Dartlog: 09/22/2002 - 09/29/2002

The Dartmouth Review

Friday, September 27, 2002

Return Volley

This is my response to Mike Sevi's criticism of my criticism of Harvard's Summers' response to the recent revival of anti-Semitism.

I know about all of the incidents that Mike Sevi cites. I have been saying for a while that anti-Semitism is both on the rise (in Europe, particularly, but also here in America and, as I'm sure many of you are aware, Canada) and is increasingly shrouded in Leftist pieties.

All of what Mike Sevi says regarding the resurgence of anti-Semitism is true. But it is not related to my point.

The objectionable part of Summers' speech was not talking about any of this. He was, rather, declaring that the issue of the existence of a Jewish state is settled, and that saying anything to the contrary is prima facie anti-Semitic. That's what he said. That is, as I said, intellectual thuggery.

The point that, given recent anti-Jewish incidents, it comes as no surprise that Jews will suspect anti-Semitism to be lurking behind any strident criticism of Israel is well-taken, and understandable. But that does not justify any such easy equation, because at its heart -- if the critic is not anti-Semitic -- it's still invalid, no matter how understandable a mistake it is on the part of Jewish listeners. The case for Israel is strong enough that it doesn't need intellectual contortions to justify itself (this is, after all, what the Palestinians resort to).

Let's take someone who is opposed to Israel occupying the West Bank and Gaza, or even opposed to the very existence of Israel in Palestine: it is quite possible that that person sincerely believes this, in good faith, and that it is not an opinion informed by anti-Semitism.

The case to be made to such a person is: Israel does not "occupy" these lands as an aggressor (it was left holding the bag); they've had more of a chance for peace under the Israelis than under successive Arab governments; the Jews have a strong claim to at least parts of Palestine; etc. etc. etc.

The intellectually dishonest case to be made against such a person is: you're anti-Semitic.

(Incidentally, if the person is indeed motivated by anti-Semitism -- and a disturbing number of Israeli critics are -- then throw the moral book at 'em.)

Full post and comments below the fold.

Posted by Emmett at 5:37 PM (0 comments)

So, is this Racism?

The Daily Bruin reports on rejected nominees (who were white) to UCLA's student judiciary board:

The applicants - Mark Belgen, Maegen Clark, Michael Filipiak and Owen Paun - were rejected despite no objections to their skills for the positions.

"I'm kind of confused because all of them were considered qualified," [Students Association Council president] Dahle said.

Council members opposing the appointments did not challenge the applicants' qualifications, but recommended a process to include students of more varied backgrounds.

"Race and gender should be taken into consideration," said Cultural Affairs Commissioner Robbie Clark. "I would like newer people, but (the applicants) are qualified."

Full post and comments below the fold.

Posted by Andrew Grossman at 3:15 PM (0 comments)

Ding-dong the Witch is Dead

Today (or, more accurately, a few weeks ago) the bell tolls on the Women's Resource Center. After a brief conversation with former WRC director Giavanna Munafo, the Review has learned that the WRC is no more.

No, the Dean of the College, under whose auspices the WRC operated, didn't violently come to his senses. The program's just been renamed. What was the WRC is now the Center for Women and Gender.

"It's a soft roll-out right now," says Munafo, explaining why few on campus are yet aware of the change. "The message will be more distributed to campus in the fall." The Center's website has not yet been updated.

Fans of the Center's lascivious schedule need not worry that the new name portends a change in offerings. "It's just more accurately a reflection of what we do and what we've done," says Munafo. She named the Center's "Men's Project" as among its offerings that didn't quite fit beneath the former moniker.

Munafo also added that men have been welcome at "ninety-nine percent of [the WRC's] events."

Your reporter, having attended many, many WRC events, rarely, as a man, felt welcome at the WRC, especially when threatened with feminist-wielded office furniture. But maybe that's all changed by now.

Full post and comments below the fold.

