<p>Hi, I’m an admitted student who is seriously considering going to Brandeis.
I heard that the campus “shuts down” at a certain time every week for Shabbat, a religious event. I was wondering if anyone could clarify and explain what parts of the campus are “shut down” and when exactly it happens? Is it true that it can be inconvenient for students sometimes because of it?</p>
<p>Sounds like another myth about Brandeis–like the misconception that Brandeis is a religious school, when it has always been non-sectarian, or the erroneous notion that the school is not diverse when in fact it is very much so. I attended the school many years ago and can’t recall an example of it “shutting down” for that reason.</p>
<p>The campus does not “shut down” for Shabbat.</p>
<p>Okay, I see. Well, can someone explain what happens then?</p>
<p>I don’t really understand what you’re looking for. Some students go to shabbat dinner and most don’t. Students that want to go to Shabbat dinner (either above Sherman functional hall or offcampus) go to Shabbat dinner. I don’t know the number but I would guess maybe 300 students total. </p>
<p>Most students don’t go and do other things. There are other events that night or parties. No big change happens on campus. Shabbat doesn’t cross my mind on the weekends (I’m not jewish) and there’s no difference really besides change hours (weekday to weekend hours) but that isn’t due to Shabbat.</p>
<p>I’m not Jewish either, and the only change I see around Shabbat are the free candles they put outside one of the dining halls for people to take.</p>
<p>Don’t get me wrong - I love the school.
It’s just that I heard from multiple sources in the past that parts of the campus shut down early or something. The reason I asked is because I remember they had attributed a schedule change to Shabbat, but I had forgotten what specifically they had mentioned about it. Since I’m very likely going here, I wanted to make sure.
Thank you all for clarifying.</p>
<p>Last week I went on a tour and the tour guide commented that the Library closes at 5pm for Shabbat but is open on Saturday. That is the only information I’ve heard that was different for Shabbat.</p>
<p>The library closes on Friday and Saturday at 6 this semester–not a Shabbat thing, just weekend hours. And of course, just like at any other college campus, administrative offices are closed on the weekends. That’s it. If you are considering attending a college and have serious concerns of a simple factual nature, you really should be contacting the school rather than posting here at this late date.</p>