Here is a list of frequently asked questions about Jewish student life at Wesleyan:

1-What portion of Wesleyan undergrads are Jewish? 
2-What does a typical Shabbat at Wesleyan look like?
3-Is Wesleyan a Hillel? 

4-Is there specific programming for first year students? 

5-Does the Jewish Community have its own space?  Is there a Hillel House? 

6-Is there kosher food? Is it any good? 

7-Does Wesleyan have Jewish music or Jewish cultural programming on campus? 

8-I have heard that Wesleyan students are very involved in student activism.  Are there Jewish activist groups on campus? 

9-What happens for Jewish Holidays at Wesleyan? 

10-What kind of Jewish Students come to Wesleyan? 

11-Are there traditional/Orthodox Jews at Wesleyan University?

12-What does the Jewish social scene look like? 

13-Is there a Jewish Studies Department at Wesleyan? 

Q: What portion of Wesleyan undergrads are Jewish?

We estimate that Wesleyan is approximatly 20-30% Jewish.  There are roughly somewhere between 600 and 800 Jewish undergraduates. 

Q: What does a typical Shabbat at Wesleyan look like?

While there is no typical or standard Shabbat at Wesleyan, Shabbat at Wesleyan is very much student led and coordinated.  Every Friday afternoon at 1pm, Students gather in the Bayit (the Jewish program house) and cook a scrumptous, gastronomic kosher feast for Shabbat.  Services, which are always led by students, begin at 6:15 pm.  Shabbat services are always different.  Sometimes they resemble a Carlebach (Hassidic) Service, sometimes a summer camp service led with guitars.  There are usually between 40 and 70 people for Shabbat.  Afterwards we gather and communally enjoy the home-cooked meal. 

Q: Is Wesleyan a Hillel?

The Jewish community at Wesleyan/Havurah is run by the students at Wesleyan. We have a partnership with Hillel that allows us to collaborate on certain projects.  We are considered an HPC (Hillel Programming Center) with Hillel’s International Center in Washington D.C.

Q: Is there specific programming for first year students?

Already at Orientation we have our traditional frosh Shabbat service and dinner.  In addition, every year we have 8-10 Jewish sophomores who are JRPs (or Jewish Renaissance Fellows), who are available to help introduce first-years to Jewish student life on campus.

Q: Does the Jewish Community have its own space?  Is there a Hillel House?

One of the headquarters for Jewish student life at Wesleyan is the Bayit, a Jewish programming house.  It is home to 20+ students for whom many a strong, Jewish community is important.  In the Bayit, there is a kosher kitchen as well as a large common area where guest speakers, meetings and social events take place.  For more information go to http://www.wesleyan.edu/reslife/programhousing/index.html

Q: Is there kosher food? Is it any good?

Wesleyan runs a kosher dining hall on the bottom floor of Butterfield A, called the Kosher Kitchen.  It is open for lunch and dinner Mon - Fri.  The Kitchen is a meat/vegan kitchen with many vegan options for those who want them.  For more information go to http://www.wesleyan.edu/campusdining/kosher.html  This cafeteria is used by students who keep kosher as well as those who don’t.  During Passover, this cafeteria becomes a kosher for Passover cafeteria.  The Kitchen is under the Rabbinic supervision of Rabbi David Leipziger.

The Bayit, the Jewish program house, also has a kosher kitchen that is open to all students on campus.  

Some Jewish vegans and vegetarians can always be found at the First Harvest Café.  For more info go to http://www.wesleyan.edu/campusdining/davenport.html

Q: Does Wesleyan have Jewish music or Jewish cultural programming on campus?

Absolutely! Pharoah’s Daughter, Yidcore, Gabi Meyer and Simkha DuBowski (director of Trembling Before God) have all recently performed at Wesleyan.  In addition, there are always new Jewish cultural groups starting on campus.  In the past we have had Israeli Dancing, a Jewish acapella group, and a Klezmer group. 

 Q: I have heard that Wesleyan students are very involved in student activism.  Are there Jewish activist groups on campus?

Many, but not all students choose to get involved in activism.  Subjects range from on-campus issues to international events and political controversies.  Some Jewish students are involved in the following: Kol Israel, The Third Path, and many more.  For a full list of student groups, please see http://www.wesleyan.edu/wsa/groups/contactlist.htm

Here you will find activist groups as well as clubs centered around hobbies or common passions and many more. 

Also, in 2004, students from the Wesleyan Jewish Community joined Yale Hillel and the AJWS on an alternative Jewish spring break trip to Mexico.  

Q: What happens for Jewish Holidays at Wesleyan? 

All holidays are celebrated on campus with religious services as well as festive meals. 

Q: What kind of Jewish Students come to Wesleyan? 

All of them.  Wesleyan gets many cultural Jews as well as Jews who come from Day schools and Hebrew high schools. 

Many are our students who have been active in Nifty, USY, HaBonim, No’ar Hadash, HaShomer and others.  Every year, we have students who join us after spending a semester or year studying in Israel. 

In addition, Wesleyan has a number of students who are exploring Judaism at their own pace and in their own way.  Our community is welcoming and supportive of Jews of any and all backgrounds.

Q: Are there traditional/ orthodox Jews at Wesleyan University?

Every year we get a small number of Jewish students who come from Orthodox Jewish backgrounds. 

 Q: What does the Jewish social scene look like?

 The Jewish Community at Wesleyan is always sponsoring social events like our Ben and Jerry’s ice cream parties, pizza parties, and our smores-by- the-fire get-togethers.  Jewish students often organize their own programming and festivities.

 Q:  Is there a Jewish Studies Department at Wesleyan?

 Yes! For more information go to http://www.wesleyan.edu/religion/reli_programs.html