<p>New York Times article, January 18, on Columbia's big news</p>
<p>Since there's no hiding from it anyway, might as well have it up here. </p>
<p>This topic just sucks. Damn it.</p>
<p>Well, it does seem that the issue is being blown slightly out of proportion. Most students, including pro-Israel students, stated that while they may have disagreed, they certainly didn't feel intimidated by the pro-Palestinian professors. As a prospective Jewish student, I'm not worried at all. It is evident that there is plenty of pro-Israel activity on campus, as evidenced by the uproar this has created.</p>
<p>I wonder how present antisemitism really is on campus. Do you think its presence can be felt, or do you think these actually are isolated incidents?</p>
<p>I highly doubt its presence can be felt. It's probably the opposite. But when the subject is brought up, opinions on this can be offensive. Consider how the other side feels. Both sides are in the same boat. Then there are people who aren't in any boat at all.</p>
<p>what you'll learn is that in new york, there are some people who at a moments hesitation will cry 'antisemetic!' it is a very powerful word, and if you want to take down a prof with it, you probably can. nyc has a very active and vocal jewish population, so dont worry, i would be surprised if there was an antisemetic atmosphere on campus.</p>
<p>Please. The student population at Columbia has to be 1/5 jewish. At least. Out of the ivies and ivy+ schools I'd say Columbia is probably one of the best regarding this. Huge population 1)its in new york 2) Jewish Theological Seminary is a Columbia affiliate and 3) You've got your own building (the Kraft center). All the other religious programs share Earl Hall and the Chapel.
I wouldn't worry. So long as you don't plan on being a MEALAC major. If you are, you're pretty much screwed no matter where you go. Except maybe Yeshiva...</p>
<p>yea, and seriously, the Jewish students don't have anything to complain about in the overall picture because the majority of Americans are pro-Israel anyway. look at our administration. our administration has always been pro-Israeli due to the heavy Israeli lobbying in Congress. perhaps Columbia is more fair towards both sides having equal weight for a change. keep in mind that Columbia is a place where ppl are actually thoroughly educated, too. I'd like to think most students at such a school don't listen to everything they hear on CNN, or especially FOX news, and hear what humanitarian problems Israel has too along with Palestine. The Western media (minus BBC) always favors Israel, give me a break. People who actually know what's going on in the region either still share the pro-Israel claim or they have different views: 1) they're pro-Palestinian or 2) they have sympathy for both Palestine and Israel.</p>
<p>I actually wrote my essay to Columbia on this issue, haha, I didn't know it was a big issue at Columbia when I wrote it. I actually present both views in my essay, essentially condemn the media, both sides see each other as terrorists, and conclude you can't help Israeli victims over Palestinian victims and vice versa. heh, should be interesting...</p>
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what you'll learn is that in new york, there are some people who at a moments hesitation will cry 'antisemetic!'
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</p>
<p>hahaha, oh that reminds me of that whole incident at my school last year...so silly</p>
<p>For anyone really interested in this, yesterday's Daily Spec online carried two very interesting student opinion pieces. One was written by a Jewish student defending one of the professors who is being accused, saying this student found the class educational and not discriminatory. The other was written by an orthodox Jewish student who has just returned from Israel and who called for forming a student group through which Jewish and Arab students could get to know each other better and overcome their mutual stereotypes. If such a group comes out of this debate, I think it's great.</p>
<p>Yeah, sac, that's good news. That would be some improvement and something productive to come out of this argument.</p>
<p>yeah lol zante... any new yorker would laugh at the thought of jewish ppl being intimidated and silenced in new york. yeah right! they got mad (at the basketball game) for jewish kids making fun of other jewish kids. lol. it was even in the ny times.</p>
<p>I know! And really, that incident says more about the power of influential people than about antisemitism. There was only an article in the times because the parent who got mad works in media and has crazy connections. In any case, we ditched their school as our rival and didn't even play homecoming with them.</p>
<p>oh dalton... i nearly went there. close one!</p>
<p>lol yea, it was weird, I really wanted to go there when I was applying to high schools. (I didn't end up applying) I'm glad neither of us went!</p>
<p>my ex boyfriend went to dalton (and wound up at yale)</p>
<p>Ooh an older man :)</p>
<p>i find this very scary, even though I've known about the middle east tensions on campus for some time. here's another article:</p>
<p>it's just...there's no excuse for the kind of anti-semitism that the Columbia professors (and Berkeley and other CA schools too) are allowed to practice without repercussions. It's really...well, terrible. Might as well just come out and call yourself a fascist, and then threaten to fail anyone who disagrees. (which has happened by the way, one person-- i forget what school-- disagreed with his prof's pro Palestinian views, and she told him she'd fail him if he didn't seek therapy...and then later she threatened to get his green card revoked)</p>
<p>the liberal intolerance for the other side completely goes against the reasonable exchange of ideas that I expect from college. And professors should be held to the highest of these standards. From the Princeton prof who supports euthanasia for babies and beastiality, to the Columbia prof that said we deserved what we got on 9/11...these people should face some sort of rebuke from the colleges if the colleges truly seek to establish a fair environment.</p>
<p>You mean it would be fair to revoke their Constitutional right to say what they wish?</p>
<p>That article strikes me as ridiculously biased in favor of Israel.</p>
<p>lol, another reason to not go there</p>