Tulane Student Who Wrote Antisemitic Article Allegedy Driven Off Campus

Tulane University has the highest percentage of Jewish students (around 40%) of any secular university in the country. Tulane student Sarah Me wrote a truly idiotic and reprehensible piece for an off-campus conservative publication defending Kanye West's recent antisemitic remarks. I don't see any good reason to give her asinine defense further play, but if you really want to read it, you can find it here.

Students making asinine defenses of antisemites, or indeed making antisemitic comments themselves, such as NYU law students talking about the "Zionist grip on the media" and the "Islamophobic, Zionist-funded US and Western media," is unfortunately not news. But what happened next should be.

Ma's commentary apparently was met with death threats.

Ma met with Tulane's Associate Vice President and Dean of Students, Erica Woodley, who advised Ma to leave campus for at least a couple of weeks because Tulane's administration does not believe she is safe on campus," the Dissident reported. "According to Ma, Dean Woodley told her that Tulane could 'probably' keep her safe on campus but 'probably not' directly off campus. Ma is arranging with her professors to complete the semester online."

Assuming these allegations are true, the proper response here would have been for Tulane to (1) do everything in its power to keep Ma safe; and (2) do everything in its power to investigate the threats, and if found to be genuine, find and prosecute the perpetrators. Instead, Tulane is "investigating" the student herself even though, as FIRE reports, her offensive comments are fully protected by Tulane's own policies.

Comments

[M L]

"if you really want to read it, you can find it here."

Basically says - black people are unfairly stereotyped and wrongly treated as a group instead of individuals, so why not Jews? Two wrongs make a right, after all.

[Longtobefree]

Like I keep saying, bring back dueling.

[Dr. Ed 2]

Dueling was NEVER legal -- you do realize that, right?

[Jmaie]

What does that have to do with the price of tea in China?

[Dr. Ed 2]

Because facts matter, damn it.

Why do you think that Burr & Hamilton went across the river and into the wilds of New Jersey???

I have to explain this on a blog by law professors?!?!?

[GKHoffman]

Dueling happened a lot anyway, legal or no. "Bring back dueling" does not necessarily imply that it was or would now be legal.

[Nick Gillespie's Jacket]

Not true. I take it you’re not a milk drinker.

[Rossami]

re: "Dueling was NEVER legal"

You are wrong. At different times and jurisdictions in history, dueling was entirely legal. The first attempt to outlaw dueling (that I know of) was not until 1626 and made by King Louis XIII of France. (The first secular attempt, that is. There were a couple ecclesiastical prohibitions against dueling published earlier but they had no enforcement authority.)

Dueling was only made illegal in New Jersey a few years before the Burr/Hamilton duel. (They went across the river anyway because the penalties for getting caught were far lower in NJ.)

[Noscitur a sociis]

Who do you think should be dueling ass a result of this affair, and why do you think that would improve things?

[David Nieporent]

If you look at other essays on the site that published the Ma piece, they are just as stupid and poorly written as hers. I'm honestly not sure if the whole thing isn't a Poe's Law experiment. (ChatGPT could definitely do a better job with everything on that site.)

I certainly agree with you that Tulane should not be investigating her — both because her speech is protected and because by definition such an investigation is a farce, as there are no disputed facts to investigate. And Tulane should certainly try to keep all students safe on campus.

But I'm not sure that there's any reason to believe that she's not safe, and I'm not sure what Tulane could or should do about it anyway; it seems like it's the government's job, not a private university's, to investigate death threats and protect people (other than on campus itself).

[David Bernstein]

If the death threats are coming from fellow students, surely that's a serious violation of Tulane's internal rules. And of course they should get the police involved, but the police are more likely to be involved if Tulane makes the request than if it comes from Ma. Again, assuming there is reason to believe that her claims about death threats etc are true.

[Dr. Ed 2]

I've seen this sort of thing before -- and it is far easier for the university to remove the purported "problem" -- i.e. the student -- than to do anything about the criminal threats.

I know of an incident at UMass where the police told a student that they knew that other students would "smash in his head with large rocks" and he could either drop out of school or die -- his choice.

[BrotherMovesOn]

Yeah, that never happened.

[Dr. Ed 2]

It was documented by the student newspaper, the UMass Collegian.
Go look at the microfilm -- or STFU!!!!

[BravoCharlieDelta]

Microfilm? lol what is this 1952? FYI, I'm pretty sure the correct term is "microfiche". Not "microfilm". I'm not certain about that though.

[GKHoffman]

Fiche and film are two different types of document storage. It could be either.

[David Nieporent]

Except it's Dr. Ed, so it's neither.

[Dr. Ed 2]

Newspapers tend to be on film. I don't know why.

[santamonica811]

This fiche topic is starting to flounder.

[Absaroka]

Just FWIW, Tulane seems to have a police force with arrest powers, etc: FAQ.

Even off campus: "Most universities typically patrol their campus areas. However, Tulane has taken the unprecedented step of expanding its police jurisdiction to a one mile perimeter around campus".

The state unis I have been at have done that, but it's the first time I have heard of a private school with its own full-powers PD.

