Yesterday, the ADL came out with a “report card” where they grade several schools on Anti-Semitism on campus. It’s a great service for Jewish families whose college searches have really been thrown for a loop this year.
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I also wanted to include this article from CNN for context
Thanks for posting.
To any Jewish parents, does this give you pause? There are a lot of elite or high pedigree schools not making the grade.
Of course, the criteria will matter too - what are they evaluating, etc,
There are several different factors wrapped up in each “grade.”
For example my child’s school, UC Berkeley, received an overall “D” (link) apparently due to many hostile incidents and student groups on campus, but also received many positive marks for “Publicly Disclosed Administrative Actions and Policies” and “Jewish Student Life on Campus” (which is indeed strong; we have a wonderful Hillel that, as far as I can tell, has been doing a great job of both supporting students, and making space for the range of Jewish student perspectives in this school community).
Looking at this details page would give parents and students a better sense of what they might expect at each university, rather than just the “grade.”
Students and their parents should consider what factors are important to them.
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I agree that the grading system isn’t helpful. I follow Hillel and Chabad at many schools and the notion that the situation at UNC (F) is worse than Columbia (D) seems just wrong. I need to dive in more to the methodology. Vandy, while in the news over the past few weeks, has done an amazing job administration-wise. I believe they get a C in this study. UVA also gets an F.
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Only 2 schools got an A. And the difference between A and B seems to be that the latter had “Recent Anti-Zionist Student Government Activity”? A school has no control over whether such an activity/protest takes place - only what it does about it. Or am I misreading the grading methodology?
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Vehi sheamdah. In every generation…
There is nothing new under the sun. We have to realize that the relatively brief respite in institutional antisemitism after the Holocaust is most definitively over.
It is still very possible for a Jewish student to attend these schools. They just have to keep their heads down, not wear anything that identifies them as Jews, and realize who their antisemitic classmates are. My kid is finishing up this way. Or they can stand up for themselves and other Jews, by peaceful counter demonstrations that effectively show just exactly what it is that the pro-Hamas demonstrators are calling for. My kid does not choose to do this, chooses instead to focus on their education. I don’t know whether I would have discouraged them from starting there, under these circumstances, but the schools that are allowing antisemitic disruptions are also schools that offer certain educational advantages. I just would have made damned sure that my kid understood what they could be facing. And besides, who knows whether the schools that have discouraged antisemitic demonstrations (or haven’t yet had to deal with them) will be different by next year?
So I guess that I would just allow my kid to make their own decision, as long as it was an informed decision.
I’m very glad that I don’t have a senior this year. I fully expect that graduation ceremonies will be disrupted by antisemitic demonstrations, since most schools have not taken any serious action as of yet against past disruptors.
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Exactly. I see many schools with higher “grades” than UCB (for example) that have lower ratings that relate to the university’s own policies and strength of Jewish life, but simply don’t have as much protesting going on.
However, some students and families may specifically want to avoid schools with a lot of anti-Israel protesting that may border on (or veer into) antisemitism, and might not care quite as much about Jewish life or specific university policies. Or they may be looking for one of the (few) schools with high ratings on every section. It is up to the student what they are looking for. They may find value from this resource if they look into the details.
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My daughter goes to Brandeis, which is one of only 2 schools with an A rating. It’s really been a gift that she hasn’t had to worry about any of this. She’s just been able to focus on having a fun first year of college.
I don’t know if it matters that the ratings are not an exact science, but I think an F school means that your kid has to spend a lot of their mental energy worrying about all of this.
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And that may be an issue at these schools for non-Jewish students as well.
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The two schools my d24 is deciding between are not listed, at all. So, not a helpful tool for this Jewish parent.
I would take some of those grades with a grain of salt. If you’re not hearing about the the school in the news or on CSPAN or on Twitter or in every group asking you to send emails, please talk to actual students, the Hillels, and the Chabads.
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I think it’s a good thing that they aren’t listed, because it probably means that there hasn’t been enough trouble to make the news. Are they schools with small Jewish communities?
But I was told on CC that none of it was anti-semitism unless it was proven and prosecuted.
You might want to consult with the rabbis or presidents of Hillel at the identified schools, some of whom find the listing absurd. Only if you want first hand information.
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This complaint had an interesting twist:
“In the immediate aftermath of the Hamas terrorist attacks, the campus Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) chapter released a statement condoning the violence, stating “As Jews, we believe our faith, tradition and values teach us to support liberation, resistance against oppression, and self-determination for all people.””
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hmmmm - wow
Not sure I can give an opinion on the content of that statement outside of the politics forum. But I do think JVP is active at many schools, not just UCB.
Sorry, to clarify it was from the Georgetown rating.
They also said that Georgetown has Jewish Greek life, but Georgetown has no Greek life.
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Hmm. I wonder what counts as Jewish Greek life for the purpose of this rating system.
A Google search turned up this? https://www.georgetownaepi.org/