As high school juniors and seniors, one word is omnipresent ringing in our ears: college. Today, after a lecture at the site, AFU-WOFI-ites were led on a tour of Ben Gurion University by our guide, Aya. We bounced from building to lawn to building, learning about the history and culture of the university.
Q: What is the population of the university?
A: There are about 20,000 students.
Q: What are some attractive features of the university?
A: Ben Gurion is the fastest growing university in Israel! Also, it is the youngest university in Israel, which provides it with a vibrant culture developed by the youth of the college.
Q: What are some of the areas of study?
A: There is a large emphasis on the sciences and technology. In fact, the IDF and many major companies from all over the globe, including the United States, use research from BG’s cyber protection program. There are also many other areas of study, including the humanities, social sciences and the arts.
Q: We are in the Negev and it is extremely hot. [Most of us were fanning our friends and ourselves during the tour.] How does the university cope with the climate?
A: [Pointing to the library] There are many clever architectural designs meant to keep these buildings as cool as possible. The library, the first building on the campus, has windows facing north, which allowed sunlight in without the sun heating up the space directly. In addition, the architecture has formed many natural wind tunnels which allow for cheaper air conditioning bills.
Q: What is the university’s role in the Negev?
A: The university was built to help the Negev area which is often considered undesirable compared to central and Northern cities with more vibrant city lives. However, living in the Negev is much cheaper than in any other area. In addition, the culture and society are developing greatly due to the university’s arrival 43 years ago.
Q: Are the students involved in the Negev community?
A: Ben Gurion University has an extremely large community action program, with 8,000 students involved in community service. The university is the only one in Israel to have a free-standing building solely for the purpose of service. Students are very aware of the surrounding villages, and they often have Shabbat dinners with the local families or with their own student community. The students can take part in an open apartment program, where they can live rent-free in apartments in the less fortunate surrounding neighborhoods as a way to enrich the society.
Our tour of Ben Gurion University really revealed the differences between Israeli and American culture. As a girl who has been on many American college campus tours, I have to say this was very distinctive from the “On your left you will see our football field” type of presentation. At Ben Gurion, poetry was posted on the exterior walls of the buildings, paintings that fused art and science hung in atriums, and a dinosaur fossil dug up by a previous student lay under a glass box in the science building. Aya expressed her desire for more students to stay in the Negev area after they graduate, as this is the purpose of the university. However, she does agree that there are more opportunities presented to these bright young adults in the center and northern regions of the country.
Perhaps in the future one of our very own will join this elite body of students at Ben Gurion University.