American Jewish University: Not Just American Jews

From an outsider’s perspective, the undergraduate college at American Jewish University in Los Angeles may not seem diverse. After all, the college, while not a religious institution, is predominately Jewish. However, AJU students – much like American Jewry as a whole – are differentiated by homeland, customs, beliefs, and individual personality traits, despite being generally unified by a common culture.

In order to research how the undergrads view their school’s diversity, I asked roughly 70 percent of the school’s 125 students to complete an anonymous survey. The survey included demographic questions such as age, birthplace and major, as well as questions about students’ personal observance of Judaism and their perception of the AJU community.

According to the survey, the student body is 95 percent Jewish and 88 percent Caucasian. When you delve deeper, however, you will find that considerable diversity exists within the mostly Jewish population. Thirty percent of students were born outside of California, and an additional 12 percent were born outside the United States. AJU students come from seven other countries: Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, Czechoslovakia, Israel and Ukraine.

While AJU exhibits a remarkable diversity of nationalities for a university of its size, the distribution of Jewish ethnicities closely parallels that of the global Jewish population. The survey revealed that Ashkenazim constitute 74 percent of Jewish students at AJU, compared to roughly 80 percent of Jews worldwide, according to an article published by the Jerusalem Center of Public Affairs.

One part of the survey asked students to state whether they “strongly agree,” “agree,” “disagree” or “strongly disagree” with the statement “AJU has a diverse student body.” The student body was evenly split: 50 percent selected “strongly agree” or “agree,” and 50 percent selected “disagree” or “strongly disagree.”

Continue reading.

African-American Student Starts Pro-Israel Group in New Orleans

The research she did for her paper alarmed her, and Valdary resolved to do what she could to fight Jew-hatred.

There hasn't been a lot of good news recently for pro-Israel watchers of campus culture, but in the unlikeliest of places, by the unlikeliest of Zionists, there is finally good news to share.

The University of New Orleans has nearly 13,000 undergraduate students, fewer than 100 of whom are Jewish. There are no Jewish studies courses, there are no Jewish services available and there is no kosher food available on campus. But what UNO does have is Chloe’ Simone Valdary.

Valdary, a sophomore, majors in international relations. Her particular interests are history, religion, philosophy, politics and current events. Although she is Christian, Valdary decided to write a major paper her freshman year on the Arab-Israeli conflict.

The research she did for her paper alarmed her, and Valdary resolved to do what she could to fight Jew-hatred. She created an organization on Campus, “Allies of Israel.” There are currently only nine members of the group, but the membership is likely to soar soon. Their first major event will be held on January 28.

For their kickoff event Valdary chose to aim high. She contacted Dr. Daniel Pipes, the executive director of the Middle East Forum, and one of the best known and respected authorities on the Middle East and radical Islam. To the delight of the Allies, Pipes agreed to be the keynote speaker at their upcoming Declare Your Freedom event, which she describes as a “pro-Israel, pro-America event.”

The goal of this project, Valdary told The Jewish Press, is to publicly express a pro-Israel position, but also to talk about how to combat anti-Semitism in innovative ways. She has a number of ideas she is already working on which she believes will have a real impact on the widespread hatred of which she only recently became aware.

In an announcement for the January 28 event, Chloe wrote:

Continue reading.

Gun Violence: A Jewish Issue, a Student Issue

New Voices Editorial, Opinion by New Voices Editorial Board

At least one member of the New Voices editorial board sat in a meeting of their Hillel board this week at which a discussion of security spontaneously took its place on top of the agenda. We assure you it was not the first such discussion in a Jewish organization this week, nor the first on a college campus, nor the first in a Hillel board meeting – nor will it be the last. In light of the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. last Friday, a new discourse about security, mental health policy and gun control grips the nation.

We limit these editorials to subjects that matter to Jews and to college students. We believe that an editorial about the tragedy in Newtown is not out of place here because we believe the issues of mental health and gun violence raised by these killings are Jewish issues as well as student issues.

The tragedy of Newtown is a Jewish issue.

It’s not a Jewish issue just because we Jews know what it’s like to live in fear of random acts of mass violence. It’s not a Jewish issue because the youngest child murdered in Newtown, 6-year-old Noah Pozner, was a Jew. And it’s not a Jewish issue because Rabbi Saul Praver of Newtown has been visibly active in his efforts to support the grieving families of Newtown.

It’s a Jewish issue because taking the life of another is our most basic sin. Our tradition tells us that God’s creation of humanity began with the creation of one single human being to teach us that taking the life of one person is like destroying an entire world. Last Friday, 27 worlds were destroyed. As the Jewish community of America, preventing more destruction is incumbent upon us. (And if you turned up your nose as you read this paragraph because you think it an oversimplification of Judaism, consider that some elements of Judaism may be just that simple.)

The tragedy of Newtown is a student issue.

Continue reading.

2012′s Jewish Headlines and Their Ramifications for Jews on Campus

It’s the most wonderful time of the year. School is off, joy is in the air, and the NFL playoffs are about to start. Christmas and Chanukah? Well…they’re done, and with them the holiday season is now reduced to the solar New Year.

But we all know what that means. It’s the time of year where every website, magazine, and newspaper bands together to create the traditional late-December tradition we like to call the Year-In-Review. Looking for this year’s biggest celebrity feuds? No need to fear…that list exists. Searching for a review with an especially corny name? Feel free to check out PBS’s The Year of You. Feeling selfish? Just log into Facebook and there’s an application to create your own personalized year-in-review that will cover the most interesting development in the world: Your life.

Because I’m a shameless conformist, and because these years-in-review make me giddy, I’ve decided that New Voices needs a similar year in review. It has been an eventful year for Jewish college students, and a few storylines have the potential to drastically affect the landscape of Jewish life on campus as we head into 2013 and beyond. Here are five stories from 2012 that might be worth remembering as we look to the future.

1. Rick Jacobs commences his term as President of the Union for Reform Judaism.

For two organizations, this year was a year of profound change. At the Union of Reform Judaism, Rabbi Rick Jacobs of Westchester, New York started as President, promising profound changes from the leadership style of Eric Yoffe, whose administration Jacobs had criticized harshly while serving as a congregational Rabbi. Officially taking the helm in July, in Jacobs’s first few months, he demonstrated an interest in campus Jewish life, spending his High Holy Days on a college campus (Brown University) and attending Hillel Institute, Hillel’s annual leadership-training conference in St. Louis, which served almost 1,000 Hillel staff and student leaders.

2. Wayne Firestone steps down as CEO of Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life

Continue reading.