<p>Go to University of Illinois. The student will feel right at home there.</p>
<p><a href=“De-hired Professor Steven Salaita Is a University’s Worst Nightmare – The Forward”>De-hired Professor Steven Salaita Is a University’s Worst Nightmare – The Forward;
<p>I have a friend who graduated from Vassar in the early 1980s, and he says he did not face anti-Semitism at that time. Not sure, but I am almost certain that the poster jym626 quotes is talking about PRESENT DAY Vassar. If I were a student at Vassar today, I would have felt very uncomfortable being on a campus with an active and in-your-face SJP chapter that posts anti-Semitic Nazi-era literature with impunity. Anti-Israel apartheid week, with the SJP hanging posters demonizing Israel all over campus, even in dorms, must have been very upsetting to pro-Israel Jewish students. The student who posted hate literature on behalf of Vassar’s SJP chapter should have been publicly identified and expelled. It would have sent an important message that hatred is not tolerated at Vassar. The rest of SJP should have been severely chastised for ignoring the posts for several days. (It defies belief that no one noticed.) Yeah, the New York Daily News is not exactly a high end newspaper, but no one is challenging them by saying they got their facts wrong, and the president of Vassar admitted that Vassar’s SJP chapter posted anti-Semitic graphics. The SJP should face the same consequences a Jewish pro-Israel group would have faced had it had posted hate literature all over campus. So what if someone joined CC to write a particular post and then left the forum? That doesn’t mean that what that person wrote isn’t true. Moreover, just as jym626 is suspicious of someone who posts one comment and never posts again, I am suspicious of “professional” CC posters who post thousands and thousands of posts and seem to think their role is to defend colleges no matter what happens. </p>
<p>There is a difference between freedom of expression and harrassment. We don’t know the whole story of the U of Illinois professor. The article mentioned the content of his twitter posts- the way he expressed his opinion as raising concern about him. </p>
<p>I also think that the experiences of students decades ago at any university is not the same as today. </p>
<p>I don’t see a problem discussing these issues if they are happening. I think students should feel safe at their colleges. This doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be exposed to dissenting opinions. However, there is a difference between civil discussion and harrassement.</p>
<p>No one college is the best one for all students. Fortunately, we have choices. </p>
<p>This may help clarify some things and will perhaps will assuage the “suspiciousness” of some here, who seem to have a history of taking swipes at Vassar in several threads. Well, whatever floats your boat, I suppose. <a href=“Campus discourse continues to be strong – The Miscellany News”>The Miscellany News;
<p>^^
Coincidentally, Nosering didn’t disparage Vassar until after his daughter was rejected.</p>
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<p>Huh? Six out of ten admitted students turned down Williams, Amherst, Middlebury. Half turned down Dartmouth, Cornell. Four out of ten turned down Yale, Brown, Princeton and Penn. What’s your point?</p>
<p>Last year, Vassar received negative publicity in the WSJ, the NY Daily News, and in numerous blogs because of anti-Semitism on campus that culminated with the Vassar SJP students brazenly posting grotesque anti-Semitic graphics on social media. This is something that concerns me deeply and is something I do not want to see spread to other schools. Of course under such circumstances and as a pro-Israel and pro-two state solution, Jewish parent, I am glad my daughter was not admitted to Vassar and was not on campus last year. My daughter was in a tranquil setting at a highly ranked college where she could focus on her studies and extra-curricular activities. She would have been miserable at Vassar last year and would have felt very vulnerable. I don’t think she has as strong a backbone as twoboys2’s son. </p>
<p>I am delighted to learn that the Vassar campus has been quiet so far this year, not because of any love for Vassar on my part, but because of the rise of anti-Semitism throughout the world. Nevertheless, I am not holding my breath. It is still the beginning of the school year. I also think it is important to spread the word that Vassar was ground zero for the SJP last year. Pro-Israel Jewish students thinking of applying to Vassar are entitled to this information, and many receive their information on such matters on CC. It’s up to Vassar to show by example that the college is successfully tackling the problems. I want to see action, not words. So far, I trust twoboys2’s posts and no one else’s. I hope we hear back from him,her, especially during “Israel Apartheid Week”. He/she seems to be the voice of reason. Last year, Vassar hosted several anti-Semitic speakers. I hope twoboy2 will keep us informed about such events on campus this year, because I do not know if any major newspapers will carry stories about Vassar this year. Is Vassar still hosting anti-Zionist speakers, or is the college counter-balancing all the negativity from last year by inviting some pro-Israel ones this year? Perhaps twoboys2 can ask her son and report back.</p>
<p>twoboys2, would you kindly do that? I just looked at the Vassar calendar but do not see any lectures of note.</p>
<p>We visited the Vassar Student Center at 5pm last Saturday and the Shabbat dinner table settings were beautifully set up on a table in a prominent place in the Student Center. Since we are not Jewish, I checked with a Jewish friend who explained what the Shabbat table was about - she said the meal is served after sunset on the Sabbath. Because I have been following this thread, when I saw the Shabbat table set up in the Student Center on Saturday, I thought it was important that I share what I saw with you. </p>
<p>This thread degenerated into members simply hurling insults at each other. I removed those posts. Closed.</p>