An explanation of the campus protests
A friend wrote me to ask, “Why is this mess happening on campus?" Here is my response. Let me offer some thoughts, as a long-time professor, in hopes they spur your own. Let's begin with something apolitical: young people love expressions of group solidarity. Some protests are like football games, held conveniently in the spring when spirits soar. Let's all join in, especially if it is costless virtue-signaling. And in the absence of any serious punishment, that's what it is. These demonstrations happen a lot more often when the weather is nice. It's a lot easier to pitch tents on the quadrangle in April or October than in January and February. It’s a lot easier to sit on the Golden Gate Bridge, too. But why the hatred of Israel and so often of Jews?
