I should say a few words about the legal distinction between the CSU and the Concordia administration, and where I feel the role of the admin fits in.
After I posted the admin’s official response, and took a jab at them for their failure to take a firm stand, several people criticized me for criticizing the admin instead of the CSU. After all, they said, the CSU is a separate legal entity, and the admin has no control over them (despite desperately wishing it did, at times). The CSU has a long history of trying to demonize and villainize the admin at every turn, and loves to make blanket antisemitic accusations about the “Zionist-controlled, corporate-controlled administration”. Furthermore, it is clear from this article that the CSU’s goal all along was to attempt to use this to make the admin look bad:
The other loophole is that Hillel’s club privileges are suspended, not permanently, but just until the university administration investigates and clears them. Slater explains the reasoning, “CSU has a reputation for being hostile to Hillel. We wanted the final decision to be in someone else’s hands.” McIntosh adds, “The university could clear Hillel tomorrow and we’d restore everything. Of course, that would make the university an accessory to the crime and that suits us just fine.”Slater agrees, “The university will have trouble with the Arab and Muslim students if they clear Hillel and trouble with B’nai Brith if they don’t.”
For the most part, I agree with readers that criticizing the admin plays right into the hands of the CSU. If you read what I wrote following the September 9th riots that shut down Netanyahu’s speech, you’ll see that I came to the same conclusion:
I’ve seen petitions calling on the university administration and on the police to deal with the perpetrators of the violence, but blaming either or both of these groups only plays into the hands of those who are trying to pass the buck. I’ve heard of people withholding donations from Concordia until the school cleans up its act — but the school administrators would love nothing more than to get rid of these thorns in their side; their hands are tied, and they’re just as frustrated with the situation as we are.
I still believe that. I cannot emphasize this enough. The group to blame here is the CSU, not the Concordia administration. And in terms of the actual decisions and actions that the admin has taken, I think they are absolutely right to refuse to let the CSU pass the decision to them on this one. It is the CSU’s responsibility, and therefore, the CSU’s failure to exercise its power responsibly.
My reasons for taking a dig at the admin have very little to do with this specific issue, and more to do with the general lack of strong leadership at Concordia. One of the reasons the CSU has been so successful in taking over the school in the past few years is that nobody’s willing to stand up to them. Not the “silent majority” of students who don’t bother to vote in elections. Not the faculty. And not the admin.
Without getting directly involved, the admin could have made its opinion stronger. Instead of worrying about staying on the fence to be politically-correct, it could have taken a stand and stated firmly and clearly that what the CSU did was wrong. That doesn’t mean they have to step in to change anything – and it doesn’t mean people should be blaming them for something that is the CSU’s fault. But when you have a situation where there are no moral checks and balances, the loudest voice gets heard the most.
Still, if you’re angry about the CSU’s actions, blame them, not the Concordia administration. I just want to make that clear.
I don’t know how politics work at Concordia, but the administration does have a role in all this. The Concordia administration should look to San Francisco State University’s President and the actions he took after Pro-Palestinian students threatened Jewish students following a peaceful pro-Israel rally. The confrontation made headlines around the world and galvanized our Jewish community here. Pro-Palestinian demonstrtors who took over a school building at the University of Californai at Berkeley were also sanctioned by the administration there.
If the Concordia Administration is found to be guilty of negligence and fined, they might finally sit up and take notice and do their job.
The Hillel at Concordia should contact the Anti-Defimation League if they need more help with this issue.
plain and simple….you never can go wrong by doing the right thing. The admin. knows exactly what they need to do. And it’s unfortunate that this is a “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” situation for them, but I feel like by allowing the CSU to gain as much power and influence as they have, the admin. might have brought this dilemma upon themselves.
Here’s what I think finally happened. The campus totalitarians finally overplayed their hand.
From the admin’s statement:
In fact, the university has been informed that Hillel has engaged an attorney who has sent a formal legal demand to the CSU outlining a number of procedural irregularities and demanding that the decision be reversed by 5:00 p.m. on Monday, December 9.
When you see words like “procedural irregularities” and formal legal demands of action by a certain hour, this looks like the CSU is either going to cave or be involved in a very expensive legal matter.
Don’t bring a knife to a gunfight and don’t get into a legal battle that Jewish lawyers would love to do pro bono.
BTW, I suspect that this whole thing is a frame job. Hillel says they didn’t put the brochure out and the whole matter didn’t come up until the midnight ambush.
It’s funny how pathetic some Jew haters are. Cut-rate Aryans.
Ronnie makes a great point. In many ways, the CSU/SPHR you-know-whats are the best friends the jews have on Campus. From speaking to ConU students (non-aryan), its clear that the CSU hate is as obvious to them as it is to anyone. They are know as the jew-hating crazies. I think ConU will result in a batch of great conservative thinkers. Those who have seen the true evil of the left in all its glory.
“Without getting directly involved, the admin could have made its opinion stronger. ”
This is exactly my point. If the University Administration cannot provide the leadership or is unwilling to do so, they are as culpable as the CSU in allowing these currents to fester.