DU is one of the top 60 schools Jews choose, according to Reform Judaism, the world’s largest circulated Jewish magazine. In the magazine’s third annual Insider’s Guide to College, DU is ranked No. 28 for the top private schools Jewish students select.
Twenty percent of DU’s undergraduate student population is Jewish, according to the Reform Judaism article. The variety of opportunities available for Jewish students may be part of the draw.
“I think the thriving Hillel and Chabad organizations on campus definitely encourage Jewish students to come to DU, especially since they both offer services to a wide range of Jewish identities,” says Leslie Bass, a senior journalism and digital media studies major who serves on Hillel’s executive team.
Other organizations for students include Jewish Rainbow Alliance and the ALEPH Institute for Jewish Culture. Students also can minor in Judaic studies through DU’s Center for Judaic Studies.
Ella Peterson, a Jewish sophomore, believes the “international studies and business programs attract Jews as well as the decent sized Jewish presence.”
With a Jewish undergraduate student population of 800, according to Reform Judaism, Jewish students are not alone on the DU campus.
“It’s nice to share that commonality with so many other students at DU, especially when being Jewish often puts you squarely in the middle of a small minority,” says Bass.
DU boasts both egalitarian and reform worship on campus and offers around 20 Judaism-related courses. The Merage and Allon Hillel Center provides Jewish students with an alternative place to go.
For more information about Jewish organizations at DU, go to http://www.du.edu/crs. To see the article by Reform Judaism, visit http://reformjudaismmag.org.
Editor’s Note: This article originally overstated the Jewish student population at DU. It has been edited to clarify Reform Judaism magazine’s numbers.