Posted by Andrew Grossman at 1:42 PM (0 comments)

Fine, Let's

Mike Sevi '02 responds to Emmett's earlier posting on Harvard pres Larry Summer's anti-antisemitism speech:

First, you completely take President Summers' comments out of context (an easy way to start a debate). What he is talking about in that quote is the supposed decline of global anti-Semitism (which I believe can be more accurately termed anti-Jewishness or perhaps anti-Judaism) since the Holocaust. Without much thought, he had attributed it to the enlightenment of man and the progress of civilization only to be sadly mistaken when he finds that in the year 2002 Jewish synagogues are being vandalized, desecrated, and burnt to the ground in almost every major country in Europe. He then goes on to say that he's been forced to reevaluate his earlier belief in the death of Jew-hating. In his own words, "[T]oday, I am less complacent. Less complacent and comfortable because there is disturbing evidence of an upturn in anti-Semitism globally, and also because of some developments closer to home."

Second, I agree that crying "anti-Semitism" every time someone says something anti-Israel or harms a Jewish individual is ridiculous. But equally ridiculous is not recognizing as anti-Semitic what truly is, and when it comes to Israel, sadly, those who hate the Jewish State very often hate the Jewish people just as much.

Consider these words, which I initially wrote in response to a somewhat similar comment made by Desmond Tutu last year. A rougher form originally appeared in The Dartmouth on May 16, 2002:

"In his May 14 interview with The Dartmouth, 'Tutu Tells of Apartheid Struggle,' Desmond Tutu states that with regards to Israel, 'The minute you say something critical, they say you are anti-Semitic.'

This is quite an exaggeration, but it is true that sometimes the label 'anti-Semitic' is inappropriately applied. Other times, however, an intelligent person cannot help but notice that anti-Israel sentiments are either conflated with or used to mask anti-Jewish sentiments.

Look at what happened at a recent rally at San Francisco State University. While Jewish students rallied in support of Israel, pro-Palestinian demonstrators encircled them and proceeded to shout racist comments at the Jewish students. Many of the comments I would never repeat, but the tamer ones included, �Go back to Russia, Jew!� and �Hitler did not finish the job!�

After the rally ended, the mob tightly ringed-in the Jewish students and continued shouting racist remarks at them. Luckily, the campus police were close by, and they quickly intervened to safely escort the Jewish students away from the mob. The president of SFSU's official account of the incident includes many of the details I won't repeat and underscores my point: being anti-Israel and hating Jewish people are often two wings of the same bird.

In another case of this unfortunately common phenomenon, I point to that bastion of liberal values and openness, U.C. Berkeley. After several pro-Palestinian rallies, a brick was thrown through the window of Berkeley's Hillel, the center for Jewish life on campus. Later, the words �Hate Jews� were scrawled on the door of the Hillel. And finally, the son of the campus rabbi was beaten up on campus.

Next, let's look at the international scene, where Europe has taken an anti-Israel line recently. Along with the increase in support for the Palestinians has come a plethora of anti-Jewish attacks. In France alone, in just the first five months of this year, over 400 attacks on Jewish citizens, synagogues, schools and businesses have been reported. Similarly, Great Britain, Belgium and Denmark have all witnessed renewed anti-Jewish attacks on their soil. Is it sill any wonder why the Jewish people are put on guard when anti-Israel protesters passionately vilify the Jewish state?

The truth is that both domestically and internationally anti-Jewish individuals often use anti-Israel activism to veil their racism behind seemingly legitimate political views. On Sunday, the Washington Post reported that 250 neo-

Nazis and white supremacists rallied in support of the Palestinian people and against American aid to Israel. Do you really think these skinheads are simply concerned, pro- Palestinian citizens?

Though clearly not all pro-Palestinian demonstrators are anti-Jewish -- and no one should think that I'm claiming that -- Mr. Tutu [or in this case Mr. Hogan] would be wise to take note of the numerous examples I have illustrated here, and not portray the Jewish community as crying wolf. Time again, even on supposedly liberal American college campuses, we have seen that what starts out as anti-Israel ends up as blatantly, and even violently, anti-Jewish.

Full post and comments below the fold.

Posted by Andrew Grossman at 1:21 PM (0 comments)

Dorm locks: What about sprinklers?

Writes Dartlog reader James Killmond:

I saw in today's D that the College spent $500,000 to put in a pass-key door lock system. Perfect for monitoring student movements, if you like that sort of thing, but I would like to have seen the money spent an a much more important safety issue, sprinklers--which the College has not made
enough of a priority.

