Schooled in hate

Jewish students have generally found the American campus to be a warm and welcoming atmosphere. Gone are the days when administrators limited the number of Jewish students that could attend our nation's top colleges. Gone are the days when students would go around painting swastikas on various buildings. Or are they?\nIn 1998, a student found the words "F*** You Jew" written on a dormitory room door. Almost a year ago, vandals in our own peaceful Bloomington spray-painted three churches with swastikas. And who could forget the IU student who had swastikas and the word "Jew" painted on his Jeep?\nSo while yes, institutionalized discrimination against Jews is a thing of the past, anti-Semitism continues to be a problem on college campuses. And it is only getting worse. To be sure, on April 4, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights reported that campuses have a "serious problem" with anti-Semitism and anti-Israel sentiment.\nSpecifically, the report said that students often categorize Jews as "greedy, aggressive, overly powerful or conspiratorial." University officials must actively condemn this behavior. The Campus Religious Leaders organization at IU did the right thing when they offered to pay to repaint the student's damaged car. Bloomington Mayor Mark Kruzan, Dean of Students Richard McKaig and IU Chancellor Ken Gros Louis have also publicly spoken against the past anti-Semitic incidents.\nBut sometimes we must go beyond simply offering to repaint a vandalized car. With Holocaust denial being the "cutting edge" of modern anti-Semitism, universities must respond by not only enforcing the Civil Rights Act, but by actually amending the act so that Jewish people are mentioned specifically. After all, we come to college to expand our horizons, to learn about cultures and ethnicities -- not to be bombarded with acts of vandalism and hate-filled rallies.\nThat being said, it is not enough to provide students with an environment free of discrimination. Colleges need to actually offer education to cultivate and promote religious and racial tolerance. With the increase in campus anti-Semitism, \nacknowledging the significance of Tuesday -- Holocaust Remembrance Day -- is more important than ever. At precisely 10 a.m. in Israel Tuesday, the air-raid sirens will sound, public transportation will come to a standstill and people will stop what they were doing to stand silent for two minutes. While I am by no means suggesting that we commemorate this day by emulating Israeli tradition, there are much simpler -- yet equally meaningful -- actions we can take to remember the Holocaust. By attending community vigils, educational programs, talks by survivors and synagogue services, Jews and non-Jews alike can show their respect for the depth of loss experienced by millions in the Holocaust.\nOur generation watched Holocaust videos, read "Night" by Elie Wiesel and took Intro to the Holocaust classes, but we were never aptly taught the true meaning, or beyond that the true lesson, of the Holocaust. Holocaust Remembrance Day, or Yom Hashoah, is celebrated because the memory of the Holocaust must never be forgotten. Like all forms of hatred, the Holocaust was "evil for evil's sake." It is an evil that is perpetuated in every act of genocide and religious purging that transpires around the world today. So the Holocaust must be remembered -- not just by Jews, but by everyone.