College students strapped for time may start their mornings with a bowl of Quaker Oatmeal. But as the many Brown students who attended Quaker high schools can attest, there is more to Quakerism than hot breakfast cereal.
Quaker schools differ from other private schools in a number of ways, but students said the most defining difference is the unique attitude toward faith and community. Quakerism, which is officially called the Religious Society of Friends, is an offshoot of Christianity that emphasizes personal faith over strict creeds and religious hierarchy.
"What I loved most about it was meeting for worship," said Caroline Landau '09, who attended the Friends Seminary in Manhattan. Landau, who is Jewish, said her entire school would meet twice a week for 25 minutes at a time and sit in silence, which Quakers refer to as "Meeting for Worship." Students who felt particularly inspired would spontaneously rise and speak their minds.
"It's not uncommon for people to speak out," Landau said, adding that there is a certain etiquette to speaking during a meeting. "You're not supposed to respond directly to other people."
The length and frequency of meeting for worship varies by school. Sanjay Bhatt '11, who attended the Moorestown Friends School in Moorestown, N.J., said his school met once a week for an hour at a time. Bhatt said at his school, which enrolls students from preschool through the twelfth grade, the length of worship meetings gradually increased as students grew older. Younger students only meet for fifteen to twenty minutes while high school students meet for about one hour.
Students said their schools also fostered strong relationships between schoolmates, and even teachers.
"It was a really tight-knit community," Gabrielle Greenfield '10 said of her school, the Sandy Spring Friends School in Sandy Spring, Md.
A key component of this community-oriented atmosphere is public service. Carolyn Tilney '11 said her high school, Germantown Friends School in Philadelphia, Pa., promoted community projects. "The area isn't a very good neighborhood," she said.
Tilney said her school was so dedicated to the surrounding area that when offered the chance years ago to move to a larger campus in a more rural area, the school declined. "We decided to stay and help the community," she said.
But while students at Quaker schools shared many of the same experiences, arriving on College Hill affected each differently.
Bhatt has continued his commitment to the community and is still heavily involved in public service projects. Throughout high school, he participated in projects beyond the school's requirements.
"I actually went on two independent service trips to India," he said. Bhatt is now in the process of setting up a financial education and literacy program for Providence high school students.
But Tilney said despite her school's strong emphasis on community service - "we had days when the whole grade would not go to class and do community service projects," she said - she has not involved herself in public service at Brown. "I haven't done any recently," Tilney said.
Even though Quaker schools are unique, students said they found similarities between their high schools and Brown.
"It's not quite as Quaker but somewhat the same feel," Greenfield said. She said her friends are good at discussion and coming to a consensus, and they tend to share an interest in social justice - both Quaker values.
Landau said high schools and colleges are different enough that her own school's Quakerism doesn't distinguish the two experiences any more for her than for other students.
"I think that they're incomparable," she said. In her experience, Landau said she has found that people at Brown practice some of the positive Quaker virtues, like equality and pacifism.
Greenfield said Quakerism promotes equality among all people. "I called all my teachers by their first names," she said. She also attended a Quaker elementary school, where she said everyone - including teachers - sat on the floor.
Bhatt said every year around Thanksgiving, his school would bring together students who would normally not interact, from kindergarteners all the way through high school seniors. The students were divided into groups and worked on craft projects, the products of which were donated to various local organizations.
"There are a lot of really unique aspects of going to a Quaker school that help me identify with other people," Bhatt said.
Though students said they enjoyed their experiences at Quaker high schools, attending an affiliated college was not a priority for them.
Colleges like Haverford and Swarthmore still run on some of the Quaker values on which they were founded. Greenfield said when looking at Haverford, she liked some of its Quaker aspects, like its honor code and tight-knit community. "In the end I thought it was too small," she said. Though Brown is a larger school, Greenfield said she has found a fair amount of community here.
Bhatt said though Quaker affiliation was not a factor in his college choice, many of his classmates from high school did attend Quaker schools like Haverford and Swarthmore, which draw many students from his high school.
Greenfield said the community atmosphere in her school was close and comforting, especially during the time immediately after Sept. 11, 2001. "Being a D.C.-area school, 9/11 was a big deal for us," she said.
The day of the attack, the whole school was called into an assembly and students were told they could go home if they wanted. The next day, all of the public schools were closed.
"We were told school was optional," Greenfield said, but she and her sisters decided to go to school anyway. The student body met for worship, and many of Greenfield's classmates spoke. She said it's generally hard to talk during Meeting because one has to stand up and break the silence, but that she spoke nonetheless.
"I talked about how glad I was to be back at school," she said. "At a scary time I would rather have been at school."
Students said this comfort persists despite the fact that few students at their schools actually practiced Quakerism. In fact, many Quaker schools attract large numbers of Jewish students. Greenfield, who is Jewish, said there was a large Jewish population at her school. "There were more Jews that Quakers," she said.
Tilney's school was similar in this regard - "30 to 40 percent of my school was Jewish," she said.
Landau said she personally identifies more with the Jewish community than with Quakers. But despite not being a Friend herself, she said she does feel connected on some level with Quakerism.
"I really believe in Quakerism," she said. "I think it's beautiful."