[Dr. Ed 2]

Even if I was an attorney, I would not try to explain Louisiana law.

That said, state universities, being subdivisions of the state, often acquire the "local primary municipal police authority" over the land which the state university owns -- essentially, they become the town police on that land.

Private universities get interesting and this is both where state law and the need of an in-state attorney to explain it becomes important. Massachusetts is a Commonwealth so things are really weird here -- anyone can arrest anyone -- but the easiest route I have heard of in general is to have your campus police officers sworn as special police officers in the local community. This gives them all the powers (including arrest) of the local police *and* means that the campus cops can come help the local cops if they get into trouble. In other words, if the town cops have a nasty bar fight, they can call the campus cops to come help. (In reality, it means they can use the young (cute) female campus cops as undercover officers, but I digress...)

And then there is the CLEARY act...

[Noscitur a sociis]

I would not try to explain Louisiana law.

That said…

Like clockwork.

Massachusetts is a Commonwealth so things are really weird here

Things may or may not be weird in Massachusetts, but to the extent they are, it has no causal relationship to the state’s calling itself a commonwealth.

[David Nieporent]

Just FWIW, Tulane seems to have a police force with arrest powers, etc: FAQ.

I sit corrected. Since Tulane is private, I assumed it just had security rather than licensed police. I still suspect their actual abilities are rather limited, but they at least have the authority to do something.

[MatthewSlyfield]

I vaguely recall reading about a case with a private university with it's own PD where the campus PD was funded and operated by the university but it was legally a division of the either the city PD or the county sheriffs department.

[Dr. Ed 2]

That's not uncommon -- I believe that Tufts PD are sworn in both Medford & Somerville -- hence members of both city depts.

[Estragon]

In what sense could Tulane “prosecute” the perpetrators? Are you talking about campus discipline?

[David Bernstein]

No, I mean if they find out there are students issuing death threats the students should be turned over to the police.

[Dr. Ed 2]

While I am neither sure about the status of the Tulane University Police Department nor their status under Louisiana law -- campus cops in Massachusetts are considered "special state police officers" -- they could either investigate & prosecute themselves or ask the off campus police to do so.

As a private university -- at least in Massachusetts -- it can also "trespass" the perpetrators at which point they are arrested if seen on campus. Memory is that it is a $100 fine -- but also an arrest -- fun things you learn advising a student group.

They also could accompany the student to court and help him/her/it get a restraining order(s) against the perp(s). Sure it is only a piece of paper but it also enables the police to act.

Oh, and yes, campus discipline comes to mind as well...

[ReaderY]

Tulane has its own police force with arrest powers and doesn’t have to rely on outside police to protect its students, although it can of course ask for additional help. In addition, Tulane could expell students who make death threats against other students.

[BravoCharlieDelta]

She should've just reframed her essay to be anti-White, then the Jews would lavish her with awards and praise and Jew gold.

[Nick Gillespie's Jacket]

Congrats, you join the Esteemed and Very, Very Reverend Arthur Lancaster Kirkland on my “mute user” list. Please check on him and please provide each other warmth, comfort, sustenance, and love in the Hall of Mutes. Mr. BCD, normally I would say "auf wiedersehen," but since what "auf wiedersehen" actually means is "'till I see you again", and since I never wish to see you again, to you, sir, I say goodnight, sweet prince.

[BravoCharlieDelta]

lol I don't even know who you are. My guess is there's something suspicious in the Early Years section of your wiki page.

[Estragon]

“Jew gold”

Just… wow

[BravoCharlieDelta]

You people know so little it's scary sometimes.

https://southpark.cc.com/video-clips/hhknb3/south-park-jew-gold

[Dr. Ed 2]

Not funny.

[Randal]

It’s… pretty funny. But not as funny as Jewbilee. “I desire… macaroni pictures!”

https://southpark.cc.com/video-clips/dgxdjn/south-park-i-desire-popcorn-necklaces

That’s a depiction of the prophet... Moses.

[I Callahan]

First, I would never have written something like that myself. That aside, could you at least keep your knee from jerking for a bit, at least until you understand that it’s a cultural reference?

[Estragon]

“ First, I would never have written something like that myself.”

Why not?

[[e-mail]]

I would be interested in seeing the source for your statements that Tulane has a 40% Jewish student body and that its percentage of Jewish students is the highest on the country. Coming from Long Island and having been in "tracked" classes that were majority Jewish, I can't see how Tulane accomplished that feat. Even if you excluded Brandeis from the "secular" catagory, what about SUNY Stony Brook, Old Westbury and Purchase? Or Cornell, Columbia and NYU?

How did Tulane, in humid New Orleans, accomplish that enrollment figure?

[Rev. Arthur L. Kirkland]

I would be interested in seeing the source for your statements that Tulane has a 40% Jewish student body

The natural thought is that Prof. Bernstein classified them.

Using classifications.

Because he had a purpose for using the classification results.

[Mr. Bumble]

Curious as to how you'd be classified.

