John Reece
February 7th 2004, 10:25 AM
How's this for Chutzpah?
Richard John Neuhaus
"Chutzpah" is sometimes defined as offensive self–confidence, shamelessness, effrontery, or gall. It can be all those things, of course, but such definitions fail to catch the charming ingenuousness of the thing. Here, for instance, is a story in the Times under the heading, "Princeton Puzzle: Where Have Jewish Students Gone?" Twenty years ago, 18 percent of Princeton students were Jewish, and that is now down to 10 percent. The question is, according to Karen W. Arenson of the Times, "Why do other Ivy League campuses—Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Penn—manage to keep Jewish populations of at least a quarter and in some cases more than a third?" Why indeed is Princeton not maintaining its Jewish quota? The president of Princeton, Harold Shapiro, is Jewish, as are presidents of other Ivy League schools. He says, "If there’s something we’re doing that consciously or unconsciously discriminates against any religion, then we should stop it, but no one has presented me with any evidence." Ms. Arenson’s point, however, is that, whether or not discrimination is involved, Princeton is failing to meet what is presumed to be the norm. Two percent of the American population is Jewish, and Princeton has only five times that ratio among its students, while comparable schools manage to overrepresent Jews by as much as fifteen times. The article says, "Minority enrollment—black, Hispanic, and Asian–American students—is now 27 percent, not markedly different from the general population." So it appears that it is Jews who are being singled out, almost as though they were a minority. Ms. Arenson notes, "Nobody is advocating affirmative action for Jews." Most Jews, being liberal, are supportive of affirmative action for other minorities, which means that they should be represented at least in proportion to their numbers in the general population. Affirmative action for Jews, one gathers from the Times, would mean that their proportional representation should be multiplied by fifteen. Explicitly advocating that, however, would be a bit much. Anyway, unlike other minorities, Jews will rely on merit, confident that the result will be their dramatic overrepresentation among the elite. When that result is not dramatic enough, as in the case of Princeton, something is clearly wrong. Ms. Arenson writes, "One answer to those concerned about the number of Jewish students may be an expansion of the student body." Princeton currently takes in about 1,150 freshmen and it is proposed that that be increased by 125 or 150. The implication is that, if such a change is to be responsive to "those concerned about the number of Jewish students," most of these additional students would be Jewish. In the Times and elsewhere, the discussion of Princeton’s presumed "Jewish problem" pays insufficient attention to the declining number of college–age Jews. Twenty years ago, Jews were nearly 5 percent of all college freshmen in the country, and now they are about 2 percent. That the brightest congregate in a few elite universities may say something positive about the desire of Jewish students to date and marry other Jews. The suggestion that the elite status of an institution such as Princeton is thrown into question because it does not maintain the Jewish quota established by Harvard and others is quite wrongheaded. It is also, as aforesaid, an instance of chutzpah that is not without its charm. Or maybe Ms. Arenson’s point—recalling Groucho Marx’s mot about rejecting any club that would admit him to membership—is that Princeton is too elite. In any event, we have as a country come a long way when the suspicion of anti–Semitism is raised because an institution has only five times more Jews than their presence in the general population.
http://www.firstthings.com/ftissues/ft9912/public.html#while
Richard John Neuhaus
"Chutzpah" is sometimes defined as offensive self–confidence, shamelessness, effrontery, or gall. It can be all those things, of course, but such definitions fail to catch the charming ingenuousness of the thing. Here, for instance, is a story in the Times under the heading, "Princeton Puzzle: Where Have Jewish Students Gone?" Twenty years ago, 18 percent of Princeton students were Jewish, and that is now down to 10 percent. The question is, according to Karen W. Arenson of the Times, "Why do other Ivy League campuses—Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Penn—manage to keep Jewish populations of at least a quarter and in some cases more than a third?" Why indeed is Princeton not maintaining its Jewish quota? The president of Princeton, Harold Shapiro, is Jewish, as are presidents of other Ivy League schools. He says, "If there’s something we’re doing that consciously or unconsciously discriminates against any religion, then we should stop it, but no one has presented me with any evidence." Ms. Arenson’s point, however, is that, whether or not discrimination is involved, Princeton is failing to meet what is presumed to be the norm. Two percent of the American population is Jewish, and Princeton has only five times that ratio among its students, while comparable schools manage to overrepresent Jews by as much as fifteen times. The article says, "Minority enrollment—black, Hispanic, and Asian–American students—is now 27 percent, not markedly different from the general population." So it appears that it is Jews who are being singled out, almost as though they were a minority. Ms. Arenson notes, "Nobody is advocating affirmative action for Jews." Most Jews, being liberal, are supportive of affirmative action for other minorities, which means that they should be represented at least in proportion to their numbers in the general population. Affirmative action for Jews, one gathers from the Times, would mean that their proportional representation should be multiplied by fifteen. Explicitly advocating that, however, would be a bit much. Anyway, unlike other minorities, Jews will rely on merit, confident that the result will be their dramatic overrepresentation among the elite. When that result is not dramatic enough, as in the case of Princeton, something is clearly wrong. Ms. Arenson writes, "One answer to those concerned about the number of Jewish students may be an expansion of the student body." Princeton currently takes in about 1,150 freshmen and it is proposed that that be increased by 125 or 150. The implication is that, if such a change is to be responsive to "those concerned about the number of Jewish students," most of these additional students would be Jewish. In the Times and elsewhere, the discussion of Princeton’s presumed "Jewish problem" pays insufficient attention to the declining number of college–age Jews. Twenty years ago, Jews were nearly 5 percent of all college freshmen in the country, and now they are about 2 percent. That the brightest congregate in a few elite universities may say something positive about the desire of Jewish students to date and marry other Jews. The suggestion that the elite status of an institution such as Princeton is thrown into question because it does not maintain the Jewish quota established by Harvard and others is quite wrongheaded. It is also, as aforesaid, an instance of chutzpah that is not without its charm. Or maybe Ms. Arenson’s point—recalling Groucho Marx’s mot about rejecting any club that would admit him to membership—is that Princeton is too elite. In any event, we have as a country come a long way when the suspicion of anti–Semitism is raised because an institution has only five times more Jews than their presence in the general population.
http://www.firstthings.com/ftissues/ft9912/public.html#while