For today’s college students, nearly every segment of campus has a presence on Facebook, and the Jewish community at UA proves no exception. Though UA Jews have an active presence on Facebook, with at least 13 Facebook groups, few list their religion on their profile pages. A search for UA students who openly identify as Jewish turns up 135 results. 40 further describe themselves as Reform, 27 as Conservative, and 4 as Orthodox. Membership in Jewish Facebook groups, however, shows that Facebook is indeed a popular avenue for Jewish students to network, keep in touch with friends, and in some cases to show common support for particular causes. The following list is arranged according to membership numbers.
The Jew Crew: The most popular Facebook group, boasting 548 members. This group is active and open to Jewish students regardless of denomination, year in school, political affiliations, etc, which probably accounts for its high membership. It’s also the UA version of a national Facebook group.
Jew of A: A pretty close runner-up in popularity, with 520 members. Another somewhat active catch-all Jewish group.
Hillel: Unsurprisingly, out of all the Facebook groups affiliated with a particular non-Internet-based organization, Hillel is the most popular, with 390 members who actively post. Hillel uses the online group to keep members posted on upcoming events and trips. Apparently, one of its group members is also “looking for a hot Jewish girlfriend.”
Jewish Arizonans on Campus (JAC): The Facebook version of its on-campus counterpart and the most popular organizationally affiliated Facebook besides Hillel (182 members). JAC describes itself as “a new organization on campus committed to spreading Jewish pride to college students throughout Arizona.” I recently interviewed one of its co-founders, Rabbi Eli.
FYSH (First Year Students of Hillel): FYSH describes itself as “a Hillel group for new students to meet other cool Jews and hang out during fun events.” Its 131 Facebook members actively post and use the group to network with other students.
Jews of 2010 Who Party Hard: 120 Jewish UA freshmen who like to party.
Arizona Israel Alliance: “Arizona’s direct connection with Israel. Learning about the culture and the life Israelis live day to day.” This group of 103 members coincides with a campus organization of the same name.
CATPAC: Cats for Israel: A politically-themed organization corresponding with its on-campus counterpart, which is the UA chapter of AIPAC. “CATPAC: Cats for Israel brings together politically active students on campus to educate them about Israel and the importance of the U.S-Israel relationship” There are 97 members of this group.
Shabbat Uncensored: Shabbat Uncensored is an on-campus project that gives Jewish students an opportunity to create their own Shabbat experience, especially if they have not celebrated Shabbat before. Students who sign up receive free challah, candles, juice, and other Shabbat supplies. The group is on Facebook with 86 members, and also has a corresponding MySpace group.
Greek Jews: According to the group, “Gamma Eta Kappa will enhance your Jewish and Greek experiences by opening you up to a new social, academic, and professional network of your peers.” 73 Jewish members of various fraternities and sororities.
Jews Who Love Booze: Surprisingly small group (hey, this is UA) of 33 members. The UA version of this group corresponds with a global Facebook group of the same name.
Jewish Wildcats: A small group of 16 members, this group does not feature any active posting at the moment.
Kedma: The Facebook version of the UA’s Orthodox student group, with 16 members who actively post about events, searches for kosher roommates, and other subjects.
STAND: This group, Students Taking Action Now: Darfur, is not a Jewish group, but it deserves an honorable mention because it has a very high proportion of Jewish students among its 127 members.
In addition to these groups, which consist exclusively of UA students, there are numerous national and global groups that are popular with Jewish students here. These range from Jewish organizational groups (such as USY) to general Jewish groups (such as I Love Jewish Geography, 60,000 Jews, and I Am a Victim of a Jewish Mother) to pro-Israel groups (such as Top 10 Reasons Why I Support Israel and IDF Support Our Brothers).