Which University enrolls the largest number of Jewish students? YU? NYU!
Washington Square News
February 23, 2006
NYU enrolls the largest number of Jewish students of any public or private university in the nation, according to a recent study by the Hillel Foundation for Jewish Campus Life.
With an estimated undergraduate Jewish population of 6,500, NYU has about 1,100 more than the subsequent ranking public universities, the University of Maryland at College Park and the University of Florida at Gainesville, and about 2,500 more than the subsequent ranking private university, Boston University, according to the survey released on Feb. 16.
Hillel also estimated that NYU has approximately 6,000 Jewish graduate students, making the university total 12,500 Jewish students — almost one third of the entire student population.
“It’s not surprising,” said Aviva Levine, program director at the Bronfman Center for Jewish Student Life. “New York is a natural location for young Jewish students to think about when they think about college.”
The Bronfman Center’s rabbi, Yehudah Sarna, said the center currently serves about 2,000 students on a regular basis, and nearly a fifth of the students that identify themselves as Jewish participate in activities at the center.
“I think it’s also important to understand the number ‘6,500,’ ” Sarna said. “It’s hard to define what a Jewish student is: someone with Jewish ancestry, someone who believes in the religion, someone who practices the religion or someone who is just interested in the cultural aspects.”
While it is difficult to pinpoint exactly how many Jewish students attend NYU, the numbers seem to be accurate, undergraduate admissions representatives said.
Levine said the university is composed of several overlapping Jewish communities instead of one definable community. The center tries to expose the university community as a whole to Jewish culture and heritage, she added.
SCPS junior Nicole Pines said the Friday night dinners for students who keep Kosher help foster a sense of community. The dinners usually attract about 300 people between services at the Weinstein dining hall, the Bronfman Center and the Chabad House combined, she said.
“The university and the Bronfman Center have done a great job of making the university attractive to young Jewish students who are seeking a vibrant college experience,” Levine said.
CAS senior Tamara Wenig said the frequent cultural programs and guest speakers offered by the center and the city drew her to NYU.
“I think what drew me was the fact that it was a very intimate community, which was what I was looking for,” Wenig said. “[This] is why New York is so great, because it is a very Jewish city.”
CAS freshman David Gromet said he came to NYU and New York City for their large Jewish communities, even though he does not participate in the Bronfman Center’s activities and services.
“Coming from a place where there was a fair amount of stigma attached to being Jewish, more so than New York, was definitely a reason that I came here — to just be able to be who I am without having to constantly justify myself or be a representative of my religion,” Gromet said.
The community ties and services offered to stricter Orthodox Jews contribute to the survey results, Sarna said.
“For 300 Orthodox students who keep strict kosher Shabbat rules and pray regularly, going to a college with no kosher facility or Orthodox services is virtually a nonoption,” Sarna said. “There are only 15 or so private [colleges] which have orthodox communities.”
NYU has steadily been increasing its Kosher dining options and recently revised the salad bar and meal options with the help of student input, Pines said.
Sarna said the Orthodox community at NYU has tripled in the last five years. Last year, five of the 20 largest feeder high schools to NYU were Orthodox high schools, according to the Bronfman Center. “Our mission is to be a home for Jewish students and a Jewish center for the whole university — Jewish, not Jewish and kind-of Jewish,” Sarna said. “We do that through promoting Jewish values campus-wide, such as the importance of education, community, democracy in the Middle East and social action.”
Comments