Rather than wait until the next digest, I am choosing to respond to the above posts that discuss my earlier comments on this topic.
Yitz Mansdorf is, of course, correct that the findings from my doctoral research about Israel study ma no longer apply to today's student, given the changes that have taken place over the past 15 years. While I have never followed up on my study, in subsequent years Yeshiva University collected a large amount of data that has been used in a number of doctoral dissertations. I do not believe that any of them dealt directly with the questions that I studied, the conclusions with which I am familiar appeared to be largely in agreement with my findings. Among the studies that I know were completed are:
- Steven Eisenberg (2010) - Spiritual and Religious Mentoring: The Role of Rabbis and Teachers as Social Supporters Amongst Jewish Modern Orthodox High School Graduates Spending a Year of Study in Israel
- Natan Goldstein (2012) - The Family Environment as a Determinant of Religious and Spiritual Change in Students and Their Parents Following a Post High School Year of Study in Israel
- Seth Grauer (2012) - Jewish Ritual Practice and Emerging Adulthood: A Study of the Effects of the Freshman Year of College on Jewish Modern Orthodox Students’ Religious Commitment to Ritual Practice and Law
Unfortunately the Orthodox Jewish community does not spend as much effort studying its own population. It would be of great benefit to the community if serious research were applied to those areas where significant communal money and efforts are spent.
Regarding the issue of college campuses, I specifically chose to share the statements of an administration member rather than an advocacy group, in order to make the point that Jewish students feel threatened on campus. I did not touch on other concerns about campuses that are unrelated to Jewish students specifically – e.g. "More than 1 in 4 college women report sexual assault by graduation" [
www.wsj.com].
As far as Yitzchok Levine's suggestions are concerned I will reiterate that his suggestions appear to be more appropriate for a different population than for the students graduating from modern Orthodox high schools.
Shalom
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/06/2015 02:28PM by mlb.
