The three religious chapels at Brandeis were built in a triangle so that no building's shadow would intrude on another's. In spite of this architectural gesture, many students here are saying Judaism that eclipses other faiths.Most attribute this to the sheer size of the Jewish community, which, according to a first-year survey, hovers at around 55 percent, but may be even larger.

For non-Jewish students, this atmosphere takes some getting used to, but according to many, it ultimately provides a chance to re-evaluate personal connections to their own religions and beliefs. It's not easy, and at times, non-Jewish students do feel excluded.

"People are really receptive about your being Catholic, but they're not as receptive to your being pro-life or pro-death penalty," said Jonathan Sham '06, an executive board member of the Catholic Students Organization (CSO).

Growing up in Bible-Belt Texas, Sham was a Catholic in a highly Protestant area. Brandeis is just about at the opposite end of the spectrum, but Sham said he's found a way to use that to his advantage.

"Part of being at college is defining yourself," he said. "Part of my definition is the CSO."

The Rev. David Michael, Brandeis' Catholic chaplain, also spoke of this readjustment, and said it can be positive but certainly challenging. He noted a "sense of dislocation" for students accustomed to a Christian majority: the general issues that engage the campus are those that engage the Jewish community and the rhythm of life revolves around the Jewish holidays and Sabbath.

"The place feels very Jewish," he said. "Someone once said that there is a Jewish 'overlay' on campus. I call it a 'Jewish feel.' "

Sham said the CSO has about 20 active members, and that 50 students attend Catholic Mass each week. He noted that about 11 percent of first-year students-400 individuals-say they are Catholic on the annual survey, but that fewer participate in religious events on campus.

Michael said he does not think Catholic students leave Brandeis with a deep sense of connection to the University. Perhaps they feel connected to the CSO or to athletics, he said, but not to the school as a whole. He said this is reflected in the fact that the only building or room on campus named for a Catholic donor is the Charlie Napoli trophy room in Gosman.

"I definitely don't take my faith for granted anymore," said Rebecca Collins '06, co-president of the Brandeis Christian Fellowship (BCF), the umbrella organization for Protestant students on campus. When a community is small, she said, "religion becomes such an important part of who you are."

Brandeis was overwhelming in the beginning, she said, especially with the Jewish holidays that come right at the start of the school year. She recalled that her first year here, her dorm hall suddenly emptied for Rosh Hashanah, and the few girls who remained were dressed up and going to services.

Kelley Collachi '06 also said that Brandeis was initially a shock.

"At Brandeis, religion is an everyday part of people's lives," she said, noting that this was a major shift from her hometown of Londonderry, N.H. Collachi was confirmed as a Catholic and went to church every Sunday for 15 years, but said that during her senior year of high school, she started to move away from the religion.

"I do not associate myself anymore with Catholicism or Christianity in general," she said.

She still notices the Jewish atmosphere at Brandeis, but it is becoming more normal as she learns more about the holidays and their origins. She has attended services, went to her friends' break-fast celebration on Yom Kippur, and said she has even picked up "remedial conversational Hebrew" from hearing her friends speak to each other.

"Judaism is definitely a bigger part of my life than any other religion," Collachi said. "I become so used to being ingrained in this kind of culture that when I go back [home], I almost feel out of place."

She said that her discussions of Judaism have always been an open forum.

"The [Jewish] presence is not so imposing that you get it no matter what," Ben Woodring '06 said, echoing Collachi's point. Woodring said he identifies as Roman Catholic, but that he is more religiously active at home in Pennsylvania, where family ties play a part, than he is at school.

"What I've experienced at Brandeis is that no one else's choices and decisions will really influence yours unless you want them to," he said.

He mentioned a trend that puzzles him.

"Ninety-nine percent of people who I've heard complain about Brandeis being too Jewish are Jews themselves," he said. "I'm really confused about that kind of comment; I don't know how to react."



Segregated religious groups?

Students interviewed said that Jewish students do seem to group together, but mostly because there are more of them.

As far as the reverse, non-Jewish students said their numbers are too small to stick to themselves.

