In retrospect, three decades ago I think Brandeis University knew before I did that I would be going there. They sent me mail, and I threw it away; kudos to them for not giving up on me. In those days before the internet and everything else, we’d buy these heavy college guides and read them, trying to glean little nuggets of insight about them from afar. I remember reading about Brandeis and reading the quote, “Every guy I know here plays basketball all the time.” That sounded very OK to me.

I wouldn’t say that was the most compelling reason for me to choose Brandeis, but it wasn’t not a factor. I did also enjoy the fact that half of the people I ran into there were like half a degree of separation from me thanks to Jewish geography, that it was super close to my hometown, and, well, that it seemed like a logical and easy choice when it came down to it. The aid package was also helpful.

My four years in Waltham featured a most-fortuitous encounter with my future wife, not really having any purpose in my academic studies, and a whole lot of hanging out in Gosman playing basketball, with regular run-ins with the Celtics who used to practice there. It was probably the perfect school for me, and I’ll always appreciate the years I spent there.

Fast forward more than 20 years, the first time we had a kid applying to college, we had a pandemic to deal with. You may remember it—it was called COVID. Somehow, though, he ended up at Brandeis, and it was the right choice. I want to be honest—he did not go for explicitly Jewish reasons, but after his first week he remarked to us, “You know, there are a lot of Jews here.” Yes, we know. And now he’s a senior majoring in chemistry and politics, is taking the LSAT, sits on the Hillel board, served as Masorti president, and is living his best life. Anyway.

Ironically, the second time we had a kid applying to college, wouldn’t you know it, we had another pandemic to deal with. You may have noticed that too—it was and is called antisemitism. 

Lucky us. Lucky them. Sorry, kiddos.

This year, the end of the spring semester and decision day for college-bound seniors coincided perfectly with a vigorous outbreak of incandescent antisemitism on campus. A partial list might include Hezbollah flags at Princeton University; kaffiyehs and walkouts at commencements; UCLA’s checkpoint to keep Jewish students from traveling across campus; illegal encampments manned by Emerson College undergrads; a Columbia University student saying, “Zionists don’t deserve to live,” and my personal favorite, a Harvard University professor making a scholarly argument that there is no Jewish connection the land of Israel (I mean, that’s not new, but come on).

The media ate this up with regular banners and breaking news pages breathlessly reporting on the latest campus protests. Get over it. There are 20 million or so students on campus, and it was a tiny percentage who got swept up in this nonsense. So a few thousand wanted to set up an encampment and do anti-Israel cosplay? Have at it—no need to turn them into martyrs, metro desks.

And while I expect all of this to pick up again momentarily (as it just did at Columbia, where anti-Israel protests disrupted orientation this week), I have enjoyed the modicum of course correction recently.

  • Speaking of Columbia, which allowed and allows itself to be fully consumed by the mob, it has seen the resignation of its president and three deans, has zero Ramaz graduates enrolling for the first time ever, and millions of dollars of philanthropy have also walked out the door. All of this, of course, after the students who illegally occupied a campus building additionally protested that they didn’t get their meal plans delivered to the insurrection. Life lessons….
  • Not to be outdone, Emerson is shocked, shocked, I tell you, that after all the anti-Israel nonsense in and around campus, they’ve suffered some bad press and are having to make cuts.
  • NYU had to settle a lawsuit with students who alleged “pervasive acts of hatred, discrimination, harassment, and intimidation” while on campus.
  • After the debacle of not denouncing calls for genocide of Jews, even Harvard waved the white flag and will refrain from taking official positions on controversial public policy issues.
  • UCLA is in court, and deservedly so, for its failure to protect Jewish students, with an all-time quote from U.S. District Judge Mark C. Scarsi: “Jewish students were excluded from portions of the UCLA campus because they refused to denounce their faith. This fact is so unimaginable and so abhorrent to our constitutional guarantee of religious freedom.” I’d say good luck, but I wouldn’t actually mean it.
  • And, finally, on the BDS front, guess how many colleges and universities agreed to adopt BDS measures? Zero. 

On a more personal level, in the eye of this antisemitic hurricane, perhaps nothing made me happier and prouder than when our graduating senior decided not to go to a university where an encampment sprung up, was removed, and the commencement speaker then bailed in protest; he asked us if we thought things would get better and we, of course, jadedly said no. 

I appreciated his asking us, and sharing with us that it was a major factor in his decision.

I appreciated it even more when he decided to go to Brandeis instead to join his brother. 

They both moved in this week.

This post has been contributed by a third party. The opinions, facts and any media content are presented solely by the author, and JewishBoston assumes no responsibility for them. Want to add your voice to the conversation? Publish your own post here. MORE