The Rise and Fall of Jews on Campus

Key Findings:

This article examines the evolution of American college campuses’ values and practices from the late 1960s to today. 

Following the Civil Rights Movement, universities were pressured to adopt more inclusive and merit-based systems. In addition to benefiting Black students, this shift to liberal values greatly benefitted Jewish students who were victims of exclusionary practices at universities, apartment buildings, country clubs and several industries. Meritocratic practices at elite universities helped shape them into the best in the world, and diversified their student body and faculty. 

The liberal values that once positively transformed universities have been “overgrown” and replaced with identity politics and other forms of discrimination. Identity politics serve to devalue equal treatment and instead operate based on an “oppressed” and “oppressor” mentality. The guilt-ridden acceptance of these progressive ideologies from the universities shifted the admissions and hiring processes, marking a departure from merit-based practices and instead focused on accepting individuals from underrepresented groups. When these forms of positive racial discrimination were outlawed in 1978, universities continued their methods covertly. 

Thomas Sowell of The Economist argues that racial preferences that rejected meritocratic practices actually served as a detriment to its beneficiaries, as many students did not finish their respective programs and eventually dropped out or switched out of them. Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard in 2023 put an end to these practices, yet resistance on campuses persists. 

This shift from liberal values to progressive ones has greatly harmed Jewish students on campus in recent years. The expression of anti-Israel bias on campus is directly linked to progressive values, and has served to create an unsafe environment for Jewish students that goes unchecked by administrators and faculty. A campus that fosters an “oppressed” and “oppressor” environment is an unsafe one, and fails to uphold the right to free speech. In addition, the departure from meritocratic values has contributed to a decline in admission of Jewish students. 

Peaceful pushback such as withholding donations and pursuing legal action against harassment is crucial in the effort to restore the liberal values of higher education, as well as ensuring the safety of Jewish students on campus.