"For college students, religion almost isn't a factor when choosing who to hang out with," said Mehreen Rahthore '07, the interfaith, inter-club and intercollegiate representative of the Muslim Students Association (MSA). "On weekends, I don't hang out with just MSA students."

The MSA provides a social and religious environment for Muslims on campus, including prayer, speakers and more relaxed events like movie nights. The other religious groups are similar, providing a range of religious, cultural and recreational events.

Sham noted that two of the leaders of the CSO live together, but added, "If we were just friends with each other, we wouldn't have a ton of friends. The demography isn't set up so that we can just have a Catholic clique."



The 'token' non-Jew

Despite general acceptance, non-Jews said they are sometimes singled out. "We could technically be considered diversity at Brandeis," Collins said.

She said she's been asked to speak on behalf of all Christians, which is a big responsibility.

"It's not fair that you end up being the token diversity in the group, the one in class that has to defend the history of the Crusades when you obviously weren't around during the Crusades and obviously can't explain it."

Sham said his friends tease that he's the token Asian, Catholic, Texan and conservative.

"It's only in joking, but it certainly sits at the back of your mind," he said.

During the priesthood abuse scandal two years ago, people looked to him for answers, which made him uncomfortable.

The same duty falls on Muslim students as well.

"Being a Muslim at Brandeis has a lot of demands and assumptions and stereotypes," said Prof. Qumar-Ul Huda (NEJS), the MSA adviser. "Some Muslims feel the burden of defeating the stereotypes; they feel that's on their shoulders. But some Muslims don't feel that way-they have another cause."

Either way, Huda said, the Muslim students he knows are very aware that they're a "minority in a predominantly Jewish university."



Academic intimidation

Brandeis is a leader in Near Eastern and Judaic studies, but those classes can be daunting to someone Jewish or non-Jewish without enough background in the subject.

"I ended up having to drop a class," Collachi said. She attended the first two weeks of Ending Deadly Conflict, taught last fall by Ambassador Dennis Ross, and said that students asked Ross to skip ahead in the material. "It was just kind of assumed that everyone knew what Zionism was and where it came from. I honestly wanted to learn about those things, but I found myself not able to participate." She said she had the same experience in another class as well.



Sharing the campus

Overall, Brandeis students of different religions live peacefully together, but recognize that they could interact and mesh more smoothly.

"I haven't met anyone who is against me being a Muslim," said Taimur Dad '07, co-president of the MSA. He said that people hold stereotypes anywhere, but no more at Brandeis than elsewhere. He added that Brandeis students are quite informed about Islam compared to his high school peers.

"A lot of Jewish people feel that they're connected to Israel, and the Middle East, and so they're more open to learning about Islam," Rathore said. "[The Jewish majority] almost makes it better for us."

As far as intra-group tensions go, students in the MSA, CSO and BCF all said that there are too few of them to be divisive.

A group exists on campus specifically aimed to educate students about each other's religions: the Religious Pluralism and Spirituality (RPS) group.

RPS treasurer Dara Klein '06 described the Sharing Our Faith series last year, where each religious group invited the campus community to one of their prayer services. She also mentioned the Winter Lights Festival, the multifaith Seder, and the "Tuesdays" series, where Brandeis professors speak about life lessons.

The individual religious groups also hold open events. Islam Awareness Month begins this Thursday with the start of Ramadan, and will include speakers, as well as campus-wide and multifaith iftars, which are break-fast gatherings at the end of each day's Ramadan fasting.

True religious pluralism, according to Klein, is a community "where a lot of different religions are not only present, but accepted ... where people not only know there are different religions, but are friends between the religions and understand their differences."

This is a long process, she said, and it has yet to be "really achieved at Brandeis." She said non-Jews are often asked why they're at Brandeis, and "have to justify their position on campus." Indeed, Collachi said this is the first question she receives when people find out she isn't Jewish and attends Brandeis.

"You don't have to actively be Jewish [at Brandeis]. But for other religions, you have to be more active," Klein said.

"We describe ourselves sort of jokingly as a small but vibrant community," Sham said. "Especially when you have spirituality-based groups like the CSO, God always plays a part in the planning. That really sort of gives us a sense of purpose, meaning and direction that is not given to other groups.