I was thinking when I read upthread about the noise inside the Gate, that Sather is extremely easy to avoid as the urban campus has dozens of other ways to enter campus from the Southside. Moreover, there are no academic buildings right side the Gate…But the walk-arounds are mostly for able-bodied people as some of the other entrances require stairs.
You could call it that. But the fact remains that the Jewish students wishing to join a variety of social justice clubs were routinely subject to political litmus tests just because of their Jewishness.
Here is a 2017 article in Haaretz, a left-wing Israeli newspaper that can sometimes make NYT seem like a bunch of neocons:
"If white people don’t get to tell people of color the right way to fight for liberation, if cis and straight people don’t get to tell queer folks which expressions of gender and sexuality are “appropriate,” then it follows that non-Jews don’t get to tell Jews what symbols and messages are in bounds and which are out of bounds.
Which raises the question: why are there litmus tests and special rules of entry for Jews into anti-oppression movements - requirements for Jews to be accepted in intersectional campaigns and a policing of what constitutes an acceptable Jewish identity - and not for any other group?"
Full text: https://archive.is/9mT9G
5 Likes
@Chekov There are similar litmus tests in other religions (ie gay marriage or abortion for Christian religions) but they are not manifested in the same ways as the Zionist question is being raised currently on college campuses.
I would also posit that there may be some exclusion taking place in the other direction as non-Zionist Jews “feel” excluded by traditional Jewish spaces like Hillel. (Quotations used because there is a difference between feeling excluded and actually being excluded.)
Non-Zionist/pro-Palestine Jewish students certainly “feel” disregarded and silenced by college administrations, that much is pretty clear.
The President is Catholic. Pretty sure his political views would disqualify him from membership in those clubs. Same with former President, also not Jewish.
Pretty sure some Jewish students would be welcomed if their political views align. If not, why join?
1 Like
I think in excluding the Jewish students the excluders are, in a way, betraying a more nuanced understanding of Jewishness as more than a merely religious identity.
Contrary to what may be a predominant belief in the most religious developed nation in the world that is the US, “Jewish atheist” is not an oxymoron.
2 Likes
Get back on track please. Simply including a college name in the post does not make it on-topic.
2 Likes
i’m not sure the South African apartheid sit-ins at UCB are really the same thing as what we are seeing now. For one thing, I don’t imagine there was much of a divide among the student populations as to what was right and wrong. everyone was on the same side, right?
today’s situation seems different in that there is so much split and division, not to mention internal conflicts in many students’ souls.
3 Likes
@billythegoldfish Absolutely. But there was conflict between the admin and the students and it did disrupt normal campus activity. But I agree that there are some important differences here.
2 Likes
Well, here is the response which acknowledges that using this sound is prohibited but for some reason being allowed in this case: “Christ plans to re-examine current procedures surrounding political protests and propose revisions if necessary, noting in the email that current regulations around campus political protests prohibit any attachments to Sather Gate or amplified sound in the surrounding area.”
What approach? Completely ignoring the rules? Yes that seems like a poor decision. He could start by enforcing those regulations. The fact that the University has elected to ignore them, are capitulating by entertaining negotiations with them and are allowing the protestors to violate them, disrupt the campus and negatively affect current students is pretty disappointing even if it’s not surprising.
noting in the email that current regulations around campus political protests prohibit any attachments to Sather Gate or amplified sound in the surrounding area.
“In anticipation of what are likely to be frequent political protests, I am not sure our approach to our current time, place, and manner rules, particularly about the Gate, are serving us well,” Christ said in the email.
1 Like
Dr. Christ is 80 years old, likely stressed out and likely a liberal. Why would you be disappointed or surprised by her befuddlement and inaction at the violations of campus regulations by students and faculty with whom she likely agrees in ideology, and would be afraid to oppose regardless for fear of putting herself in physical danger?
Regulations, policies, etc. matter little. Personnel is what matters.
So they are going to monitor and negotiate maybe with the rule breaking protestors
Wow that’s the excuse? Because she’s an old stressed out treehugger she gets a pass? She should enforce the rules and regulations because that’s what leaders do. She leads a world class university. Leaders make the hard decisions, they enforce the rules even if they sympathize with the violators. If she’s not up to it maybe she needs to resign and let someone younger, more resilient and capable take charge.
3 Likes
She is actually retiring, this coming June (it was announced last June).
1 Like
I’m not excusing her. I just believe in seeing the world as it is, not as I’d like it to be.
Unless Berkeley, Harvard et al. hire clones of Ben Sasse to lead them, nothing much will change.
2 Likes
Are Junior and Senior HS parents still using the Brandeis study as a guide? Much to my son’s dismay, we’ve removed several of his favorite schools off the list.
To what Brandeis study are you referring?
Fascinating. Thank you. I wish there were a way to expand the study to many more universities.
Yes, the Chancellor is pushing 80, but she certainly is not stressed out or befuddled. Still extremely sharp, and is one of the best Chancellors Cal has had in years. (She’s retiring at the end of the academic year.) That said, she is liberal and the faculty/Admin are Progressive, so enforcing rules against a perceived ‘oppressed’ group is gonna be difficult for anyone in that role.
Money also matters. Unlike a top private Uni, which can afford to hire plenty of extra security with its endowment, a public campus like Cal has to selectively choose how/when to spend on campus cops, particularly if a controversial speaker has been invited. It takes a lot of bodies & OT to ‘shut it down’. Take those extra costs from tuition? From the Progressive legislature?