Current Student's list of good/bad things about Brandeis (not BS I promise)

Colleges and Universities A-Z Brandeis University
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<p>I’ve noticed that on these boards the prefrosh are trying to get old hats to confirm negative rumors they’ve heard about Brandeis. I’ve also noticed that people tend to have the SAME questions over and over. So I’ve decided to share some of my thoughts about Brandeis (i.e. procrastinate midterms) after nearly a year of college experience under my belt. No, I am not Jewish, I don’t work for admissions, and I’m not a hermit. I was in the top 15% of my very large public high school and I’m on the humanities track.</p>

<p>-First, the Bad: The Jewish thing can be a blessing (mad days off yo) and a curse (Why are there so many short ugly men around? Girls, keep your high school boyfriends. IF YOU ARE A NON-HIDEOUS MALE READING THIS PLEASE GO HERE! WE NEED YOU!) Haha jk. For the most part, it’s fine. It takes a little bit of getting used to, but whatever. Also I’ve encountered some very sheltered people (spent their whole lives in Solomon Schecter type schools with overbearing parents and it’s their life’s purpose to come here and find a husband/wife) who need a little experience with the outside world. Yeah, you can probably find these people anywhere, but Brandeis breeds a special kind. However there are plenty of cool, normal people to go around. Also, I hate the DFA, but maybe you like annoying petitioning liberals knocking at your door.</p>

<p>-The Good: Academics are great. The professors! They treat you like you’re a human being, whearas I always felt like just a face in some of my high school classes. (Edit: more than that, they treat you like an adult and even a peer). For humanities there are often discussion sections to accompany the classes, and those are wonderful and helpful. The classes are great and if you don’t like one, you can take it as a pass/fail or drop it. Plus, I’ve had absolutely NO trouble getting into any class that I’ve wanted. The requirements are extremely flexible and easy to fulfill-one of the reasons why I chose this place. The people, for the most part, ARE SO NICE. It’s so easy to make friends whether you are black Asian or whatever. NO ONE BRAGS ABOUT GRADES even though everyone’s smart. I love this. I absolutely love it. In my high school it was always “What’s your GPA? What’d you get?” People will complain about work, but I NEVER hear people comparing grades. It’s definitely less about competition and more about self motivation and encouragement. You CAN get a 4.0 here. I really enjoy the community feeling especially among the freshman dorms. And of course, I love the nearby access to Boston. It was another defining factor in my decision.
This place is definitely not all work no play. If you study too much people will wonder what’s the deal, and same goes for if you party too much. You will NOT be anonymous here. </p>

<p>Answers to FAQs and concerns that prefrosh always have:
-1. To West Coasties/Midwesterners/Southerners: Massachussetts is cold. The weather is unpredictable. It snowed on Halloween, and the weekend before that it was 60 degrees. It snows a lot, although this winter hasn’t been too bad. It could snow one day in April, be 75 degrees and sunny the next day, and then a thunderstorm the next. It’s cold from November to March and sometimes even till May. If you really truly cannot live in this type of environment, stay in your warm paradise. I’m jealous. </p>

<li>Yeah, this place is a Jewish university. It was established, I believe, as a place for Jews who could not go into the Ivy Leagues to receive an education. And Jews tend to be white (although I have encountered Black and Asian Jews here) and so you will see a lot of white faces around. You don’t like white people? Too bad. Don’t go here. </li>
<li>Diversity is just fine and will only be increasing throughout the years. There are people from all countries, everywhere from Sudan to Japan. You will see a LOT of Asians around too. Statistics don’t mean anything once you’re actually on campus.<br></li>
<li><p>Yes there are parties. Boston is twenty minutes away and very accessible, so you can party at other schools. People are always going to parties here too. There are also campus events. O.A.R is coming in a weekend or so. I’m planning on hitting up a fashion show and a dance for charity this Saturday after hanging out in Boston. This Saturday is “Liquid Latex 2006” (not the same one I’m going to) a dance where you’re supposed to show up scantily clad. </p></li>
<li><p>No you will not be friendless and lonely if you are not Jewish (I thought this would be my case, so I understand this concern). Jewish people are very nice and accepting, from my experience. Just yesterday I saw an Indian guy dining with three guys wearing yarmulkes and the sight made me very happy. You will have to get used to some things, like the campus being absolutely dead on Friday nights because of Shabbat, or the weird spring break schedule.</p>