I believe there is solid story here. About two and half years ago, there was fire in a Seton Hall dormitory that did not have sprinklers. Three students were killed. At the time, the College said they had a five-year plan to fully outfit the dorms with sprinklers, which I think is ridiculous and unacceptable. Isn't the Greek housing required to have sprinklers? Haven't there been more fires? What about off-campus housing? Doesn't the College have regulations on that too? It may be hard to install them when the dorms are occupied, but isn't the College causing the problem by forcing people to live in sub-standard dorms in the summer, when it could be closing the dorms and installing the sprinklers? At $30,000 a building (one D article put the cost of outfitting the Gold Coast at $100,000), what
is taking so long?

Yours, James

Full post and comments below the fold.

Posted by Andrew Grossman at 1:06 PM (0 comments)

Wright

Maybe I'm misunderstanding him, but Wright seems to be arguing that if white people thought of themselves as part of the white race, rather than as raceless individuals, they'd be less likely to feel victimized by, and resentful of, affirmative action. Has he, or any of the other people who push this notion, ever offered an explanation (as opposed to an assertion) for why this would be? I'd be curious to see something along those lines. It is, after all, the opposite of what one would expect based on America's history, where the more closely people have associated themselves with their racial and ethnic groups, the more likely they have been to agitate in favor of the interests of that group. Certainly, the history of white America doesn't inspire much optimism that it will be the exception.

For a broader question, isn't it incumbent on advocates of more white identity to explain the correlation between a decline in white identity and an increase in tolerance for minority groups over the past half-century? Correlation is not causation of course, but there's a clear prima facie argument to be made that it is precisely a lack of racial awareness in whites that has made most of the progress on racial issues in this country possible. Their response to this would be interesting, if anyone knows of one.

Full post and comments below the fold.

Posted by Alexander at 11:31 AM (0 comments)

Thursday, September 26, 2002

Re: Women's Resource Center...?

It seems the WRC still has the same name; however, they have inaugurated a new "Men's Project" for (ahem) allies.

Full post and comments below the fold.

Posted by Emmett at 5:19 PM (0 comments)

Women's Resource Center...?

I know this isn't online yet, but I remember hearing that the WRC is now called something else entirely. The new name involves "gender," I think. Anyone know more about this?

Full post and comments below the fold.

Posted by Andrew Grossman at 5:01 PM (0 comments)

President Fanon?

Dartmouth's illustrious (and, it appears, newly-hirsute) president, Jim Wright, gave his Convocation Remarks on Tuesday, September 24, 2002. Incoming Dartmouth freshmen had barely set foot on campus when they were told, by the College's highest official, what they should and should not think about the sensitive and personal issue of race. Let's take a walk through this gem of a speech, shall we? (Warning: A paean to freedom of thought and opinion it is not.)

(read more...)

Full post and comments below the fold.

Posted by Emmett at 4:33 PM (0 comments)

WRC and Shaheen
Actually, as a non-profit the College isn't allowed to endorse political candidates, and an endorsement on the official email Bulletin of a branch of the College would theoretically jeopardize its tax-exempt status. Obviously, that would never happen over something this minor, and Munafo actually worded her message fairly carefully to avoid an explicit endorsement. Still if anyone knows someone with the Sununu campaign at Dartmouth, you might suggest they ask the WRC, in the spirit of the non-profit tax exemption the College makes full use of, to post information on how to support his candidacy as well.

For Review Staff: There's a potential article in the extent to which the resources of the College are used to promote the candidates of particular parties. It's a non-ideological problem (I doubt they're be many departments and offices shilling for the GOP, but there could be some), and it would be nice to know before the next time I'm pumped for contributions by the Alumni Office.

Full post and comments below the fold.

Posted by Alexander at 3:41 PM (0 comments)

In reponse to Rollo's post

I personally find it appalling that a group associated with the college would endorse any one candidate. If "all women" are supposed to be able to use the "resources" of the Women's Resource Center, they shouldn't feel that in taking advantage of whatever the center offers that they must also support a Democrat for Senate. Why anyone would want to go to the Women's Resource Center at all to begin with, well that's another story entirely...

Full post and comments below the fold.

Posted by Alison at 3:00 PM (0 comments)

Rollo's post

If she is elected, wouldn't that mean that the terrorists have already won?

Full post and comments below the fold.

