<p>I met with a college counselor today and went over my list of colleges I want to go to. As I told him UVA, he froze in his tracks and responed, "No. It's very anti-semitic."</p>
<p>Is this true? I really want to apply to UVA but I dont want everyone asking where my horns are and calling me Christ-killer. I know anti-Semitism is everywhere, but is it especially prevelant at Virginia?</p>
<p>I wouldn't worry about it because it's a decently big school. I don't think you should have a problem unless your seriously Orthodox (wear yamacha, the hair rolls, etc.) but even then you'll probably only hear a few idiots saying stuff under their breath. This will be the case anywhere you go I think unless you go to a very Jewish college like Yeshiva.</p>
<p>Ive been wondering the same thing about a few southern schools that im looking at (including UVA)...I don't mean to hi-jack your thread but while everyone is discussing UVA, can any one let me know how Georgetown is in terms of tolerance/anti-semitism?</p>
<p>Georgetown doesn't have many Jews, but it isn't Notre Dame. It's around 5%. You shouldn't experience too many problems there.</p>
<p>i know 2 people who go to uva and they're both jewish. honestly, i dont think you should let it be a problem, because they wont stop asking where your horns are until they know you dont have horns, and what better way to learn than by meeting real live jews.</p>
<p>I don't scream "Jewish" or anything. I have light brown hair, blue eyes, relatively light skin, and a straight nose (people say I look like JFK). However, I am very proud of my religion and can't stand it when I hear anti-semitic remarks. Perhaps UVA wouldn't be the best match if I have to deal with ignorance on the most basic level (the horns).</p>
<p>What are you talking about? UVA anti-semetic? That's lunacy. Lots of Jewish kids there as well as lots of non-Jews, particularly, from Northern Virginia who have gone to school with Jews since kindergarden. According to the Hillel website, <a href="http://hillel.org/hillel/Hillel_Schools_New.nsf/44257994e40bf4e7852567ec00500a7d/fdf5b17173c8f35e85256dc20059d088?OpenDocument%5B/url%5D">http://hillel.org/hillel/Hillel_Schools_New.nsf/44257994e40bf4e7852567ec00500a7d/fdf5b17173c8f35e85256dc20059d088?OpenDocument</a>. over 10% of the undergraduate student body is Jewish. There are several Jewish fraternities and Reform and Conservative Jewish groups as well as an Hillel with their own building.</p>
<p>I don't think you can trust that Hillel site. It said ther that university of Miami was ~40% Jewish when, according to official school statistics, it is 8%.</p>
<p>OK. Don't apply but then you'll be missing this:
<a href="http://aands.virginia.edu/x6884.xml%5B/url%5D">http://aands.virginia.edu/x6884.xml</a>
<a href="http://www.virginia.edu/newcombhall/sac/search_display.php?org_id=169%5B/url%5D">http://www.virginia.edu/newcombhall/sac/search_display.php?org_id=169</a>
<a href="http://www.virginia.edu/registrar/records/ugradrec/chapter6/chapter6-27.htm%5B/url%5D">http://www.virginia.edu/registrar/records/ugradrec/chapter6/chapter6-27.htm</a>
<a href="http://www.virginia.edu/jewishstudies/images/Events20032004.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.virginia.edu/jewishstudies/images/Events20032004.html</a>
<a href="http://www.virginia.edu/topnews/09_01_2004/cohen_brian.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.virginia.edu/topnews/09_01_2004/cohen_brian.html</a>
<a href="http://www.virginia.edu/jewishstudies/images/Conversion.htm%5B/url%5D">http://www.virginia.edu/jewishstudies/images/Conversion.htm</a>
<a href="http://www.virginia.edu/jewishstudies/images/Events20022003.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.virginia.edu/jewishstudies/images/Events20022003.html</a></p>
<p>I figure Michigan's just as good.</p>
<p>While UVA does not have a strong repuation of being particularly anti-Semitic, it does have a reputatin of beings WASPY and conservative. Kids there (and yes i know this is a generalization, but OVERALL) tend to be more close-minded, conservative, and not very accepting of things that aren't WASP or closely related to WASP. Yes, of course there are homosexuals, Jews, and the like on campus and those that support the minority, but many UVA students are not exactly liberal-minded.</p>
<p>Don't know about accuracy, but I know we looked at those stats when my daughter applied to colleges. 10% was at the very lowest part of the range of the schools she was looking at, FWIW.</p>
<p>I have no problem with Republicans. I am a moderate Republican. Not a right-wing nutjob. But similar to John McCain or Arlen Specter. I can take 'em conservative. I can take 'em liberal. But I can't take 'em extreme.</p>
<p>UVA has been in the news recently for racism... one case was against Asians, but I forget the specifics. The most egregious case, or several cases, however, were the vandalism of black students' doors, cars, rooms... people wrote racial epithets on their property or yelled slurs at them from cars as they drove past.</p>
<p>Check it out: <a href="http://suuva.org/articles/303/racist-acts-reported-at-uva-the-richmond-times-dispatch-august-29-2005%5B/url%5D">http://suuva.org/articles/303/racist-acts-reported-at-uva-the-richmond-times-dispatch-august-29-2005</a></p>