<p>I hope I helped a LITTLE bit. Feel free to pm me or respond with any questions/concerns!</p></li>
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<p><a href="spent%20their%20whole%20lives%20in%20Solomon%20Schecter%20type%20schools%20with%20overbearing%20parents%20and%20it's%20their%20life's%20purpose%20to%20come%20here%20and%20find%20a%20husband/wife">quote</a>

[/quote]

Haha do you realize in my circles, Solomon Schechter is way too unjewish for us?</p>

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<p>You chose Brandeis from what list of acceptances and why?</p>

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<p>Some of the schools I was accepted to: GW, Trinity, Bucknell, UConn (full ride) Fordham (some scholarship).
Brandeis was the best academically, and I really wanted a small campus near a city. I feel like I've gotten everything that I wanted-a great academic school, close to a city with tons of college students, a pretty 'chill' curriculum (GW's crazy with the requirements) and a social life that I'm satisfied with. I also really like the emphasis on writing and creativity here.</p>

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<p>don't worry if you think schecther is too-unjewish, you'll find a very large observant population. In fact, our next Student Union President is very frum.</p>

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<p>Stain99:I know that this post is a year old, but I love you for saying positive things about Brandeis. You sound alot like me (not jewish and worried about the social scene) and I'm trying to decide where to go, so thanks for the insight.</p>

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<p>Are there any problems for secular Jews from those who think they should be more observant?</p>

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<p>There's certainly no outward hostility or resentment. Other than the Lubavitchers, most religous Jews have no interest in proselytizing, even when it's with their own people. At worst they may choose not to interact much with you even outside of Shabbat, but it's hardly ever even that bad. </p>

<p>Actually, the question should be turned 180 degrees too. If you've ever read the Justice, the main student newspaper (no, I'm not involved, so I'm not pitching it), there've been a lot of complaints from seculars who think the school is catering too much to the Orthodox and straying from its nonsectarian roots.</p>

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<p>Brandeis has Lubavitchers enrolled as students? That is a surprise, if so.</p>

<p>For those not familiar with the reference, Lubavitch is a Chasidic (read: ultra-Orthodox) sect. To clarify deispremed's reference to proselytizing, Lubavitcher's only seek to get other Jews to become more observant, they do not target members of other religions.</p>

<p>As far as Brandeis "catering" to Orthodox Jews, I don't see the efforts being any more extensive than, say, at Columbia, Penn, and Cornell, and it's hardly a problem at those places.</p>

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<p>Maybe I didn't make it explicitly clear, but I am aware that Lubavitchers only focus their attention on making Jews more religious.</p>

<p>Do Columbia, Penn, and Cornell give all these obscure Jewish holidays off like we do, and make their spring breaks always coincide with Passover even if it doesn't come until the end of April? I'm not being sarcastic here; I don't know their schedules. Also, are they under pressure to do things like this because most of their major donors are observant Jews?</p>

<p>I think it's a good thing that Orthodox Jews have colleges to attend where they can keep their practices and remain part of a large religious community. But as you can see, there are other fine schools that make this possible without altering the character of the school as a whole. I do commend Brandeis' administration for such actions as collaborating with Palestinian universities and having a prominent Muslim give our commencement speech, but they took a lot of heat from certain segments for it. Hopefully some of these aren't the moneyed segments.</p>

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<p>"Obscure Jewish holidays?" Oh, you mean like Sukkot? Given your obvious frame of reference, it's pointless to argue what's "obscure." Here's the question: is Brandeis's observance of Jewish holidays a recent phenomenon or has it always followed the same practice.</p>

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<p>Rebellious, not sure if your question was rhetorical, but I'll answer it. No, this is not a new practice.</p>

