I don’t know. I had heard about the antisemitism. Friends warned me. But I still wouldn’t have crossed those schools off of our list before. I would have gone in cautiously, but, it wouldn’t have been a “hell, no” like it is now.
1 Like
The irony is that when I was choosing an Ivy 45 years ago, every one of them other than perhaps Dartmouth had a vibrant and active Jewish community on campus. I certainly did not worry about antisemitism on campus, although i did in fact encounter some back then. Now, i would feel that my kid would be likely to encounter antisemitism on almost any college campus, under the guise of advocacy for the destruction of Israel, at least, and also as blatant direct attacks upon jews.
5 Likes
We are not Jewish, but all of those schools are totally & completely off the list just based on the antisemitism that’s been allowed to continue totally unchecked.
There were a couple of podcast episodes on “Your College Bound Kid” a few months ago where they interviewed someone on the topic of how to research whether or not a college has a campus environment that’s supportive to Jewish students. I thought it was really informative & helpful.
4 Likes
Ironically, Dartmouth is the only Ivy on my kid’s list. Its new president is Jewish (she was formally the president of Barnard). How times have changed.
Her remarks at the recent vigil: Remarks From the Student Vigil for Israel | President
Sadly, yes. Schools where admins have not clearly spoken against hate speech, hate groups, or welcomed pro Hamas speakers are off the list. Which, makes me sad, bc I know my son would have absolutely thrived. but these events have exposed a scary underside of some of these elite institutions.
This was his choice. He took 3 tops schools off his list.
2 Likes
Helicopterparent1, what did you think of Cornell’s response to the threats to Jewish students? I thought it was addressed. When I attended CU in the mid 90’s it seemed to have strong Jewish community - tho heavy NYC based (similar to their AA and Hispanic communities). There are negative sentiments for the latter 2 communities that pop up every so often when an issue hits campus. Sorry you don’t feel the campuses are safe for your kid.
My 2024’s list was originally built to find schools with a focus on undergrad teaching and with a filter to avoid schools with tribalistic politics (very high liberal to conservative student ratio for example) or over-emphasis on identity-based social structure. Dartmouth was and still is her top choice. We did not know the new Pres is jewish (though I see now that her middle name is Leah). I dont know if it is coincidential but i dont think any of my 2024’s schools have had unchecked anti-israel or anti-jew protests. My 2024 is a US/Israel dual citizen and half of our extended family lives in Israel so this cuts close.
Yes, I misspoke. Cornell is on the list. The admin can’t be blamed for an unhinged student and their response has been entirely appropriate.
Also, I should clarify: antisemitism isn’t the only reason why other Ivies are not on the list. There are fit/focus criteria too. But it is the reason several came off the list, including Harvard, Penn and Columbia.
1 Like
Which college?
1 Like
I always think about the professors I know who joke when they are accused of “indoctrinating” any philosophy during college - “If I had that power, I would also make sure all my students read the flipping syllabus”.
Unfortunately, there are people everywhere looking for scapegoats - there isn’t some special magic at certain colleges where ‘hate’ is taught. The people who express anti-semitism, racism, sexism, xenophobia - they want to hate and they will figure out a way to do so.
11 Likes
I already limited college choices to where my lgbtq daughter will be safe and have equal rights. Whole antisemitism is bad right now, I don’t think there are many schools where students aren’t safe. Without getting political, I believe it Is possible to be pro Palestinian without being antisemitic.
7 Likes
Good to hear about Cornell. Your kid would love but I’m biased. There’s something for everyone no matter where one falls on the spectrum of their identity.
And more power to your family for putting your convictions and beliefs on what is right at the forefront of the college search.
1 Like
My D24 is in the throes of application season now. Current events have had no impact on her app decisions. She is completely apolitical and not super interested in current events (much to my dismay). I have looked up each of her schools in that database linked on one of the other anti-Semitism on college adjacent threads and seen varying levels of activity. When it comes time for her to make a decision, it will be another factor to consider…likely somewhere further down the list than major offerings, fit, affordability, location.
