Santa Monica College is a two-year community college with approximately 34,000 students, offerings in more than 100 fields of study, and a beautiful campus less than two miles from the sandy beaches of the Pacific Ocean. Each year many of the local Jewish students transfer from SMC to UCLA.
There are 750-1,500 Jewish undergraduates at Santa Monica College, 250-500 students from Orthodox day schools, and 70–90 students who studied at an Orthodox gap year program in Israel before attending SMC. The majority of Jewish students are from Sephardi backgrounds. OU-JLIC brings a sense of community to the Jewish students on campus, who all live at home in the surrounding communities and commute to SMC for class, and OU-JLIC is essential to helping these students make Jewish friends on campus.
OU-JLIC at SMC offers Torah learning and social events throughout the year. The social events include start of semester meet-and-greets, barbeques, and game nights. There are also many chagim related activities such as a Chanukah Party, a Tu Bishvat Seder, and monthly Rosh Chodesh ladies events. During the week, there are many OU-JLIC learning opportunities for students to partake in: “Sushi and Shiur,” “Nooshe Joon” pizza lunch and dvar torah; hilchot Shabbat and Pirkei Avot chaburot; a non-coed shiur for men and women, and chevrutah learning with the OU-JLIC Torah Educators. SMC students also participate in joint programming with OU-JLIC at UCLA (see UCLA profile), including Megillah reading, Spring Shabbaton, and social events to help facilitate a smooth transition for students who have just transferred from SMC to UCLA.
Meet The Educators