James Webster’s living situation first tipped him off to the strong Jewish presence on the Syracuse University campus.

‘We used to joke about it last year,’ said Webster, a junior illustration major. ‘We called Mount Olympus mini-Jerusalem.’

This reputation is not just distinct to the Mount, though, as the entire university has earned a reputation for its growing Jewish population over the past three decades. Joel Miller, executive director of the Winnick Hillel Center for Jewish Life, said this reputation has spread by word-of-mouth and attracts more Jewish students to the university.

According to Hillel’s national Web site, about 25 percent of SU’s campus is Jewish, and this large number has had a significant effect on the university.

While other universities have higher Jewish populations, Syracuse’s percentage is still a high one, considering that less than 2 percent of people in the United States identified themselves as Jewish in the most recent American Religious Identification Survey.

‘A critical mass of Jewish individuals, programs and services helps to ensure that Jewish students feel comfortable coming to SU,’ Miller said. ‘My daughter isn’t particularly into Jewish things, but she would think twice about going to a school with a small Jewish population.’

The ultra-modern Hillel stands out among its older neighbors on Walnut Street. With its big screen television, quaint caf and brand new workout facility, the center aims to help Jewish students feel more at home on campus.

Fabien Levy, a senior dual-majoring in broadcast journalism and political science and a practicing Jew, said he didn’t choose SU for its thriving Jewish community. The majority of his friends at SU aren’t Jewish, he said, but he likes knowing that the community’s there.

‘I’m not the most religious person, but I definitely do practice,’ Levy said. ‘Knowing there are people around who share the same beliefs is comforting.’

Still, Miller said he didn’t think SU’s Jewish reputation meant that these students are a more visible presence on campus. The reputation has surprisingly stuck, he said, despite the fact that only half of the 3,000 Jews on campus regularly attend holiday services.

‘Like other faith groups, we have a nice building,’ Miller said. ‘Other than that, I don’t think the Jewish population is that highly identifiable. We don’t see a lot of men on campus wearing kippots on their heads.’

Some students, however, said they find the Jewish presence on campus to be quite a visible one. Emily Kabir, a junior majoring in biology, was shocked when her friend denied ever hearing about SU’s significant Jewish population.

Kabir finds the Jewish presence on campus natural, though, since she attended a religiously diverse high school.

‘I’ve learned that the ratio of Jewish students is higher here than in my high school,’ Kabir said. ‘Just through class discussions, a lot of people will bring it up as a point of reference. Hillel has a strong presence on campus – they’re everywhere.’

Megan Dinan, a junior majoring in public relations, said she has met a lot more Jewish students since she came to SU than she ever did at home. Her experience led her to believe that the reputation SU has developed is understandable.

‘It’s not that they stand out,’ Dinan said, ‘but they have a strong community, and bond together.’

Some students identify the strong Jewish presence on campus based on the popular stereotype of the affluent and chic Jewish American Princess, or JAP, as this stereotype is commonly termed. The use of this stereotype on campus dates back to the late 1980s. Members of SU’s pep band were reprimanded in 1987 for pointing at expensively dressed women and leading thousands of fans in a ‘JAP! JAP!’ chant, according to a Washington Post article.

Levy acknowledges this stereotype, but said it’s applied to Jewish men as well.

‘I guess the JAPy girl and JAPy guy stereotype always comes into play,’ Levy said. ‘Girls wear black pants and Prada bags, and guys wear Diesel jeans. People assume they’re Jewish kids for some reason.’

Webster admitted to joking about Mount Olympus and other Jewish stereotypes. He agreed, however, that the university’s reputation couldn’t be based on a stereotype that doesn’t apply to all Jewish students. There are more people who dress and act like JAPs, he said, than Jewish people on campus.

A number of other factors draw Jewish students to SU, aside from the thriving Jewish community on campus and the reputation that precedes it.

Miller explained the high rate of Jewish students at SU by the number of Jews who attend college. Nearly 75 percent of American Jews ages 25 to 34 hold a college degree, a rate double that of American white non-Hispanics, according to a recent National Jewish Population Survey.

‘Jewish students are much like other ethnic groups who are striving to do well,’ Miller said. ‘They strive to go to the best universities. The whole list (of schools) they apply to is generally from the top tier.’

Plus, Miller said, SU’s northeastern location appeals to Jewish students because schools in this region aren’t far from home for many American Jews – 43 percent live in the Northeast, according to the National Jewish Population Survey.

Miller named New York University, the University of Pennsylvania and the State University of New York at Binghamton among other non-denominational schools in the Northeast with high Jewish student populations. NYU’s student body is 34 percent Jewish, as compared to a 31 percent population at UPenn and 30 percent at SUNY Binghamton, according to Hillel’s Web site.

Levy said he chose SU for its strong media and politics programs. As a practicing Jew, he found it funny that his two majors, broadcast journalism and political science, played into another stereotype – that American Jews seem to dominate the two professions.

The Office of Admissions, meanwhile, said religion has no effect on its decisions.

‘We do not collect information about the religious preferences of students when we are recruiting,’ said Nancy Machles Rothschild, assistant dean of admissions.

Whatever draws Jewish students to SU, though, Miller said administrators celebrate the diversity they add to the campus.

‘I know universities are all competing for lots of the best and brightest students as well as a wide range of diversity – which includes Jews because they are a minority,’ Miller said. ‘I’m just happy that someone from the Jewish population in Ohio can call and ask about the Jewish life on campus, and I can say, unequivocally, that whatever they need as part of their Jewish journey is available to them.’

Published on October 27, 2004 at 12:00 pm