Hello,
I am interested in the U of Alabama but have a few concerns. I am an out of state student from the northeast and jewish and feel there might be a big culture shock. Also the town of Tuscaloosa (Dangerous?, Poverty?, etc) how is it as a college town? Will this school be a culture shock as well?
thank you!
Poverty? Lol…no.
visit Bama’s Hillel website for info for Jewish students.
mom2collegekids, thank you so much!
I’m also from the Northeast and people up here were telling me I will be called names if I got there. Considering 60% is oos I’m not to worried.
If you can avoid comparing every little thing to how it is back in the Northeast (e.g., “This is terrible; in New York we…”), and tone down the Northeast attitude a bit, it will help a LOT.
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also from the Northeast and people up here were telling me I will be called names if I got there. Considering 60% is oos I’m not to worried.
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Called names? Uh no.
@moooop makes a good point no matter where you go. It’s always rude to say things like, “back home, we do (blah blah blah)…”
@jl9961 I know of some Jews from Mississippi who chose to go to Alabama because they felt it would be a friendlier environment.
You will not find what I call the “mean” anti-Semitism in the South that exists in the North, particularly if you are a Reformed Jew. It’s just not there. Most upper-class and/or educated Southerners actually have an affinity for Jewish people, as demonstrated in the works of such writers as Willie Morris or William Styron. I’m not saying discrimination doesn’t exist, but we all are discriminated against on one level or the other.
p.s. My kids are thinking about going to Alabama; I didn’t go there. But my comments apply to most Southern schools. Be aware that there will be a substantial portion of the student body who has never met a Jew; not one. I assume the history of Jews in Alabama is similar to that of Mississippi, which means they were once present in lots of communities as merchants, but as time has gone on they are now mostly in urban areas. In Mississippi there are a fair number of Jewish planters, which probably doesn’t fit the stereotype.
thank you EarlVanDorn, and yes I am a reformed jew.
Here’s a recent thread: talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-alabama/1927671-jewish-student-experiences-at-ua.html#latest
And one from a while back: New Yorker Loving University of Alabama - University of Alabama - College Confidential Forums
Honestly, I think a lot of this is more an urban vs. rural issue rather than a purely north vs. south one. There has been a strong Jewish community in many southern cities for generations. My grandfather (a Reform Jew from Ohio who went to Wharton for his undergraduate studies) went to law school in Birmingham a century ago, and his cousin’s son was a prominent rabbi in Charleston (SC) for many years.
I’m not gonna lie, when the very friendly woman who got in touch with me last year about a possible sublet in rural Alabama for my son’s co-op job used the phrase “jew her down” to suggest I negotiate with the owner of the property on price, I was a little taken aback. But I also would be lying if I said I’d never heard that phrase used by some of the non-Jewish friends I grew up with in a non-Jewish area of suburban Philadelphia. (The term, odious as it is, is really no more or less offensive than to "gyp"or “welsh on” someone, is it?)
Humility and an appreciation of of the local culture will serve you well wherever you go – north, south, east, or west and overseas as well.
@LucieTheLakie When I made my comment to @jl9961 , I started to mention that she might hear such phrases as “Jew him down” to describe bargaining. This phrase is in the rural Southern vernacular. The history of Jews in much of the South is that they were all merchants, and before that peddlers. They haggled. But the use of the phrase truly isn’t intended as a derogatory term. I’ve heard quite a few people in my home county use my last name in exactly the same fashion for more or less the same reason. I’m not offended in the slightest; kind of honored.
I’m not sure I agree, @EarlVanDorn. While everyone who uses the term “Jew down” is not an anti-Semite, I wouldn’t assume none are either. For too many people it means more than just seeking the best price (as non-Jews would do too), but can also imply being sly, crafty, or generally taking advantage of others.
It’s a loaded phrase. I would avoid using if, but not overreact if I heard it used.
And remember that when you’re not of a particular ethnic group, it’s generally offensive to use that ethnic group’s name as shorthand or slang for a particular behavior.
It’s a very offensive phrase and awful, imo. That said, you will find ignorant people up North too.
@LucieTheLakie @citymama9 I certainly agree the term is considered offensive in modern society, but still believe it comes from the history of Jews as a merchant class. Those days are long gone, but the reference lives on. There really are far worse aspersions that one can place on group of people than that of being good business people.
The implication is that Jews are cheap @EarlVanDorn
I’m just not a fan of words or terms like that. I hate when people say the “N” word (a lot of teens think it’s okay if they put an “a” at the end of it) or call something, “gay”. It’s just a pet peeve of mine.