I Had to Transfer Colleges, You Shouldn’t Have To: My Advice to Jewish Students and Applicants
I pressed my forehead against the cold window of my hotel room, staring at the Emerson College campus just a few blocks away. The chants of “Long live the Intifada!” and “We don’t want no two-states, we want 1948!” echoed throughout the campus, reaching me even in the hotel room the administration had placed me in after practically admitting they couldn’t guarantee my safety on campus.
That night, as I scrolled through my phone, I saw videos of the very same protestors, blocking entrances to our residential buildings and defacing our campus with chalk using phrases such as, “F*ck Zionists” and “From the river to the sea.” I had never felt so displaced in my own city.
Being on my campus felt like residing in enemy territory. I wasn’t abroad. I wasn’t in a war zone. I was in Boston, at an American college, where my tuition dollars had paid for a school that ultimately betrayed me and my Jewish peers.
I was the only person in our student-run newspaper covering pro-Israel rallies and events, and one of the few open Zionists on our campus.
It felt isolating, knowing that I was standing up for Israel when so few were willing to do the same. I found myself constantly defending my beliefs against insidious misinformation in the classroom, and engaging in fierce debates with both professors and students daily.
Unfortunately, the hostility didn’t stop when classes ended for the day. Every time I opened my phone, I was met with hate messages on Instagram from fellow students — for posting something in memory of Oct. 7 or even for sharing a picture from a past visit to Israel. The pressure was relentless, suffocating even, and it felt as though the weight of defending the thing I cared about most — Israel — fell solely on my shoulders.
When I decided to transfer schools shortly before the encampments took our campus by storm, I had a new set of criteria for my next school. I ultimately chose The George Washington University (GWU) — a place many consider just as, if not more, hostile toward Jews. But this time, I wasn’t looking for an oasis. Instead, I was looking for something more: a community where I wouldn’t have to fight for Israel alone.
Looking back, the most impactful lesson I learned is one that Jewish college applicants today need to understand: you can no longer afford to settle for a campus where your presence is tolerated, but your voice is silenced.
It’s no longer enough to just pick a “less antisemitic” school. You need to find a place where you can stand up, speak out, and fight back — where you can be part of a Jewish community that refuses to be passive, one that will stand shoulder to shoulder with you when things get difficult.
Jewish College Applicants: Don’t Overlook What I Did
Since Oct. 7, the climate on campuses has only grown more hostile, and Jewish applicants must now ask themselves a new set of questions:
Administrative Response to Antisemitism: How has the school handled past incidents of antisemitism? If an encampment were to arise tomorrow, where would the school’s leadership stand?
Jewish Student Life: Does the campus have an active Hillel, Chabad, and other Jewish organizations? Are there Jewish faculty members advocating for students?
Classroom Climate: Are professors known for pushing anti-Israel rhetoric? Are Jewish students comfortable voicing their opinions in class?
Campus Security: Are anti-Israel protests commonplace? Does the campus apply adequate security measures to protect Jewish events?
Media Bias on Campus: How did the student newspaper cover the encampments and anti-Israel protests on campus?
Jewish students have a choice: spend four years hoping to be quietly tolerated, or spend four years surrounded by a community that will stand up, push back, and make their presence known. Don’t just look for a place where you can be Jewish in silence. Look for a place where you can be Jewish — loudly.
Margaux Jubin is a student at The George Washington University with a passion for national security, foreign policy, and education. She aspires to work for a pro-Israel nonprofit or lobbying group, using her writing and political communication skills to strengthen the US-Israel relationship, combat antisemitism, and expose misinformation.
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