Where is @Pizzagirl going? :-/ It’s not apparent to me but maybe I’m too dense.
@pittsburghscribe I think the OP is calling your characterization of the alleged Jewish culture at Emory and other schools as anti-Semitism.
“Does anyone else dislike where @Pizzagirl is going with their comment about how many elite schools have Jewish presidents?”
I’m Jewish. Nice try, but no, I’m not veering anywhere near any “Jews secretly control …” territory. I’m simply challenging the OP’s assertion that a large Jewish population / presence is associated with “undesirability.” As mentioned earlier, many elite schools have ~25% Jewish students. We looked for Jewish presence as a consideration in our kids’ schools. My/H/S’s alma mater, Northwestern, has somewhere in the neighborhood of 25% Jewish students and a Jewish president and hey, they’ve only got more kids banging at their doors. I already know that the vast majority of elite schools have a substantially higher than average J population; I was simply wondering how many of them also have (or have recently had) a J president. I’m confident the number will be reasonably high.
I accept your apology 
Doschicos, I think the poster thought I was heading towards “a secret cabal of Jews dominate …” akin to how Jews are perceived as controlling banking, Hollywood, media.
TBH I’ve never heard this view and it seems like others haven’t, either–and it seems to be more of your own view than a general one, which I hope it’s not. Just my two cents
There are multiple issues here but no a Jewish population does not diminish a school.
Someone above pointed out Harvard’s Jewish population is very high.
The real issues are :
-
Perpetual desire for humans to be with others who are compatible in some ways.
That can be color, religion, political beliefs, hobbies, sexual orientation etc.
Personally as a non-Catholic, yes I would have a tough time rationalizing that it’s
OK for my kid to go to a school like Georgetown, where they have a picture of a priest
on their website speaking to the kids. Just not going to feel comfortable, but I am not
prejudiced against Catholics. Will meet and befriend them at most colleges.
A kid may or many not feel comfortable to be the only black kid in a mostly white college.
Does that make them racist against whites if they go to a black college ? No. -
Temporary fashionable racism does exist. Years ago some Catholics were and more
recently some Muslims are taught negative stereotypes against Jews in religious schools.
Hopefully someday religious leaders will all teach us to all love or at least respect one another.
Wow, you’ve actually “befriended” Catholics?! We ARE making progress…
Oh, and that would be a ‘Jesuit’ priest “speaking to the kids”, and what he would be telling them would most likely be in the academic realm, not the religious one.
Personally I would have had zero issue sending my kid to Georgetown. Absolutely zero.
@Hanna did once [url=http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/18416978#Comment_18416978]write[/url] that most white students would not want to attend a college where white students are not the majority, although the preference is usually not stated and usually not outwardly visible.
In contrast, a substantial percentage of black and other non-white students do attend colleges where their racial/ethnic group is not the majority.
Not college related but a few years ago, during a “welcome to the neighborhood” conversation with a new neighbor, I got a “Too many Asians in our old neighborhood now, it made the school really type A and my son hated it” Maybe some are intimidated by the academic intensity of certain ethnic groups?
Re: #53
Perhaps you are referring to something similar to what this article claims (complete with various common stereotypes)?
http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB113236377590902105
“I think the OP is calling your characterization of the alleged Jewish culture at Emory and other schools as anti-Semitism.”
Perhaps, but I think if he/she is, it’s a misunderstanding. As I said, I am Jewish, and I’m certainly not anti-semitic. My DS wouldn’t want to go to a yeshiva, nor would I want him to, because of its homogeneity, not because of anti-semitism. He is interested in Emory and we haven’t visited yet, so it may be a great fit. If, however, the students are culturally too different from his tastes, regardless of their region, it might not work for him. Jewish student culture at one school may be very different than at another and a student might feel more or less comfortable.
My DS also wasn’t interested in UNC because it has such a high percentage of in-state students. No, he’s not prejudiced against North Carolinians. He just wants a school with a mix of students. He’s also not looking at any school with an insufficient number of black students because he wants a school that is racially diverse. (I think he won’t be applying to Georgetown because they have their own application and require three SAT 2s; for me, the priest speaking to the kids doesn’t bother me, but I personally find the images of Jesus on the cross visually disturbing – to each his own).
