KEDMA is a campus student organization for Orthodox Judaism

Orthodox Judaism

Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...

 on many secular college and university campuses and in many Hillels in the United States.

The group strives to create an atmosphere on U.S. college campuses that is comfortable for Orthodox students, many of whom require the availability of regular daily and Shabbat

Shabbat

Shabbat is the seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in Judaism. Shabbat is observed from a few minutes before sunset on Friday evening until a few minutes after when one would expect to be able to see three stars in the sky on Saturday night. The exact times, therefore, differ from...

 services and kosher

Kashrut

Kashrut is the set of Jewish dietary laws. Food in accord with halakha is termed kosher in English, from the Ashkenazi pronunciation of the Hebrew term kashér , meaning "fit" Kashrut (also kashruth or kashrus) is the set of Jewish dietary laws. Food in accord with halakha (Jewish law) is termed...

 food on campus. The group also provides opportunities for Jewish learning

Torah study

Torah study is the study by Jewish people of the Torah, Hebrew Bible, Talmud, responsa, rabbinic literature and similar works, all of which are Judaism's religious texts...

, charity and social justice

Tzedakah

Tzedakah or Ṣ'daqah in Classical Hebrew is a Hebrew word commonly translated as charity, though it is based on the Hebrew word meaning righteousness, fairness or justice...

, and social events.

These efforts can help to mainstream Orthodox students who would otherwise be forced to commute and live at home, or to attend a university designed for an Orthodox student population such as Yeshiva University

Yeshiva University

Yeshiva University is a private university in New York City, with six campuses in New York and one in Israel. Founded in 1886, it is a research university ranked as 45th in the US among national universities by U.S. News & World Report in 2012...

, Touro College

Touro College

Touro College is a sponsored independent institution of higher and professional education, in New York City, New York, United States. Founded by Dr. Bernard Lander, the College was established primarily to enrich the Jewish heritage, and to serve the larger American community...

, or Hebrew Theological College

Hebrew Theological College

The Hebrew Theological College, known as "Skokie Yeshiva," is a Yeshiva in Skokie, Illinois which also functions as a private university on campus. The primary focus of the Yeshiva is to teach Torah and Jewish traditions...

.

Many Orthodox student organizations operate under different names but with the same purposes. Many are members of the Orthodox Campus Coalition, founded in 2005.

Also, the Orthodox Union

Orthodox Union

The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America , more popularly known as the Orthodox Union , is one of the oldest Orthodox Jewish organizations in the United States. It is best known for its kosher food preparation supervision service...

 created the Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus (JLIC) at many colleges. A Jewish couple lives on campus and provides classes for the students in an Orthodox setting, often in conjunction with the Hillel or KEDMA.

Secular United States universities and colleges with Orthodox Jewish organizations

Boston University Boston University Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers... Brandeis University Brandeis University Brandeis University is an American private research university with a liberal arts focus. It is located in the southwestern corner of Waltham, Massachusetts, nine miles west of Boston. The University has an enrollment of approximately 3,200 undergraduate and 2,100 graduate students. In 2011, it... Brooklyn College Brooklyn College Brooklyn College is a senior college of the City University of New York, located in Brooklyn, New York, United States.Established in 1930 by the New York City Board of Higher Education, the College had its beginnings as the Downtown Brooklyn branches of Hunter College and the City College of New... Columbia University Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the... /Barnard College Barnard College Barnard College is a private women's liberal arts college and a member of the Seven Sisters. Founded in 1889, Barnard has been affiliated with Columbia University since 1900. The campus stretches along Broadway between 116th and 120th Streets in the Morningside Heights neighborhood in the borough...  (Yavneh Yavneh at Columbia Yavneh at Columbia is the Orthodox group of Hillel at Columbia University. It consists of about 400 members and is part of the larger Hillel community which is the biggest community on Columbia campus. Yavneh is responsible for programming ranging from daily minyanim to ski trips with the OCP ... ) Cornell University Cornell University Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions... Harvard University Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...

Ohio State University Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States... New York University New York University New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan... Princeton University Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution.... Rutgers University Rutgers University Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American... University of Arizona University of Arizona The University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885... University of California, Los Angeles University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system... University of Maryland, College Park University of Maryland, College Park The University of Maryland, College Park is a top-ranked public research university located in the city of College Park in Prince George's County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C... University of Massachusetts Amherst University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst is a public research and land-grant university in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States and the flagship of the University of Massachusetts system... University of Pennsylvania University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution... Yale University Yale University Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...

See also

• Orthodox Union
  Orthodox Union
  The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America , more popularly known as the Orthodox Union , is one of the oldest Orthodox Jewish organizations in the United States. It is best known for its kosher food preparation supervision service...
  
   (OU)
• National Conference of Synagogue Youth
  National Conference of Synagogue Youth
  NCSY is an Orthodox Jewish youth group sponsored by the Orthodox Union. Founded in 1954, it has members in the United States, Canada, Israel, Chile, and formerly also in Ukraine. Its slogan is Inspiring the Jewish Future...
  
  , the youth arm of the OU
• KOACH
  KOACH
  KOACH is the campus student organization for Conservative Judaism on many college and university campuses and in many Hillels in the United States and abroad. KOACH is a project of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism...
  
  , the college outreach arm of Conservative Judaism
  Conservative Judaism
  Conservative Judaism is a modern stream of Judaism that arose out of intellectual currents in Germany in the mid-19th century and took institutional form in the United States in the early 1900s.Conservative Judaism has its roots in the school of thought known as Positive-Historical Judaism,...
  
  
• KESHER
  KESHER
  KESHER is the college outreach arm and campus student organization for Reform Judaism.Its directors have included Paul Reichenbach , David Terdiman , Rabbi Jonathan Klein , Rabbi Andrew Davids, Rabbi Marc Israel, and Lisa David...
  
  , the college outreach arm of Reform Judaism
  Reform Judaism
  Reform Judaism refers to various beliefs, practices and organizations associated with the Reform Jewish movement in North America, the United Kingdom and elsewhere. In general, it maintains that Judaism and Jewish traditions should be modernized and should be compatible with participation in the...
  
  
• Orthodox Campus Coalition, a student group at several, mostly northeastern U.S. universities, for Orthodox Jewish students