4 Likes
2 posts were merged into an existing topic: College response to terrorism in Israel
Yes, absolutely. For our D23, we already kept this in mind: as we were scheduling visits (and again as we were there), we would google things like “[College] antisemitism” and “[College] BDS” to get a sense of the mood on campus. I remember saying something like “[School] had its BDS flare-up five years ago. Probably won’t be back for a while.” One reason our daughter picked the SLAC she did was she found the campus comparatively apolitical, and she really didn’t want that energy. Obviously others might disagree! Given what’s happened since 10/7, though, it has been a blessing. It’s an active part of our conversation for D25 - we’re talking about how various schools are handling the balance between free speech and making sure students are genuinely safe.
(We did not find the Hillel guide all that useful, sadly. The picture it gave didn’t really cover this topic and its view is necessarily limited by being an on-campus organization.)
Violence on college campuses is not ok. Hate speech, also not ok and should never be tolerated. Peaceful protests are, however, essential —- especially on college campuses where young people are finding their voice and learning to articulate what matters to them. We need our young people to push to end injustice and call out the many wrongs that are taking place domestically and globally.
I would never send my kid to a school that silenced the voice of students and have encouraged my kid to look at schools that promote diversity of thought. I don’t want her college experience to be a bubble that censors things that don’t feel good to hear about because the world is full of things that don’t feel good to hear about and if we don’t listen, we cannot fix them.
Again… hate speech is unacceptable but the real world is full of real hurt. As any of us raising African-American children.
4 Likes
My sense is that the protests at Columbia and probably Penn and the lack of response from the administrations would rule them out if my kids were applying now. My kids didn’t apply to either at the time. But, I’d certainly be looking now.
@yatuzo, I think the distinction I would draw is between being against the actions of the government Israel and being against the existence of the state of Israel. In at least some of the demonstrations I’ve read about, students slip casually between the two. Students who feel that the October 7 attacks were justified also usually seem to oppose the existence of the state of Israel.
I have no problem with people opposing the actions of the government (I often do). I think the schools that have taken a kind of milquetoast-ish “both side” approach would be problematic for me. I’m a little disappointed at the lack of nuance in the political discussion on campuses – where we ought to be training young adults to be sophisticated – but I suspect that mirrors the country/world as a whole.
I also wonder whether the university task forces or committees set up to deal with anti-semitism are just put in place to placate alumni donors until Gaza settles down one way or another or whether they will do anything.
Many of the schools in Canada seem to have environments where Jewish students feel unsafe. I think I would avoid those for my kids at this point.
3 Likes
It won’t.
However, if your question was: “How will it affect enrollment of Jewish students at schools where there is a lot of activism ?” Then my answer most likely would be different depending upon the particular facts and circumstances.
4 Likes
I’m kind of skeptical that Jewish enrollment will be significantly impacted anywhere. Some people will be scared off, but I’m sure there will be other folks who will look at it as an opportunity. I don’t think any of the elite schools want the headlines that the Jewish enrollment in their incoming freshman class has dropped from 20 percent to 5 percent (or whatever those numbers may be). There very well might be less competition for Jewish students applying to Penn or Columbia this year. In a philosophical sense, I don’t really want to see Jews chased out of the Ivy League. It’s important to have a Jewish presence and a Jewish voice on campus.
I don’t have a child applying to college this year. If I did, I would have concerns about certain schools that have been garnering headlines. To be fair, I had concerns about the climate on those campuses prior to October 7 and my children had no interest in them. I have been hearing from friends and family that their kids are aiming for (and in some cases applying early to) the “plan B” schools referenced in this NY post article linked below - such as Wash U, Vanderbilt, and Emory. Disclaimer: I don’t generally put much stock in the NY Post. I also live in the Southeast and it’s not unusual for Jewish kids in my area to favor the aforementioned colleges over elite schools in the Northeast. It will be interesting to see how things pan out.
5 Likes
I have to wonder about that article’s purported list of “plan B” schools. SMU?? I suppose it is true that it has been quiet in recent events, but it is quite homogeneous religiously. It would not be known for a vibrant Jewish community.
1 Like