Does size matter? Fundamental questions...


Hi all! This is my first blog, it only took me 5 months (and a lot of procrastination) to get this on here. I shall use this opportunity to apologize to Emma (Events and Marketing Officer) for my slow blogging to date!

In thinking about what to write on this blog, I stumbled upon the idea of addressing one of life's big questions - does size matter? Now, this is a risky question to investigate knowing the student mindset, however, I am, of course referring to Jewish student life on campus! So clean your mind out and read on...

Since September, I have been travelling to my J-Socs all over London, the South East and East Anglia, and helping to set up and run J-Socs in those universities with medium and smaller Jewish communities. Of course, we have all heard of what happens in Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester and Nottingham, Cambridge and Oxford. The well known Jew-niversities. But what happens if you're in a smaller university? Some areas in my region include Essex, Norwich, Reading and dare I say it - South London! I am pleased to report that not only is there life outside the big Jewniversity campuses, it is thriving!

But does size matter and is bigger always better?

J-Soc for Essex University this term was getting 15 Jewish students together in a student's flat for a 'bring-a-dish' Friday night dinner at the start of the term, a very friendly bunch of students who first met over a mad fresher's stall and over pizza in a social on campus in Colchester.

Reading got 15 people together for their own Shabbat UK meal, cooking extras for Friday night and serving meals, in a hall for J-Soc. Doing Shabbat their way capped a great term where the J-Soc represented Jewish students on campus in the university interfaith network and 'one world' fair presenting the case of the Jewish respect for the environment.

New J-Socs have sprung up in and around London, with University of the Arts and Westminster getting going this term and Royal Holloway registering their Jewish Society with the Student Union just after Fresher's fair and running a set of successful socials and talks by speakers on campus in leafy Egham.

For Kingston, getting the J-Soc together for a lively pub social following an unexpected turnout at the fresher's fair in September kicked off a bumper term, ending with a local Shabbat with Kingston Liberal Synagogue, with whom there are more Friday nights planned for the next term.

What these J-Socs all have in common is that they are smaller than the average, however my experiences over the past term have proved that they are friendly, inclusive, fun places, bursting with creativity and the will to get involved with their student community at university or the Jewish communities in their university towns. These communities are often smaller or medium sized and some find it harder to sustain themselves, but nevertheless, they offer services and support to local J-Socs. At smaller and larger J-Socs alike, chicken soup is still referred to with universal value, food is still a central part of J-Soc and talk is always easy between Jewish students!

But campus life isn't all there is, the smaller J-Socs aren't relegated to their campuses, this term J-Socs in the Southern region have joined up with other J-Socs for Booze for Jews, Shabbatons, Friday night dinners with 180 other students and have enjoyed all the events of the bigger regions with their smaller J-Soc groups. The smaller university experience is out there and it's happening at campuses all over the UK, in places you might not think had a Jewish student, let alone a Jewish society.

So far, I have painted a rosy picture, but is it easy being a Jewish student in Norwich, Colchester or South London? I guess the honest answer is not really, praising the kosher section in local supermarkets and making the most of going home for kosher meat is common, but isn't this so for a lot of students? If the kosher meat issue isn't one which affects you, then is explaining the meaning of a Jewish festival or Shabbat to a friend or lecturer when you can't attend a lecture or party on a Friday night something you have had to do? This is true for students everywhere, be it in Birmingham or Goldsmiths! Other battles include getting spaces on university campuses for J-Soc activities, something which has already reached some campuses such as Sheffield and Keele this term and is coming to smaller towns across the UK over the next 12 months.  

It is the aim of the Development team and the Tzevet as a whole to help to develop and support these smaller J-Socs, who have sometimes been overlooked in the past. Travelling to sometimes remote or difficult to reach campuses, laden with bagels and sweets to meet J-Socs, train committees and deliver lunch and learns, or help with fairs, interfaith activities or social action initiatives this past term has proved rewarding and eye opening, challenging my own perceptions of Jewish student experiences and how different they can be!

So does size matter or is it about quality of experience? Is a smaller J-Soc any less of a J-Soc? I would say that smaller J-Socs often show great ingenuity, creativity, warmth and effort to make things happen on campuses near them! Size doesn't matter, the opportunity to be part of something is there for Jewish students in far flung places (even South London) as well as at the more well known traditionally Jewish campuses.

If you are part of a J-Soc, regardless of size, connect with your nearest small J-Soc, pair up for a Shabbat dinner, a social or a trip to the local Old Age home! Meet new people and expand your idea of Jewish life on campus!

Share your experiences of J-Soc life below by commenting on this blog, does size matter?