[Dr. Ed 2]

Damn it, Kirkland might be right here -- Tulane never struck me as having a Jewish student body of that magnitude.

[StellaLink_the dog]

How would you know? Having visions again?

[Rev. Arthur L. Kirkland]

The point is that Prof. Bernstein seems to dislike classifications . . . until he uses them.

Primarily, partisan polemics plus paltry pretext.

[StellaLink_the dog]

Or perhaps, Arthur, it’s tradition.

edit: And, I do get the joke, Arthur, and it's not a bad one.

[Rev. Arthur L. Kirkland]

Is it really a joke?

Or is it pointing out a joke?

[StellaLink_the dog]

both

[Rev. Arthur L. Kirkland]

In any event, I doubt Prof. Bernstein — or his ardent fans — thought it was funny.

Make that “classified it as funny.”

Using classification.

And classifications.

[StellaLink_the dog]

According to an article in "The Jerusalem Post" in 2015, Tulane had 27% Jews. That's surprising to me, but I know almost nothing about Tulane. Here's a link to an article in Chicago Jewish News which explains what some of the reasons might be: https://www.chicagojewishnews.com/why-is-tulane-so-jewish/

The presence of that article indicates that you and I might not be the only ones in world surprised.

[Armchair Lawyer]

So, that surprised me as well. So I Googled it. And wouldn't you know....

https://www.hillel.org/top-60-jewish-colleges/

Tulane sits at 41% Jewish population, above even Brandeis at 36%. And that is surprising, because while the New York area sits at ~7-10% Jewish population (depending on where you look/quote), the American South (Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas) is much lower in Jewish population (Typically 1% or lower).

Now, Tulane does have a history of Jewish support, but not at 40% of its population...but it has some history at least. By way of comparison, LSU sits at ~1% or lower in terms of its Jewish population. (~~30 students in its freshman class).

The only thing I can guess at is, because Tulane is the "only" major "Jewish" university in the South, it attracts an overwhelming percentage of Jews in the South. This is unlike the Northeast, where many other universities and colleges often sit at ~10-15% Jewish population.

But, others are free to provide other hypotheses.

[David Nieporent]

The only thing I can guess at is, because Tulane is the “only” major “Jewish” university in the South, it attracts an overwhelming percentage of Jews in the South. This is unlike the Northeast, where many other universities and colleges often sit at ~10-15% Jewish population.

That was indeed going to be my speculative explanation.

When I was applying to schools in the late 1980s, I think it was Emory that supposedly filled that role of the Southern Jewish school.

[Dr. Ed 2]

It's a free country, but that one slipped under the radar -- and I'm supposed to know stuff like that....

[Armchair Lawyer]

As always, it's worth looking up little factoids like this.

[Noscitur a sociis]

Tulane student Sarah Me

Nope.

[Rossami]

Typo? The first paragraph shows the student's name as "Sarah Me" but all subsequent references use the last name "Ma".

[Rossami]

I respectfully disagree with your conclusions. Tulane, the university, has an obligation to (1) keep Ma safe while on campus - they have no responsibility for her off-campus safety; and (2) to cooperate with law enforcement in the investigation and prosecution of the threats.

Yes, Tulane University does have their own police department. But like all such quasi-private police departments with arrest powers, they are paid for by the institution but answerable to the state for their actions as police officers. If Tulane, the university, tried to interfere with the police department's handling of a case, not only are they wrong but the officers are in violation of their oaths of office.

[Dr. Ed 2]

" they have no responsibility for her off-campus safety"

That's what the CLEARY act was about -- it's crime NEAR campus as well as on campus. Of course CLEARY is just reporting, but still...

[Noscitur a sociis]

Could you explain why:

1. You keep capitalizing CLEARY when it’s named after a person, not an acronym?

2. You keep spelling it “Cleary” when the correct spelling is “Clery”?

3. You say it covers “crime NEAR campus as well as on campus” when it does not?

[David Nieporent]

Forget it, Noscitur; it's DrEdtown.

[Rossami]

As you say, the Clery Act is only about reporting. There is nothing in that act that obligates any institution to provide off-campus safety. So why is that act relevant?

[Darth Buckeye]

I tried reading the piece; it seemed nonsensical. Leave the woman alone. If she wants to make a fool of herself, be big enough to let her. I don't think she posed a threat to anyone.

[BadLib]

I can't agree that the university should "do everything in its power to keep Ma safe".

If she is attacked on campus, they certainly should respond just as they would if anyone else was attacked - including prompt response and investigation.

However, I don't see why they should provide substantial additional protection as that will presumably require additional resources and to be truly effective (i.e. "do everything") would probably require a full time "security escort" which is excessive. Ma made a decision to spout off and, unfortunately, is learning that that decision has consequences. Yes, those making threats should be tracked down and flayed in public - but that is different than specifically protecting Ma.

And why would the university even mention that they probably couldn't keep her safe "directly off campus"? That's not the universities responsibility in the first place.

[Randal]

University administrators aren't generally sociopathic, is really the answer to all your questions.

[AtR]

It used to be that these kinds of threats were for the police to handle ... but I guess we've defunded them by now.