Colleges for the Jewish "B" student (Part 1)

@chocchipcookie my school (University of Oklahoma) showed it last week. The people screening it were two veterans. One of them served in the IDF while the other served in the US Army. There was no controversy surrounding the screening, but then again, my school, and others like it in the Bible Belt, are not hot spots for BDS/ SJP activities.

Watched the trailer and was impressed. Thanks for sharing.

I haven’t seen the film, but this raises an interesting point when considering colleges. The anti Israel sentiment seems to be combined with political differences. First, I will state that this is not intended to be a political discussion, but an observation which may help some students choose a college. IMHO, we seem to be more politically polarized with anti Israel sentiment aligning with being liberal/secular, and pro-Israel being in alignment with conservative/religious. While many people have asserted a distinction ( and this has also been bebated) between anti-Israel and anti-Semitic, in terms of activity on campus, the two seem to be running together. It seems to me that there is significant anti-Semitic activity at the most liberal universities. These college also tend to have larger numbers of Jewish students.

The colleges mentioned here that had less anti-Israel and anti-Semitic activity are in conservative, or “Bible Belt” regions and have a Jewish presence, but a lower number of Jews. While we- Jewish parents-tend to look at colleges that have larger Jewish populations, or perhaps more secular/liberal leaning schools, ironically, it may be that our students would find those colleges to be more hostile.

I wonder if this would result in changing attendance choices for colleges like TAMU and Oklahoma where there is some political diversity with students on all parts of the political spectrum, and some Jewish students.

Along those lines (though UGA has a meaningful number of Jewish students), here are links to articles regarding UGA’s student government passing a resolution supporting increased ties to Israel:

http://atlantajewishtimes.com/2015/02/uga-israel-resolution/
http://www.algemeiner.com/2015/02/25/2015s-first-resolution-calling-for-more-investment-in-israel-passed-by-university-of-georgia-students/

Pennylane - that is a wonderful analysis - and turns some of our typical thinking on it’s head! Very counter-intuitive, but seems to be on point. Recent events at Muhlenberg, for example, which is 1/3 Jewish, support your conclusion.

http://touch.mcall.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-83192761/

CCC, thanks for the tip.

One young family friend is a lone soldier (meaning he’s serving in the Israeli Army but his family is not living in Israel). One more year to go. It is indeed quite something watching someone go from high school through basic training. Last summer, when he was called up for Gaza
thank heavens for social media, so that an army buddy who’d seen our young friend during the war could send messages via FB to our family friends that their son was doing well.

The pressure on Hillel to reverse it’s stand is increasing. Personally, I think it is a shame, because if we are to be tolerant of a diversity of perspecives, then I think Hillel can co-exist on campus with other groups. The distinction is in the statement- “We’re not saying these events shouldn’t happen,” he said. “It just shouldn’t happen within Hillel.” Hillel is not obsruction the rights of other groups to sponsor speakers, it just doesn’t choose to sponsor them. On the other hand, Hillel is being pressured to change its stand.

One issue that I found disturbing was when the president of Hillel chose not to participate in J Street, and J Street defaced Hillel headquarters. Again, I don’t want this thread to take off with controversial discussions of one side vs the other, but to make a case for mutual respect. Many campuses have both Hillel and J street. This gives students a choice of what organization to affiliate with.

I realize that college is a time where students are exposed to a variety of beliefs, cultures, and perspectives and I am in favor of this diversity. However, for true diversity to exist, an organization has to maintain its own mission and perspective within the bounds of what is legal, and also within a culture of being civil to each other, even in the face of disagreement. Sadly though, it seems that our increasing polarization is giving rise to more hostility on some campuses.

The alignment of issues and the polarization can put a Jewish student, (and also a Jewish voter )in a bind. Although this is a simpllified model- It’s like going to a restaurant and having two meals to choose from. One is liberal/secular/not pro Israel, the other is conservative/religious/pro-Israel. So two meals: one with soup, steak, and ice cream, the other with salad, salmon, pie. What if you want steak and pie ?For this to happen, there needs to be a choice and also for a student, ideally there would be a peer group where it is acceptable to make that choice and where the student isn’t facing hostility for that choice.

For freedom of choice to exist, diversity- within the boundaries of law- has to exist.

Rockvillemom, The event at Muhlenberg College that you mentioned was a very interesting situation. The Senior and former President of Hillel was interested in bringing these four former civil rights activists in to speak at the college and ran into trouble when Hillel wouldn’t support her decision. She stuck to her principles, resigned her position in Hillel and got the Sociology department to sponsor the talk. The College supported Hillel’s right as a private organization to not support the talk yet they also supported the Sociology departments right to host the event. I understand it was extremely well attended and the spark for much discussion late into the evening.

