My mother (third from the right) around the age of her Bat Mitzvah.
Tulane is a prestigious private University located in New Orleans, LA. Its Jewish undergraduate population currently stands at more than 25 percent, often resulting in it being dubbed the nickname, "Jewlane." However, when my mother attended Tulane University in the mid-1980s, this was not the case.
My mother was born and raised in Woodmere, NY, surrounded by a relatively large Jewish community. She attended hebrew school at a young age and completed her bat mitzvah at the typical age of 12. For her it was the norm for school to be cancelled on Jewish holidays, as her and many of her friends were in temple with their respective families. Although my mother considered herself to be a reformed Jew, she understood the importance of all the major holidays and thus actively participated in ceremonies and continued to do so throughout college.
Upon arriving at Tulane, my mother noted that she did not feel "out of place" because she was Jewish. Although the Jewish population at Tulane was much lower than it currently is, my mother was able to find the Jewish niche and soon made various Jewish friends from around the country (although they were mostly from New York and California). My mother and her friends joined the Tulane University Hillel, an organization aimed at connecting Jewish students with fellow Jewish peers and their Jewish heritage. Additionally, my mother joined a Jewish Fraternity, Zeta Beta Tau, as a little sister. All in all, my mother noted that her Jewish experience in New Orleans was not much different than that from which she grew up with. She fortunately neither experienced blatant anti-semitism, nor felt uncomfortable sharing her Jewish identity with her non-Jewish peers.
One interesting story that my mother recounted from college was when she celebrated Passover (Pesach) her freshman year. For those who do not know what Passover is, it is a high holiday that celebrates the Jewish emancipation from Egypt around 1440 BCE. Those observing avoid eating leavened bread for the eight days of the holidays because the Jews left Egypt so hastily that their baking bread did not have enough time to rise. The holiday typically commences with an organized meal, called a Sedar, where distinct foods are eaten in a specific order. So, when the holiday was nearing its start during my mother's freshman year, her and her Jewish friends decided that they would organize and eat their Sedar meal together in a common area of their freshman dorm. However, as college students in New Orleans, buying the necessary kosher foods for the Sedar was difficult, so they all decided that they would substitute the typical Sedar for a potluck-style dinner instead. Ironically though, my mother prepared a large bowl of pasta and meatballs, which is not kosher for Pesach because of the yeast involved in the making of pasta products.
Looking back on this experience, my mother finds it funny how neither she nor the other members of the Sedar realized that they were eating non-kosher for Passover food during the most important meal of the holiday. However, my mother then noted that for her the celebration of the holiday was less about abiding by the religious aspects and more about creating a unifying Jewish community with her peers.
The Tulane University Hillel House.
Tulane University ranking #9 for top universities attracting Jewish Students, according to Reform Jewish Magazine.