I know that Harvard has been in the news for the student group response to the terror attacks in Israel. How have other schools responded? Will these responses influence where you feel comfortable with your kids going to college?
The school where I used to work has not issued a statement, nor would I expect them to do so. The school is not political. (The work of the students is political, but the school itself takes no political stances.)
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Glad my kids wonât be going to Harvard.
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We knew already before my son started at UCB that he could expect to encounter a lot of anti-Israel sentiment there. It didnât influence his choice.
Berkeley Hillel is great, though.
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My daughter is in grad school at Rutgers. They sent a very appropriate email to the school community and included what they are doing to keep the campus safe.
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The President at College of the Holy Cross sent a strongly worded letter to the community condemning the unprecedented terrorist attacks on Israel.
There will be an interfaith prayer service for peace for the college community when students return to campus after fall break.
I expect it to be well attended.
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I was very happy with the email, as was my daughter. It was not political and was very supportive and appropriate. I was also happy to read that they are taking action to keep the community safe.
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Letâs stick to the questions asked by the OP. Discussion about what colleges should say is better in the politics forum
My studentâs college issued a statement condemning violence on both sides. I thought it was appropriate. At my younger studentâs public HS, which has a number of Muslim students it has become very contentious. Students feel like they have to pick sides. Lefty Jewish students feel ostracized for showing empathy to Palestinians. A lot to think about.
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I thought USCâs President Foltâs statements were timely and appropriate.
October 4
The grave events and the tragic loss of life taking place right now in Israel and Gaza fill us with such sadness. Our hearts go out to the millions of people there and to our own Trojan students, staff, faculty, families and alumni hurting and in fear for loved ones. We must â by working together with empathy and compassion â keep this anger and fear from harming and overwhelming our own community.
Letâs hold each other close and do all we can to support each other. Our university already is doubling down on providing support, resources and enhanced safety measures for our students, staff, faculty and members of our Trojan community. Campus Support and Intervention as well as campus counseling and mental health services are here and ready to help.
October 10
Over the past several days, I have been in touch with many members of the Trojan Family who voiced their pain and despair in the wake of the unprecedented terrorist attacks in Israel. We mourn the shocking loss of life. We condemn the terrorist attacks by Hamas and their brutal threats to execute kidnapped civilians and commit other atrocities.
As the horror in Israel and Gaza continues to unfold before our eyes, many of you have asked about how we are addressing the safety and well-being of our Trojan Family at USC. We immediately strengthened security protocols on our campuses and at places of worship. We just launched a new online source for accessing all available support services and updates. University resources and support will be open and operational throughout the fall break.
The provost is working with faculty in all schools to provide academic accommodations for students who are struggling. Campus Support and Intervention and the Student Health Center continue to provide outreach and counseling services. We will provide additional support as needed.
I have seen our Trojan community pull together with grace and humanity in these deeply disturbing times. During the dark days ahead, we need the light and compassion of our university community more than ever.
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The president of my undergrad wrote what was considered a bland letter and got a lot of pushback. So she wrote another bland letter 
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That happened at our high school.
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Doesnât seem like Stanford is acquitting itself particularly well:
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Duke and Penn both sent somewhat similarly worded statements condemning terrorism /violence against civilians and specifically condemned the Hamas attacks
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Need to check what is happening at Gatech now. School was on fall break last weekend. Students came back to campus late on Tuesday. I had email from Hillel and Chabad about gathering on Wednesday.
I asked other daughter at Rhodes and they did not have any events and going for fall break this weekend so there would be no events on Friday for sure.
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My daughter attended undergrad at UNC and I still belong to the parent group, where nothing has been mentioned. They spoke about University Day (anniversary) and getting hotel rooms etc. Thatâs it, no mention of any emails or communication from the school (they typically discuss all communication from the school). I am going to post today and ask. I did find on their local news that there were Pro-Palestinian rallies on campus, followed by Pro-Israeli rallies, and some âtense confrontations.â
Rutgers condemned the violence and expressed their support of Israel and the Jewish community, spoke about student vigils etc. They also spoke about the communityâs friends and family in Gaza and expressed concern. They spoke about innocent lives lost and their hope for the release of hostages. They are also working to maintain safety on campus with state and local police, etc.
Adding: the parent group responded that there was nothing sent to students. One parent reported that there was a statement made about the protests on campus, but the other parents stated that they did not see it anywhere. It was just reported that Hillel released a statement and the Chancellor posted on Twitter.
IMO UNC (which otherwise is a great school) gets a 0 and Rutgers (which imo is underrated) gets a 10. Somebody reported that there is a law prohibiting UNC from âmaking political statements.â
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Northeasternâs Global Security team helped students evacuate. NU also had a good statement condemning the violence by terrorists and standing against hate.
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My view on this is the same as it would be for any corporate entity. I donât know why we treat corporate entities like they have separate and distinct opinions on things and expect a company or school/university to take a stance/opinion on something. I suppose a âwe object to terrorism in any formâ is generic enough and fine sort of like âwe condemn murderâ - kind of obvious and vanilla. I would also say itâs fine for a university to say âthe opinions of student organizations are theirs and do not represent the schoolâ
Student organizations are going to have charters and if they want to publish statements, even if those statements are abhorrent to the majority, that all falls within the first amendment in my opinion and people should praise or condemn those opinions as they see fit w/o associating those opinions to the broader campus community.
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Hereâs an article about what has been happening at Purdue. The university statement is at the very end. The university president sent a letter to the Jewish community as well.
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