Imagine being a college president these days. 

For years, you have led a pampered life, being paid exorbitant amounts of money to proclaim pious things piously, pretending that your pampered charges are serious people, talk endlessly about diversity and inclusion, and most of all, raising money from zillionaires. 

Not a bad life. There are minor annoyances, of course, but that salary and travel and entertainment budget soften the blow. 

Then October 7th comes along, and you discover that your faculty and students do mean all the revolutionary tripe they have been spouting all these years. At least enough of them to destroy whatever peace, quiet, and most of all, serenity you once had. 

BREAKING: Seven members of the President’s Advisory Committee on Preventing Antisemitism and Hate informed University step down. https://t.co/9BlYSvcq7i

— The Daily Northwestern (@thedailynu) May 1, 2024

The campus protests have been appalling, and for the most part the response of academic institutions has been equally so--at least outside the Red states, where the no BS policies of the Republican governors have not just discouraged the takeovers and antisemitic outbursts but have also prevented violence. Nobody is being suppressed--they are just being limited to speech, and speech is just not that exciting. The protesters want to commit violence, and when they can't they lose interest. 

Not so on the liberal campuses, where physical confrontation is now a norm, and it really sucks for the presidents. 

They are in a bind: they need their colleges to look good to keep collecting those sweet donations, but they also need to appear all woke and fuzzy because their employees and students are nutcases. 

So they try to split the baby: create committees on antisemitism and Islamophobia, negotiate with students as if they have any moral standing, and pretend to be the adults in the room. 

Adults discipline children when they are unruly, and the leaders of woke institutions want to do anything but that. 

At Northwestern (and now the University of Minnesota) the administrations decided to give in to the demands of the students--at least partway. Only, in Northwestern's case, to discover that the members of the committee appointed to root out antisemitism thought the administration was serious. 

It wasn't, of course. It was part of the show. 

So they resigned en masse. Good. 

Seven members of the President’s Advisory Committee on Preventing Antisemitism and Hate stepped down from the committee Wednesday, effective immediately.

A letter addressed to University President Michael Schill cited Schill’s decision not to consult the committee on the agreement reached Monday between administrators and the organizers of the pro-Palestinian encampment on Deering Meadow.

“It is essential that the University develop appropriate and timely recommendations to address and prevent antisemitism and hate,” the members wrote in the letter obtained by The Daily. “However, in light of the University leadership’s decision not to utilize the committee for its stated purpose, we can no longer continue to serve in this role.”

In the agreement, Northwestern committed to reestablish the now inactive Advisory Committee on Investment Responsibility and answer questions from “internal stakeholders” about the University’s financial holdings. It also agreed to “provide and renovate a house for MENA/Muslim students” on campus and allow demonstrations to continue protests on Deering Meadow through June 1. In exchange, demonstrators agreed to take down all tents except one and only use approved devices to project or amplify sound.

In my opinion, the committee was far too kind in its wording. They should have blasted the president as a phony who was covering his ass by appointing the committee, not an incompetent who gave in to the students without consulting them. But they are academics, and likely spineless themselves. 

Of course, the administration was as mealymouthed in response to the resignations as they have been to everything else. Even when (mildly) called out they couldn't let the moral equivalence BS go unsaid for one moment:

University spokesperson Jon Yates told The Daily the University was “disappointed” with the resignations, noting that “The University has no tolerance for antisemitic or anti-Muslim behavior” and that its “commitment to protecting Jewish students, faculty and staff is unwavering.”

“We will continue to engage with all members of the Committee – including the members who have resigned – and other Jewish members of our community, to ensure the vital objectives of this Committee continue,” Yates wrote.

What anti-Muslim behavior? Has there been an outbreak of violence against Muslims I am unaware of? Certainly, there is no organized group of people demonstrating against Muslims in America or on Northwestern's campus. 

But as I said, this is all for show, and these pathetic poseurs must observe the niceties. 

Oh, how these presidents long for the days when they didn't have to earn their pay. The job is hard now, mostly because they are spineless cowards, but it is still hard. 

One good thing has come out of this: the hollowness at the core of academia has been exposed. The people who run these universities long ago gave up on education; they let Marxists take over the institutions because it was the easiest path for the people whose only concern was donations and prestige. 

Let the donations dry up, the application numbers dwindle (not enough!), and their cultural influence wane. 

It is long past time.