Last Sunday, June 16, 2024, I had the privilege of attending my daughter's graduation from UC Santa Barbara. While proud for her accomplishments, the ceremony itself reached a low well beneath the stature of a publicly supported university.
For background, it’s relevant to note that I graduated with a BA in Philosophy from this same UC campus some 47 years ago. While the Vietnam war and associated protests were at the forefront of political controversy back then, there were no demonstrations on campus, nor did discussions on that topic dominate any of my in-class time.
While I’ve not had reason to attend classes at a university for many years, one need only read the news to know that views over the conflict between Israel and Hamas are visible — if not dominant — topics on many college campuses today. pro-Palestinian voices are the loudest, and their acts of violence the most visible.