Oh, college...
Looking at a few of the comments on this post on brandeis, I find myself sitting here, scratching my head. I don't understand the complaint (especially of the senior down at the bottom) that Brandeis is "too Jewish". No, the school doesn't exactly bill itself as a Jewish school, and it tries to promote itself as a "non-sectarian university", but anyone doing any sort of research will scratch beneath the surface and realize that it has a culture built on fifty years of history. Fifty years is no long in University times, granted, but it's enough to build up a certain type of culture, especially since the first twenty or thirty years of the schools history, the place mostly attracted the sort of student who was already steeped in Jewish culture-- which probably caused culture-build-up far beyond what a more diverse student body would have created.
Honestly, the idea that it's "too Jewish" is like going to, say, The University of Texas (number three on the Princeton Review list of party schools) and complaining that there are too many parties. The school's culture is what it is-- each school has its own personality. That Brandeis is very Jewish is not so much a bug as it is a feature. That's one of the reasons it's appealing to some people-- god knows that's one of the major reasons I applied, even if I did leave the place less observant than I went it.
I know it's culture shock for a lot of people, and people who don't fit into the stereotypical Brandeis student mold (liberal conservative Jew) do get flak for it. I remember a conversation with _andre_ that's stuck in my mind-- he's not Jewish and he complained that when people found that out their automatic reaction was "What are you doing here?" He found it hostile. Having had the reaction myself, I felt it wasn't so much hostility as curiosity-- 'I'm going to Brandeis because it's a very Jewish school and everyone in my Jewish community knows the place, how on earth did you hear about Brandeis?' There's still a feeling in the Jewish community, despite Brandeis' attempts at branching out, that this is our place, our school. It's a safe space when and if the other colleges ever decide to shut us out again. Jews in some ways have a very insular mentality, and it transfers over. I'm sure it can make for an uncomfortable situation for those who aren't used to the culture or who stick out in some way (witness, for instance, my freshman roommate's-- a Seventh Day Adventist-- breakdown about how stifling the atmosphere of the college is and how Brandeisians never get anything done.)
To be frank, it's difficult to deal with sometimes even when you ARE used to navigating similar cultures. But the thing people who talk about Brandeis being "too Jewish" keep forgetting is that this is how Brandeis is. Saying that Brandeis is "too Jewish" is like saying Bard has "too many hippies" or that MIT is "too nerdy". That's part of the draw.
Honestly, the idea that it's "too Jewish" is like going to, say, The University of Texas (number three on the Princeton Review list of party schools) and complaining that there are too many parties. The school's culture is what it is-- each school has its own personality. That Brandeis is very Jewish is not so much a bug as it is a feature. That's one of the reasons it's appealing to some people-- god knows that's one of the major reasons I applied, even if I did leave the place less observant than I went it.
I know it's culture shock for a lot of people, and people who don't fit into the stereotypical Brandeis student mold (liberal conservative Jew) do get flak for it. I remember a conversation with _andre_ that's stuck in my mind-- he's not Jewish and he complained that when people found that out their automatic reaction was "What are you doing here?" He found it hostile. Having had the reaction myself, I felt it wasn't so much hostility as curiosity-- 'I'm going to Brandeis because it's a very Jewish school and everyone in my Jewish community knows the place, how on earth did you hear about Brandeis?' There's still a feeling in the Jewish community, despite Brandeis' attempts at branching out, that this is our place, our school. It's a safe space when and if the other colleges ever decide to shut us out again. Jews in some ways have a very insular mentality, and it transfers over. I'm sure it can make for an uncomfortable situation for those who aren't used to the culture or who stick out in some way (witness, for instance, my freshman roommate's-- a Seventh Day Adventist-- breakdown about how stifling the atmosphere of the college is and how Brandeisians never get anything done.)
To be frank, it's difficult to deal with sometimes even when you ARE used to navigating similar cultures. But the thing people who talk about Brandeis being "too Jewish" keep forgetting is that this is how Brandeis is. Saying that Brandeis is "too Jewish" is like saying Bard has "too many hippies" or that MIT is "too nerdy". That's part of the draw.