The Young Republicans was the biggest club on campus when I graduated. Giant “Reagan” signs hung out on Frat Row. I’ve always thought that Cal’s reputation as a hotbed of liberalism was undeserved past, say, 1970.
Then (and presumably now), there were some noisy activists who made a lot more noise than their numbers.
UCB’s students should be expected to lean left (in comparison to the overall US population) because most tend to be of the age that typically leans left (i.e. like most college students), most come from generally left-leaning California, and its undergraduates are majority-minority (only 28% of domestic undergraduates are white; non-white people tend to lean left). But leaning left does not necessarily mean noisy activism.
^^ Is California really so left leaning? San Francisco for sure is, but I thought much of the rest of the state was pretty conservative, with some very conservative pockets. I’m assuming left leaning means liberal, or am I wrong?
It’s all fine when the discord is limited to discussing government and organizational policies and where the * civil * discussion is limited to the venues in which it is intended. Healthy debate is good and it’s important to hear different voices.
What @MurphyBrown posted above underscores the fact that anti-Semitism doesn’t neatly confine itself to prescribed categories and “noisy activism” isn’t confined to particular venues.
@myjanda, the UCs have had their share of issues with the Israel-Palestine conflict. I don’t know whether it’s a matter of being liberal/left leaning or something else, but it’s disturbing. I’m providing examples regarding UCLA but there have been issues at all the campuses, some more serious than others. I, personally, would not be comfortable sending my child to one of these otherwise excellent schools. YMMV.
Most recently:
http://dailybruin.com/2016/09/01/former-gsa-president-to-leave-ucla-finish-law-school-at-nyu/
Before that:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/06/us/debate-on-a-jewish-student-at-ucla.html?_r=0
@myjanda, California as a state is uniquely liberal, with some of the nation’s most progressive policies regarding workers rights, healthcare and now retirement! Of course it has its conservative pockets as well, and not everyone is happy with its liberalism.
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-meyerson-why-calif-is-so-blue-20150821-story.html
While there are places in California that are conservative, the state as a whole now votes solidly with the Democratic party. All partisan statewide elected offices (governor, lieutenant governor, etc.) and both US senate seats are currently held by Democrats. Democrats hold a 52-28 majority in the state assembly and a 26-13 majority in the state senate (despite the fact that districts are now drawn by an independent commission, meaning that they are less gerrymandered than they would be if they were drawn by the legislature). After the jungle primary (where the top two vote getters, regardless of party, advance to the general election), the general election for US senator will be between two Democrats.
More noisy political activists who make a lot more noise than their numbers. Due to the apathetic nature of most students, anyone getting into any kind of political activity needs to have a thick skin because noisy (and often nasty) political activists will try to dominate the political scene.
Thanks for the clarification on California’s politics. I know it has had a reputation as being liberal but I’ve also seen many mention of some vary conservative pockets - sometimes large swaths of the state, so wasn’t sure if the state as a whole was really considered liberal, which it obvious is. I’m from Massachusetts though, so I may have a different view of liberal and left (our republican governor is to the left of many democrats in other states. 
Note that California’s population is now under 40% NH white, who are no longer even the largest racial/ethnic group (Latinos are the largest). The demographic transition in the 1990s resulted in a conservative backlash which the state Republican party bet on, resulting in some short term success, but long term marginalization of itself (being seen as a party of and for white people in a state that no longer has that many white people is not a recipe for success). We may be seeing this type of thing nationally now.
The Republicans lost California when Gov Pete Wilson backed Prop 187. After that, it’s been solidly Democrat in national election and in its senate choices.
MODERATOR’S NOTE:
As the OP’s concerns seems have been allayed and the discussion has turned to CA politics, the time has come to close this thread.