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OP-ED: Stop accusing our school of being a Jewocracy
by Aviv Luban
Op-Ed | 5/20/08
Posted online at 6:23 AM EST on 5/20/08
I do not contradict the assertions that diversity is a problem at Brandeis or that minority students face certain challenges here. Yet, it is important to recognize just how much diversity there is at Brandeis and the efforts that are being made to increase it.
We have a dean of diversity, in the person of Associate Dean of Student Life Jamele Adams, a sizable section of one of our newspapers is devoted to diversity, and we have access to a wide array of eclectic cultural offerings, such as the World Music series and the consistently global selection of art exhibits at the Rose Art Museum. Every week, students receive an e-mail from the Office of Global Affairs with a list of global and multicultural events for that week. The quantity and diversity of the events is astounding. One representative e-mail lists these events: a mixed heritage discussion and film screening; South Asian Fusion music night; a lecture on "Women, Walls and the World"; a lecture on middle-class activism in Mumbai; a lecture on the Sarvodaya nonviolence movement of Sri Lanka; discussion on grassroots development; a Lebanese film screening; and an Intercultural Residency Series. I encourage everyone to look at the list of events by month at www.brandeis.edu/globalbrandeis/events.html.
The problem at Brandeis is not the lack of diversity but the presence of division. Much of the Brandeis student body is balkanized, with not enough interaction between the various demographic and cultural groups.
This fact is the fault of no one. Some degree of clumping is inevitable as long as there is difference. Students sometimes charge the Orthodox Jewish population for being insular and disinterested in, or even disdainful toward, the larger community. But I know that many Orthodox students are very welcoming with respect to other students, and some go to great lengths to reach out and embrace other students, Jewish and non-Jewish. I'm sure the same is true for members of other groups.
Embracing diversity means embracing difference. Tolerance of one group does not have to and should not come at the expense of another. We should grow in tolerance and welcome the cultural and religious identities of all people and groups on campus. Then we will again become a community where, in the words of Abram Sachar, all of its members are precious.
We have a dean of diversity, in the person of Associate Dean of Student Life Jamele Adams, a sizable section of one of our newspapers is devoted to diversity, and we have access to a wide array of eclectic cultural offerings, such as the World Music series and the consistently global selection of art exhibits at the Rose Art Museum. Every week, students receive an e-mail from the Office of Global Affairs with a list of global and multicultural events for that week. The quantity and diversity of the events is astounding. One representative e-mail lists these events: a mixed heritage discussion and film screening; South Asian Fusion music night; a lecture on "Women, Walls and the World"; a lecture on middle-class activism in Mumbai; a lecture on the Sarvodaya nonviolence movement of Sri Lanka; discussion on grassroots development; a Lebanese film screening; and an Intercultural Residency Series. I encourage everyone to look at the list of events by month at www.brandeis.edu/globalbrandeis/events.html.
The problem at Brandeis is not the lack of diversity but the presence of division. Much of the Brandeis student body is balkanized, with not enough interaction between the various demographic and cultural groups.
This fact is the fault of no one. Some degree of clumping is inevitable as long as there is difference. Students sometimes charge the Orthodox Jewish population for being insular and disinterested in, or even disdainful toward, the larger community. But I know that many Orthodox students are very welcoming with respect to other students, and some go to great lengths to reach out and embrace other students, Jewish and non-Jewish. I'm sure the same is true for members of other groups.
Embracing diversity means embracing difference. Tolerance of one group does not have to and should not come at the expense of another. We should grow in tolerance and welcome the cultural and religious identities of all people and groups on campus. Then we will again become a community where, in the words of Abram Sachar, all of its members are precious.
Viewing Comments 1 - 3 of 3
A moderate
posted 5/21/08 @ 10:21 PM EST
Thank you Aviv. This article is a breath of fresh air from the acrimonious comments I commonly hear on the Brandeis campus. Comments that disparage Jews, Zionists and especially Orthodox Jews are levied constantly and they stink of prejudice. (Continued…)
Emily
posted 6/25/08 @ 3:48 PM EST
I don't think the comments about the "Jewishness" of Brandeis are completely unfounded. I'm Jewish and sometimes it surprises me to hear about how far the school goes to accommodate Jewish students but not students of other religious/ethnic minorities. (Continued…)
Goy
posted 7/03/08 @ 3:00 PM EST
As a non-Jew, I find that while Judaism is omnipresent on campus, which is certainly a unique trait of the university, it's by no means smothering.
Some complain about the 'preferential' treatment for Jewish students on campus, but, really, isn't that sort of to be expected? It's no secret that the student body is roughly 60% Jewish, and while the rights of the minorities should be protected. (Continued…)
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