Posted by Nilanjan at 3:52 AM (0 comments)

Wednesday, September 25, 2002

It's one thing if they want to make an argument on why a candidate is correct on a given issue, but does the Women's Resource Center really have to campaign for candidates?

"Jeanne Shaheen, Democratic Governor of NH, is running for a seat in the
US Senate. This race has been slated by many as one of the most
important races in the country because control of the Senate is at
stake.

"Those interested in supporting Shaheen's candidacy should contact
Rebecca Perkins '04, Josh Marcuse '04 or, in the fall, Josh Stern '04."

from a Blitz Bulletin posted by Giavanna Munafo.

Full post and comments below the fold.

Posted by Rollo at 9:21 PM (0 comments)

Tuesday, September 24, 2002

History in Good Hands

Many of you may have missed the changeover at the helm of the History Department recently. Heide Whelan (whose name is, curiously, misspelled on the department website) has assumed control as chair, and David Lagomarsino is serving as vice-chair. Professor Whelan is Dartmouth's Russia expert, and she is masterful. Her dry sense of humor is evident from her biography on the department website. ("Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, and Russian tank units stationed half a mile away from my childhood home first provoked my interest in Russia and its people." As well they would.) Of note, '05s: Next summer term, she will be teaching her patented History 59,"The History of Warfare".

Professor Lagomarsino's fields of expertise defy enumeration, although he seems fond of early modern Europe and Spain's Golden Era. His infectious love for his subject manner is -- well, infectious. And he has consistently been ranked as one of Dartmouth's finest professors by the discriminating staff of The Dartmouth Review. No Dartmouth student can afford not to take one of his outstanding classes.

While at Dartmouth, I took classes with both of these professors, so I speak with some authority when I say that they both have a deep and abiding commitment to educating Dartmouth students as priority number one (something that, we know, will only become more and more rare). The department is in fine hands.

Full post and comments below the fold.

Posted by Emmett at 7:06 PM (0 comments)

Let's Start a Debate

For fun, I think I'll post the following speech delivered by Harvard's president, Larry Summers, recently of Clinton admin fame. This speech was delivered on September 17, 2002, and has occasioned an outrage in many quarters. In the speech, he equates the call for divestment from Israel (aided by -- you guessed it! Noam Chomsky himself) with anti-Semitism. He even goes so far as to say the following:

"Without thinking about it much, I attributed all of this to progress -- to an ascendancy of enlightenment and tolerance. A view that prejudice is increasingly put aside. A view that while the politics of the Middle East was enormously complex, and contentious, the question of the right of a Jewish state to exist had been settled in the affirmative by the world community."

I think the introductory clause to his first sentence sums it up nicely.

More to the point, it is quite clear that "the question of the right of a Jewish state ot exist" has NOT been settled -- if it had been, we wouldn't see Palestinian mothers sending their sons off to kill themselves and, while they're at it, as many Jews as possible.

Now, you'd really be hard-pressed to find someone more pro-Israeli than me. I love Sharon, I don't think there should be a Palestinian state (at least not in the medium term; security risk and all), and I think that the Israeli government is the only honorable government in the whole region (not a difficult feat to accomplish, granted). But it is intellectual thuggery to suggest that disagreement on this issue amounts to anti-Semitism. This is the tactic used by the multi-culti Left when they accuse conservatives who oppose affirmative action of racism. In neither case is it honest or acceptable.

I have my opinion, and I hold it strongly; but it's silly to pretend that the issue has "been settled."

Full post and comments below the fold.

Posted by Emmett at 9:54 AM (0 comments)

Sunday, September 22, 2002

MIT's gift to the world

MIT's Open Courseware initiative (a good overview from the BBC) is the kind of thing that more universities ought to be doing. As other college, universities, and online schools charge hundreds or even thousands of dollars per credit, MIT will be giving away all of their course materials, including lecture notes and videos, for free:

"I genuinely think there was an 'a-ha' moment when they said our mission was actually to enhance education," said Anne Margulies, Executive Director of OCW.

"Why don't we, instead of trying to sell our knowledge over the internet, just give it away."

Dartmouth should take this seriously (regardless of its "mission"), as the college and its faculty have a lot to offer less-privileged students. Vox clamantis in deserto, right?

Full post and comments below the fold.

Posted by Andrew Grossman at 10:55 PM (0 comments)