize that I’m a bit late, but as a non-Jew at Brandeis I figured I’d chime in.</p>
<p>First of all, the Jewish population is between 49% and 50%, meaning that (albeit barely) just over half of the student body is not Jewish. While there is a significant Jewish population, and there are certain things that are definitely unique to Brandeis, it is not overbearing—it can’t be when just over half of the population is not Jewish. In my experience, I have never seen tension between Jewish and non-Jewish students.</p>
<p>That said, there are things around Brandeis that are significant to a large Jewish community, and certain people will exercise Jewish customs. There are many different types of Jews as well—Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, to name a few—and they all exercise varying levels of devoutness. I have close friends who are Orthodox, and I have close friends who are not Jewish at all. Of my close friends, I would say that slightly less than half are Jewish. In fact, the person that I would call my closest friend is from suburban Boston and is not Jewish at all.</p>
<p>A white Christian from a middle-class New England family, I came to Brandeis as a transfer in the fall of my sophomore year. Interestingly enough, over half of my transfer class of 50 isn’t Jewish—in fact, many of them are similar to me in terms of ethnicity and religious beliefs. To the best of my knowledge, they are all thriving. It would be a lie to say that Brandeis doesn’t have any Jewish culture, but if you want to live your life without any influence of Judaism you will be more than able.</p>
<p>There are plenty of non-Jews who are at Brandeis for its sense of community and top-class education, which are the exact same reasons that I came. Those were my expectations beforehand, and I must say that I haven’t been disappointed.</p>