A petition for "intimidation-free college campuses" that circulated in the past months among college presidents was too one-sided for Dartmouth President James Wright, who declined to sign the statement released yesterday by the American Jewish Committee.
Former Dartmouth President James Freedman helped start the petition, which calls for an end to "threats, taunts or intimidation" in campus debate.
However, because the statement mentions specifically the harassment of Jewish and pro-Israel students but not other groups, many college presidents -- including Wright -- declined to sign, describing the petition as too narrow and biased.
"There is no place on our campuses for intimidation of any kind, for anti-Semitism, for anti-Muslim and anti- Arab attitudes or for racism," Wright said.
Of the nearly 1,900 college presidents who received the petition, over 300 have signed.
The statement is "a reaction to a number of incidents involving harassment of Jewish students expressing support for Israel" said John Hose, executive assistant to Brandeis University President Jehuda Reinharz.
Reinharz helped start the petition although there have been no recent incidents of anti-Semitism on the campus, Hose said. A majority of Brandeis students are Jewish.
Joan W. Scott -- a member of the American Association of University Professors' Committee on Academic Freedom -- felt differently, publicly stating that harassment of Muslims and those expressing pro-Palestinian views has been more frequent and intense than that of students supporting Israel.
Freedman told the New York Times that he felt there was "a good deal" of evidence for incidents of threats and violence against Jewish students but "not much" evidence for intimidation of Muslim students.
The statement advocates the end of anti-Semitic acts like the one that occurred at Dartmouth last January, in which someone drew a swastika on a student's dorm message board.
The original signers of the petition included Freedman and the president emeritus of the University of Notre Dame University and the presidents of Emory, Brandeis, George Washington and New York Universities.
Emory President William Chace later decided to withdraw from the petition. He explained that the statement only refers to Jews and that he is equally concerned with problems that Muslim students may face.
Chace added that the petition has been called "asymmetrical" by many college presidents.
Campus views on the issue were mixed.
"It would seem to be a petition that encourages and invites exactly what it claims should stop, perhaps a self-fulfilling prophecy," said Amin Plaisted, the adviser to campus Muslim group Al Nur.
"Not only Jewish students, but certain groups feel more intimidated and vulnerable than other groups. Jewish students are one such group. However, such a petition could be broadened to include other groups who feel intimidated as well," said Paul Bozzello '04, a member of the Dartmouth Hillel.
Hillel President Evan Konwiser '03 said he thinks the statement is warranted.
"A petition of this sort, regardless of who it is aimed to protect, is valuable. In this time of Middle East conflict, it is always important to take care of what you say and how you say it so as to prevent offending or intimidating others. If this petition does nothing but reminds students, faculty and administrators of that goal, then it is useful," he said.
Among Ivy League presidents, only Brown's Ruth Simmons signed the petition.
Freedman served as the president of the College from 1987 to 1998.
