The Berkeley dean ( Chemerinsky) who has previously been quoted as deeply concerned about the rise of antisemitism notes the lawsuit is " stunningly inaccurate " and inconsistent with the First Amendment.
Might I remind members of the forum rules: âOur forum is expected to be a friendly and welcoming place, and one in which members can post without their motives, intelligence, or other personal characteristics being questioned by others."
and
âCollege Confidential forums exist to discuss college admission and other topics of interest. It is not a place for contentious debate. If you find yourself repeating talking points, it might be time to step away and do something else⊠If a thread starts to get heated, it might be closed or heavily moderated.â
http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/guidelines
Also, this is not the Political Forum. Please take appropriate discussions there.
Thread placed in slow mode for moderator review and cleanup.
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From âA recent note from Princeton Hillelâs Rabbi,â posted above:
he DMâd this classmate to say he would love to meet him for lunch or coffee just to listen to him and to discuss the situation in a thoughtful and respectful manner
. . .
He smiled and said that, while it certainly is unfortunate that his classmate refused to dialogue, he hopes that someday his classmate will see things in a more nuanced way.
So which is it? Was the Israel supporter there to listen, or was he planning to set the critic on a better, âmore nuancedâ path?
The reason I ask is because, IMO, the Note from the Rabbi lacks the sort ânuanceâ that it claims to be seeking. The Rabbiâs parable contrasts two students, one supporting Israel, and one criticizing Israel, and it is quite clear who is the villain and who is the hero:
- The supporter of Israel is described as thoughtful, brilliant, willing to listen, respectful, smiling, hopeful.
- On the the hand, the perspective of the critic of Israel is dismissed as both hateful and horrifying.
IMO, this is the lens through which some (but not all) supporters of Israel view the protests, and to say this perspective lacks nuance is an understatement. More than that, the parable indicates that the preconceived outcome of the suggested dialogue is that only the critic of Israel will be set straight. This strikes me as extremely condescending, as if only the critics of Israel have something to learn, not the supporters.
I donât blame the critic of Israel for declining the invitation, especially if the critic of Israel could sense that the âthoughtful, brilliant youngâ Israel supporter didnât even entertain the possibility of learning anything himself. He may not have been interested in having a self-assured classmate 'splain how his position was the one that lacked ânuance.â
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Front page story in todayâs WSJ on topic (i used a gift link):
(it includes comments about how colleges have been struggling to respond.)
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Darn, so many hidden posts. I miss the old days when you could choose to read flagged posts.
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You have to catch them at night, I think. I read like 84 posts as my bedtime reading 
They were all gone the next day though.
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Are you questioning moderation? Kidding no flags from međ
Perhaps we form a no holds barred group DM in which we can curse each other out and full on argue. Suggested name âGame of Dronesâ or âGaza Yada Yadaâ. And no I am not diminishing the suffering just trying to lighten the tense mood.
Happy Holidays.
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Itâs called the Politics Forum. The implicit âfriendly atmosphereâ guardrails donât apply there, because you have to explicitly apply to wanting to submit yourself to whatever will be thrown at you.
I might remember that wrong: But I believe it was once explained that a single âflagâ still allowed reading - but with increasing âseverityâ, or âqualityâ, of the objection against a particular post, that option then vanishes.
Yes - being a vampire definitely helps. Then⊠in the wee hours of the mornings, the people with the wooden stakes will do their bidding.
(and, again Iâm thankful for them doing their difficult jobs!)
This is a very tricky topic for both members and moderators, because itâs truly hard to intelligently comment on student actions, and college reactions, to political realities, without acknowledging how specific actions or reactions might be rooted in a political/historical context, rather than islamophobia/antisemitism.
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Thank you for clarifying as I was hardly being sarcastic as it is simply not in my nature.
Before the recent change, when a post was hidden, one could choose to read it by clicking on the post. And it didnât matter how severe the objections were. That option is now gone.
Please get back on topic and stop discussing hidden threads. Thanks for your understanding.
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https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/02/us/columbia-university-students-israel-hamas-war/index.html
It will be a long school year on some campuses.
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Cooler heads prevail as two professors are reinstated at the University of Arizona after being suspended for what some interpret as pro-Hamas statements in class.
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Students should reasonably expect the current conflict might be discussed in a course on cultural pluralism. The response that occurred explains why the subjects in the prior CNN article simply disengage from the campus community.
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Yes, I read that article and felt bad for the kids that either donât want to take a side, or just donât care. That would have been me back in college.