<p>I haven't heard anything with UVA and anti-Semitism. </p>
<p>Someone on this thread mentioned that Jewish students make up about 10% of the student population. Roughly 10% of UVA students are black, and another 10% are Asian. That hasn't stopped racism from happening to them. With Jewish students, however, it isn't usually as obvious they're Jewish unless they're wearing a yarmulke. It isn't like the unique shape of Asian eyes or the darker skin color of African-Americans.</p>
<p>"I don't scream "Jewish" or anything. I have light brown hair, blue eyes, relatively light skin, and a straight nose (people say I look like JFK)."</p>
<p>Yeah, I'm pretty sure you'd be hard pressed to go to like ANY good university in America and have people checking if you're Jewish or not, even if you don't "look" stereotypically Jewish.</p>
<p>I wouldn't really worry about it. Why don't you visit and check it out? It can't be that bad. Most great universities, by the way, have plenty of Jewish students. It's not like UVA is your only option.</p>
<p>It wouldn't hurt to check it out, that's true. During Spring Break I'm going down to DC to check out some colleges. Might as well see UVA while I'm in the area.</p>
<p>Hi! We had similar concerns when my d was applying to UVA and Georgetown 2 years ago. We checked out Hillel during our visit to UVA. It's a very nice building and they did seem to have an active group at UVA. There seemed to be a large enough Jewish population that you'd feel comfortable. We also felt comfortable with Georgetown but some may not. There is a Jesuit cemetary on grounds and there were crosses in some of the classrooms. What got to me the most about Georgetown was the noise from the planes. Georgetown must be on a flight path as it seemed that there were planes overhead every few minutes. The tourguide said you get used to it, but the noise seemed pretty distracting to me. I had more negative feelings to the noise level at Georgetown than anything else. It is going to be a bit more socially conservative in Va than Pa but the UVA campus is large enough and diverse enough to feel comfortable. But as Valentina pointed out there have been issues with racism. There were issues a few years ago too as I did read the UVA newspaper often. My d really loved UVA and she applied ED. As you probably know, it is very hard for an OOS kid to get into UVA. My d who is now a soph at Cornell was rejected from UVA (and Georgtown too). Also if your spring break coincides with Passover and you are going to visit the schools, you may want to check out the dining areas to see if provisions are made for Passover dining. Sometimes checking out a school at Passover gives some insight into how accommodating the school is for Jewish students. Good luck.</p>
<p>Recently, UVA has been getting a lot of press for racism and anti-homosexuality. I personally wouldn't go there.</p>
<p>Our son is a legacy at UVa, which means he's part of the in-state pool. We are a modern orthodox family and did a fair amount of research on this before Son submitted his application. </p>
<p>His dad (originally from Brooklyn) went to UVa in the late sixties when being Jewish was a problem. He had a southern roomate who had never met anyone Jewish in his life. He politely asked my husband if he had horns since that was the stereotype he'd gotten from the Moses statue by Michelangelo. Interestingly, the two of them went on to become close friends.</p>
<p>UVa has changed a lot since those ancient days. There's an active Hillel and a chabad. Kosher food for Pesach is provided by Hillel. The school is not Cornell or Brandeis in terms of the depth of Jewish programs and services, but we honestly sensed no problem with anti-semitism. UVa is not the most liberal school in the world in terms of its student body. To my vegetarian, politically active son, this (and the active frat life) was actually more of a question than his Jewishness. (He was wearing a kippah when he spent several days on campus. It didn't seem to be a problem.)</p>
<p>I would not let your Jewish affiliation stop you from applying to UVa iif the university interests you.</p>
<p>UVA IS NOT RACIST.</p>
<p>Those racist crimes could be performed by some of the Charlottesville's lower-class citizens, instead of UVa students. </p>
<p>Duke and Princeton got racist stuff going on too, but as whole, they are both very chill.</p>
<p>i go to UVa, and I'm a short Asian guy who wears glasses. I have NEVER EVER been a victim of racism nor seen any racist conduct. However, I was called a "f**king Chink" in William and Mary by a girl, well, that was a joke, we later hooked up.</p>
<p>I was combing the UVA site, looking for "evidence" and found this really neat story. Remember in Billings Montana in 1993 (I do remember this story) a brick was thrown through the window of a Jewish family who were displaying a menorah in their window? The town's response was to print up 10,000 drawings of menorahs that were distributed and displayed in the windows of homes of people of all faiths. This effort was spearheaded by a woman who ultimately graduated from UVA law school in 2001. </p>