<p>A strong Jewish presence/ community is important to me when choosing a college (gee, hope the handle was TOO much of a give away on that one... haha) and I was wondering if any current students or parents could speak to Jewish life on campus within the past few years. Thanks</p>
<p>You may also want to contact the local AEPi chapter with any questions you may have: <a href="http://aepi.uchicago.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://aepi.uchicago.edu/</a></p>
<p>I did e-mail them, and they were VERY kind and VERY helpful, but I was hoping for some more opinions. Thanks for the reference to the previous forum, but I got few responses and little depth. SO, I was thinking that I would try again.</p>
<p>I did not notice that you had started the earlier thread. I apologize for the redundancy.</p>
<p>I'm not a very good information source, but I live in University housing with many 3 bedroom apartments, and there are many Israeli families here. My daughter's best friend is an Israeli boy, and from playing with him and with other kids in our building she has learned a lot of Hebrew- this info from some of the parents, she doesn't speak Hebrew to me! There is a range of how devout people are, but some are very devout.
Back in the day Hyde Park was a largely Jewish neighborhood and there still is a large Jewish population. From what I can gather, the U. of C. did not discriminate against Jews like the Ivys and others. I think this helped the University's academic rise.</p>
<p>If you're looking for religious life in the Hyde Park community:</p>
<p>My friends who attend weekly KAM Israel/ Hillel services love it. leading me to believe that there is a strong sense of Jewish community for those who are looking for it. I can't say that the Jewish --or any religious-- presence is "felt" on campus, though you will be meeting a lot of Jewish students casually, through class and around campus, etc.</p>
<p>idad,
I reread the reply I posted and realized that it could easily be mistaken as being insincere and unkind. That was not my intention and I apologize if it was received as such. My apologies.</p>
<p>I did not take it that way. No apology necessary.</p>
<p>I grew up in the U of C Hillel. There's a strong community there, and quite inclusive of students from different movements. Hyde Park has two great neighborhood congregations (one Conservative, one Reform). Rodfei Zedek is the synagogue my family doesn't attend. ;)</p>
<p>If you are very observant, be aware that most of the kosher restaurants, stores, etc. are on the far north side of the city and the northern suburbs. So while there is a big, active observant community in the city, you'll be among less religious Jews for the most part.</p>