I do think sometimes the pro Palestinian movement on some campuses has ventured into anti-semitism, but that’s a different issue.
^^^ - second that – although…they ARE somewhat less pampered that way…tsk, tsk, the poor dears.
One thing I have seen on CC countless time is the suggestion of “Brandeis, if you’re Jewish” on college search threads. This is a comment that implies that if the student isn’t Jewish, they solely for that reason shouldn’t or wouldn’t want to go to Brandeis. Considering Brandeis, as others have already mentioned, is non-sectarian and less than 50% Jewish, that’s a pretty odd thing to say. Sure, there’s a larger percentage of Jews at Brandeis than some non-Jewish kids might be used to. But would anyone ever suggest to Jewish kids that they wouldn’t want to go to the 95% percent of Americans universities that have a large WASP majority?
If the phenomenon OP is describing is completely non-existent, how do you explain the Brandeis comment and others like it?
Maybe people don’t know that Brandeis is less than 50% Jewish?
“@rjkofnovi – those who fail to learn history… Older perspectives are critical to understanding how discrimination develops and what programs work or don’t work to address these important societal issues.”
You presented an article that was almost fifteen years old and applied it to a current topic as if it just happened.
I knew that despite my comments about people getting along fine, someone would jump on my comments
Most of the comments about specific schools are just self selection of a school they perceive to have more people “like them” by whatever way one defines themselves. There are other sites where you can find racist rants,
don’t think so here.
I do have a problem with any school that has clergy running the school, Jewish, Catholic or other.
Separation of church and state is being attacked in this country, not going to support religion and education ties.
I know most private schools started out with religious affiliations, but many have shed them for secular leadership.
I myself graduated from a school founded by Methodists, in the 1800s, but by the time I attended there was absolutely no indication of any impact by any religion on the school’s operations. Not sending my kids to Liberty U nor Yeshiva U.
Georgetown may or may not be in that category, but the priest on the website made me feel uncomfortable.
And if some are uncomfortable going to Brandeis or Emory, that’s OK with me, as long as they are not hate mongers.
I don’t hate Jesuits, but I would not want to attend (nor send my kids). So I can’t harbor ill will against those who
wouldn’t want to attend a heavily Jewish school either. Natural human emotion to want to be with others who have
similar interests, whatever your interests. Healthy to meet those that are different from you as well, which
is why I would not want Yeshiva/Liberty extreme either. To each his own, I have friends who went to ultra religious
institutions and that is fine for them, not for me or my kids.
Funny story about Brandeis, a HS varsity coach told my kid “you could play at a college like Brandeis”.
Was not 100% sure if this was a compliment, criticism, and/or racism, or all 3 wrapped together,
but who cares. My kid chose a college with almost nobody of our religion…and a better team
We’ll see how that goes…
@blevine I enjoy reading your comments but your formatting makes it a bit challenging.
“I do have a problem with any school that has clergy running the school, Jewish, Catholic or other.
Separation of church and state is being attacked in this country, not going to support religion and education ties.”
A private college (or high school or elementary school for that matter) run by a particular religious faith / clergy is not a violation of separation of church and state. I wouldn’t send my kids to Liberty U for all the tea in China, but their existence isn’t a violation of the principle of separation of church and state. Or did I miss something in your reasoning?
I think some posters are being too hard on the OP. There is no doubt in my mind that many people consider a large Jewish population a perfectly legitimate reason to strike a school off their lists. It’s sad, but it’s certainly true among some families I know. I hear “Jew-Penn,” “Jew-Lane,” etc. often.
My HS has a huge number of Jewish students. I’ll admit that, as a Catholic, it’s been occasionally uncomfortable, if only because many of my classmates are completely unfamiliar with my faith and make unintentionally ignorant comments. I’ve loved aspects of my HS, especially the many Jewish friends I’ve made, but I will say that it might be nice to go to a college with a larger Catholic population, so as not to feel like the odd one out anymore.