My daughter’s diversity essays (grad school) had little to do with her Jewish religion or anything else personal to her.
She wrote about what she has learned while working in underserved communities, title 1 schools, DEI committees, etc and how she can best support these communities.
100%! If it’s a school that doesn’t value that, it’s not a school you want to go to
that’s your daughter. OP was asking a different question
True. I directly answered the question in my other posts and was just adding to a comment made by compmom, which was on the same topic. That happens during conversations.
Unfortunately, many kids grapple with embracing their religion at college - whether it be Christianity, Judaism or anything else. It’s too bad. Colleges should be a place that values religious freedom and religious diversity.
Disagree. High school kids do not all need to be researching and serving on DEI committees. The whole point of “diversity” is to celebrate all the differences in the student body. Kids should share what are the things about them that make them unique. Lots of kids do volunteer and community service and it may not all be “diversity” related. My son has volunteered hundreds of hours doing river restoration and trail maintenance and has taught wilderness survival. He has a unique perspective that others might not have. Real diversity is having people who are different, not everyone doing the same thing. If someone was fluent in multiple languages, that would be worth writing about. If someone has a pilot’s license, that would be worth writing about. on and on
I understand what you are saying and do not disagree, but I also agree with what compmom wrote about this specific topic. I agree that it is not realistic for most HS students to serve on DEI committees, but of course some might, and they may choose to write about it.
HS students can, and often do, volunteer in/for underserved communities (organizations that help the homeless, food pantries, tutoring etc). If they are required to write a diversity essay for a scholarship (for example) they can certainly write about what they learned and how they will use these skills/knowledge to help support local communities. That is one way to approach a diversity essay.
Writing about Judaism is another way to approach these essays, as is writing about being fluent in multiple languages or having a unique perspective, as you mentioned.
But to answer the original question (again), if being Jewish was something that my child chose to write about, I would be fine with it.
Well… I tried to say it quietly in my first post because those not affected by both this war and antisemitism will not see what is being asked, but I will now shout so those in the back can hear it.
SOME SCHOOLS ARE NOT ONLY OVERLOOKING ANTISEMITISM AT THIS TIME, THEY ARE CONTRIBUTING TO IT.
NO ONE is asking schools to shut down free speech. NO ONE is dancing in the streets at the loss of Palestinian lives. They ARE asking schools to address antisemitism.
IT’s not about identification right now as much as it is about safety.
Your child is applying to colleges you and she think are unsafe? You are concerned the AO or admissions commitee which reads the essay would endanger her? Or might improperly share the info with others? Or target her after admission, or just not admit her? I am trying to figure how why the essay itself worries you; it seems like there should be 2 separate concerns: 1) is she comfortable as a student on campus and 2) would admissions hold her religion against her in applying. Question 1 is personal but question 2 seems highly unlikely.
I’m not the OP of the post.
Oh, sorry about that
@SoCal92780 for some reason I thought this was for grad school. Many different activities can address diversity, including, no doubt, what your son has done. And of course it’s fine to volunteer in non-diversity related activities but the question was about a diversity statement.
I think this thread could veer into territory for the political forum. People are being punished for speaking out against the war. That does not reflect at all on Jewish students.
OP hasn’t come back after asking this question.
Do you know Jewish students on campus? Many are speaking out that they are not feeling safe and hate crimes against Jews are up 400%
Students chased into a library at Cooper Union
Threats to kill all Jews at Cornell
Swastikas at Columbia
Physical violence at Tulane
Speaking out against a war where many innocent people are dying (and I’ll keep those political comments at bay) is not the problem and I don’t see anyone shutting down that free speech. Calling for the death of Jews, violence and chanting “From the river to the sea” or calling terrorists that killed more than 1,400 and are holding 240 people hostage INCLUDING 6 MEMBERS OF MY FAMILY martyrs is outright antisemitism. Unfortunately, that’s not really being shut down many places either. And THIS (not to speak for the OP, but speaking for Jews in general) is why the OP is asking a question that many Jews are wondering.
Here is the question being asked:
Would you let your child identify as Jewish in their diversity essay?
Let’s confine answers to the question asked. Let’s not go into tangents like where colleges promote antisemitism or asking if another user knows any Jews or whether one should write about helping the homeless. All are fine topics, but most are covered in other threads.
Further OT posts, including any posts that answer the original question in a word, but then have 12 paragraphs on something unrelated, will be subject to deletion without comment.
@DadOfJerseyGirl I am back. I wanted to wait to see what people had to say.
Well we have decided not to include it. I appreciate all the responses.
It would never occur to me to suggest a student not write about this if they feel their Jewishness is a diverse aspect of themselves. I can’t count how many of my students have referenced something in regards to their Jewish ethnicity or religion in their personal statements. My students have done very well with college admissions at all kinds of colleges.
I agree with everyone else who says if the college won’t accept a student based on an essay, the student should be glad they weren’t accepted there.
That makes me sad unless it isn’t a large portion of who they are.
People shouldn’t need to hide and it’s unfortunate that you feel you need to - if that’s what is happening.