<p>The five days we get off in the fall have always been days in which we get off: Two for Rosh Hashanah, one for Yom Kippur and the first and last days of Sukkot. If Brandeis really wanted to completely cater to the orthodox, we would have the first and last TWO days off of Sukkot because all four days are days in which observant Jews are forbidden from doing work.</p>

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<p>I agree with you, deispremed. I hate the second semester break schedule and other universities with orthodox Jews don't do this. I understand that Passover is a major Jewish, family-centered holiday but I don't think it needs to become our spring break. The rest of us have to go home a couple of weeks before exams and sit around while all their friends at other colleges are studying for finals. It is not good to have vacation so close to exams I feel. I don't see what's wrong with having a week off in March like every other college and then having a couple days off for passover. But that might upset the orthodox Jews and the donors.</p>

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<p>i always assumed it wasn't just a matter of being home for the holiday, but a matter of the burden that would be involved for the dining halls to provide kosher for passover food for the number of students likely to want it (probably even more than keep kosher all year).</p>

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<p>I have a feeling the Passover thing is due to the university being cheap. If they really wanted to, they could serve kosher l'Pesach food out of the kosher side of Sherman. There are no prohibitions on work during most of the holiday as best I know. However, I think either the school is not willing to take on the cost of providing the food or Aramark can't handle it.</p>

<p>Anyway, obscure was the wrong word for the holidays. They were obscure to me. I belonged to a Reform synagogue which leaned Conservative and we never learned anything about any special days of Sukkot. Also, the only places that would give those days off are Jewish day schools. Public schools in cities with large Jewish populations give Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur off, that's it.</p>

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<p>sulsk, the question was not entirely rhetorical. In order to demonstrate that Brandeis is moving away from its roots and coming increasingly under the sway of the "Orthodox moneymen" one would have to demonstrate that the calendar has changed. A family friend confirms that it's the same as it was in the mid to late 50s.</p>

<p>You've also confirmed my observation about the observence of Sukkot. In Galut, observance of only the first and seventh day is the province of the more liberal (Reform and Reconstructionist) branches of Judaism. So much for the "Orthodox moneymen" again.</p>

<p>Stain, being Jewish is part of Brandeis's identity. I hope my post and that of sulsk have demonstrated that its observance of the holidays is kind of a mixed bag, and not the product of some newly exercised Orthodox influence. I'm pretty much indifferent to how the school observes the holidays, but I don't like arguments that have no substance. And just an FYI, Shabbat trumps every holiday except Yom Kippur and as far as I know Brandeis is fully operational on Saturday.</p>

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<p>
[quote]
There are no prohibitions on work during most of the holiday as best I know.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>the first two and last two days of passover are "yontifs" - ie holidays on which work is not supposed to be done - so it depends on how they coincide with the calendar as to how many class days that is. (same is true for sukkot - first two days are holiday, "last two" are separate holidays - sh'mini atzereit and simchat torah).</p>

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<p>bizymom, again, Brandeis's observance of Sukkot is more in line with the liberal branches of Judaism in Galut.</p>

<p>Passover is another matter. Regardless of how it aligns the first two days, it would have to make accomodation for large numbers of students going home for the sedarim. It's also more than simply kashering the kitchen in Sherman. Since there is also a non-kosher kitchen sharing the same dining room, you've got chometz all over the place. When you add it up, it's probably simpler to close the school for Pesach.</p>

<p>FYI, Cornell kashers its kitchen for Pesach, but it's a dedicated kosher facility.</p>

<p>All in all, looks like a lot of compromises on religion and it seems to have been that way for a long time.</p>

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<p>
[quote]
bizymom, again, Brandeis's observance of Sukkot is more in line with the liberal branches of Judaism in Galut.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>my comments re passover and sukkot were not addressed to what brandeis does or doens't do but was addressed to a prior comment in which the poster said he was unaware of days of passover being days on which work couldn't be done.</p>

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<p>I can imagine what some people are thinking when they read words like kashering and "chometz all over the place"</p>

<p>hehe</p>