Now and then, it’s necessary to revisit the scourge of illiberal insanity afflicting higher education. The stories of campus craziness have once again reached a critical mass, so here’s the latest.
At George Washington University (GW), antisemitism has once more triumphed as the school let members of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) off the hook for hanging posters that read “Zionists F*** Off” on school grounds. As unfortunate as this may be, it’s nothing new for the GW administration, which stood idly by as SJP protested outside the campus center for Jewish life during the high holidays calling for reviving the intifadas.
Sadly, campus antisemitism isn’t unique to GW. After months of Jews being subjected to a hostile academic environment, the Department of Education finally opened an investigation into Berkeley Law. It’s about time. The school has been dealing with this issue for months, and nothing’s been done. Meanwhile, on the other side of the San Francisco Bay, students at Stanford can no longer be exposed to innocuous words and phrases in official school documents lest they risk falling victim to a micro-aggression.
At least we know where academia’s priorities lie. Descriptors like “American” and phrases such as “to beat a dead horse” are beyond the pale, but actual instances of prejudice against a much-maligned religious minority can be tolerated. It makes perfect sense if you suspend all critical thinking for four years and allow it to atrophy, which now appears to be higher education’s chief pedagogical objective.