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Students Resort to Dangerous Forms of Communication
By Yaffa Shira Fredrick, Massachusetts
Wellesley College-a progressive northeastern liberal arts college for women-is an ideal setting for fostering intellectual dialogue on controversial issues facing society at large. And yet, despite this seemingly perfect academic environment, a few students recently decided to express prejudicial remarks about Israel by resorting to vandalism and desecration of school property.
"...a growing problem on many college campuses across America… It seems that rational discourse is being exchanged for cowardly acts of verbal, written or physical violence and what is worse, many students don’t even notice." -Yaffa Shira Fredrick
On April 4th, 2008, two Wellesley Friends of Israel (WFI) posters, designed to promote general knowledge of Israel's democratic and religious initiatives, were defaced. On one poster, "Israel is a democracy," the word, democracy was replaced with "terrorist state." On another, which read -"Israeli law explicitly grants civil rights to all citizens regardless of their religion, ethnicity, or other heritage" - "apart from returning Palestinians who are barred based on race" had been added.
These statements, regardless of their factual accuracy or inaccuracy, signal a growing problem on many college campuses across America. It seems that rational discourse is being exchanged forcowardly acts of verbal, written or physical violence and what is worse, many students don't even notice.
"I think the saddest part about it was that we weren't shocked or really surprised at all. It was something we had almost expected to deal from the beginning," said WFI Cultural Chair Ranit Patel.
As a member of a group that addresses the ever-controversial Arab-Israeli Conflict, Patel recognizes WFI is bound to encounter hostility, even in the form of vandalism. But this should not be an acceptable reality.
Furthermore, if an idyllic college like Wellesley, which strives to encourage open discourse, is incapable of preventing such aberrant behavior, then it is easy to understand why political leaders have had such difficulty with diplomatic efforts intended to create peace in the Middle East.
Indeed, for a college that has a reputation of creating "women who will make a difference in the world," these acts of public defacement call into question the kind of difference that is being made-positive or negative, productive or destructive.
Why vandalism? Apparently students sometimes use it to convey ideas they are unable to express in dialogue form. When words fail to capture the ears or change the hearts of their political leaders, administrators and fellow students, other means are adopted to send a message.
People resort to vandalism, according to WFI President Yael Misrahi, when "they no longer feel safe outwardly acknowledging their unpopular belief system to an educated student body ready to attack those beliefs."
Wellesley tries to eliminate such fears with the creation of "safe spaces" - designated areas, such as a resident assistant's dorm room or an online conference, where students can voice their opinions without concern about possible repercussions.
"Students only feel safe in these spaces when they are seated next to their friends and supporters. Alone, they still feel uneasy about the expression of their ideas," says Michal Bornstein, WFI Treasurer.
Given the limitations of safe spaces, the question remains whether there are any methods that can guarantee dialogue in place of discord, particularly when it comes to addressing controversial issues such as the Arab-Israeli Conflict.
Nonetheless insuring the rights and protection of the victims of vandalism is imperative and was appropriately achieved when Wellesley President Kim Bottomly condemned such acts of intolerance. "After the President issued her quick response, we knew we were not alone in this ongoing battle to educate and expand the horizons of other students," Patel said.
She added that since no more prejudice was expressed against WFI for the rest of the semester, the President's condemnation was successful in alerting the entire student body of the dangers of vandalism. In fact, many students sent letters of sympathy and concern to WFI members, expressing their solidarity and sadness that these acts had occurred on their watches.
"We may never catch the culprit, but at least the administration and our fellow classmates have taken steps to avoid any future culprits," said WFI Secretary Lisa Snider.
In the end, Wellesley and other institutions must develop alternative methods to prevent vandalism before it occurs, as opposed to simply condemning the violation of property after the fact. If Wellesley, a metaphoric city on a hill, is unable to do this, it seems to bode badly for the future peace processes-particularly when Wellesley is nurturing the next generation of diplomats and leaders.