And I think that was the right outcome (not the resignation) - having the speakers - but not sponsored by Hillel. I’m not sure that she needed to resign - Hillel’s policy is very clear on speakers whose position is anti-Israel.

rockvillemom, I’m not sure she NEEDED to resign , but she must have felt the need to resign in order to make her point and protest the position of Hillel. I’m not sure that everyone saw the woman’s position as being anti-Israel. She does advocate divestiture as a means of pressuring Israel regarding the West Bank and Gaza Strip occupation. The majority of the talk that night was on the civil rights movement and voter registration in the south in the 1960’s.

Trying to catch up on posts. Excellent news about boysx3 - hope she continues to improve.

@chocchipcookie: I went to a screening of Beneath the Helmet where 2 of the soldiers & the director were present to answer questions from the audience after viewing the film. I found the Q & A better than the documentary. The documentary is good but barely scratches the surface of the issues. We do get a sense of the transformation from child to soldier and also that these kids come from a variety of backgrounds and are required to take on responsibilities our kids can not imagine. While I left wanting more - I think the point of the documentary was felt by the (admittedly friendly) entire audience.

I hope to take my high school senior to the Israel on Campus presentation next week presented by Hillel. He has grown up in a community where our public schools are closed for Jewish holidays. I want to help him be prepared for what he may find on campus (at the Ohio State University) -

Hello everyone 
I found your forum today and it made my day. My D is a sophomore in high school. We live in Florida and have just started the college journey. D is a very good student probably more in the B+/A range but since she hasn’t taken the ACT or SAT yet it is too early to narrow things down so we are considering a whole range of schools. But I have been very upset by the anti-semitic events that I have been reading about especially at schools that are on her radar. We live in a community with a pretty large size Jewish population and my D is very active in our synagogue’s youth group. She has never really been exposed to blatant acts of anti-semitism firsthand and I am not sure how she would handle it face to face. I know that is the world we live in and she will experience it eventually but all this campus activity has really put the issue front and center and made the importance of going to a school with a significant Jewish population even more important to us. I look forward to participating in your forum!

Welcome jewelbelle. By starting to consider “fit” early, you have the opportunity to see how this issue evolves on campuses and also look at some evolving ones. Once you know your D’s scores and grades by junior year, you can narrow the search.

Ironically, there is some antisemitic activity at colleges where there is a large Jewish population, because that population is visible and also presents another view to the anti-Israel message. However, there is also a sense of belonging when there is a Jewish presence on campus. Also, on some campuses with a large Jewish population, there is also diversity of views, leading to clubs such as J street, that has a different perspective than Hillel. One other thing to consider is where and how your D feels she fits among the Jewish groups on campus. Like everyone else, they will have more in common with their regional peers at the college. So, a Hillel group at a smaller college in the south may have a different fit than one in a college in the northeast. Visits will help determing where your D feels she fits in the campus and the student groups.

Some colleges are also evolving. Years ago, we knew some students at Elon when it was a small Christian college. We didn’t imagine it would evolve to be so diverse and a strong consideration for Jewish students, but it is. Some other colleges may be following that path as well.

Just as an FYI, Israel dismantled all its settlements and withdrew from Gaza 10 years ago.

@rockvillemom I know this is not what you want your thread to be about. Maybe we can start a new thread called “antisemitism on campus” and the moderaor can move the related posts in this thread to the new thread.

jewelbelle - hello and welcome - glad you have found us. Recent events on our nation’s campuses have made it even more critical for Jewish families to investigate thoroughly. When I started this thread several years ago - I was more focused on Jewish population, Jewish activities and a basic comfort level on campus. Now it’s those topics, plus the political climate for Jewish students and the rise in anti-Semitism and how any such incidents are handled by the administration. Troubling times indeed.

The recent trends make me very sad. I started the college search looking for colleges where my kids would have a diverse friend group, and that this group included peers where they could have a Jewish community and a “home” for holidays. Safety- from harrassment or exclusion at least- was not a concern. I’m all for free speech. I think a multitude of ideas should be present. However, when I was in college, I didn’t have to deal with having the Jewish fraternities, Chabad or Hillel house defaced with swastikkas, the administration participating in boycott, my meetings disrupted, a menorah knocked over. I would prefer that a college administration not take sides in a controversial issue that could result in one group not feeling that they belong there. The college can manage investments however they choose without making it into a political statement or be influenced by student politics. At most campuses, Jewish students are a smaller number and may not have as large a voice in student governments. The way the Jewish candidate for a college group position was treated at UCLA is really shocking to me.

Disagreement between students is one thing, it has always been there, however, when I read about these kinds of actions, it is heartbreaking.

@WHSalumDad how about Quinnipiac in Conneticut (nice amount of Jewish students, and ice hockey), beautiful campus too? They do a rolling admission and you can get an acceptance under your belt early September which is a great feeling, they are also pretty generous with merit aid for a B student. University of Vermont could also work, and Union in upstate NY might fit the bill too?

FYI, this has been a very informative facebook group dedicated to investigating, documenting, educating about, and combating anti-Semitism on colleges and universities
 https://www.facebook.com/AMCHAInitiative?fref=nf

Thank you for sharing that. Here’s another link:

http://www.amchainitiative.org/