Sunday, January 02, 2011

And now for something completely different...

JTA runs a profile of Jewish life at TCU.
The school, located in Fort Worth, has about 60 Jewish students, out of more than 8,000 at the university, which is associated with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), a mainstream Protestant denomination.

To serve them, TCU has a thriving Hillel, reports the organization’s adviser, Arnold Barkman, an associate professor of accounting and transplanted New Yorker who has lived in Texas since 1965 and has been at TCU since 1974. Many students can be seen sporting the purple, white and blue Star of David Hillel T-shirts, and Jewish students, professors and staff can be found hanging out and enjoying a nosh at the bagel place across the street from the campus.

The campus also has a lecture series that has brought prominent Jewish writers and thinkers to campus, including Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel, author Rabbi Harold Kushner and scholar Susannah Heschel. It is sponsored by the Brite Divinity School, which is affiliated with the university, and is called the Gates of Chai Lectureship in Contemporary Jewish Studies.[...]

Barkman says that in recent times, TCU’s administration has grown more sensitive to its Jewish and other non-Christian students.

“The school asked about food items served at campus luncheons which may by unacceptable to Jews and Muslims,” he says. “I suggested they alter their menu from pork and shellfish.”

Barkman also points to the school administration’s decision this year to stop an anti-Israel divestment group from meeting on campus. And TCU expects to have a new director of Jewish studies in the coming academic year. It’s also worth noting, he says, that the school has no chapel requirement. “Only one class in religion is required,” he says. “And there are a variety of classes to fulfill it, including a class in contemporary Judaism.”

TCU is not a campus of “Bible thumpers,” Barkman adds. “Everyone on the faulty knows I am Jewish,” he says. “I feel comfortable here. There is no bias on this campus.”
It's certainly not Austin, where there is a large amount of Jewish students.

Not that it is a surprise but many Yids recieved Golden Globe nominations.

No comments: