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What if…?

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By Rabbi Josh Snyder, Goucher College Hillel Director

Goucher, I love you guys – all of you.  There are so many times when my heart wells up with gratitude for being able to work and serve in such a thoughtful, eclectic, open community that I cherish. A defining characteristic of Goucher that I value is the transformation that happens here.  I decided to write this Op/Ed now – the first in my tenure as Hillel Director – because I think the way we engage with the topics of Israel and Palestine, and how that impacts our sense of safety and community at Goucher, requires transformation.

There is a repetitive pattern that occurs – a statement is made; polarizing posters and social media posts pop up; there is a reaction from a different viewpoint; the tension comes to a head at an event; the issue either returns to a simmer or boils over in an explosive way.   Looking around the country and the world I see where that leads with regards to antisemitism, Islamophobia, and anti-Arab sentiment.  It leads to explicit hateful comments like “F– the Jews/Arabs”, harassment and belittling of students, threats of violence and actual physical violence.   It all must stop – no one should be living in fear because of who they are.

What if we found a way as a community to change the pattern? Can we talk together about this conflict without copying and pasting the conflict itself onto our campus? We might start by asking some of the following questions of ourselves and one another:

  1. What if we found a way to listen?

What would it look like if we assumed that each of us had good intentions? If we brought curiosity to the table instead of judgment?  If we asked more open-ended questions, and made less definitive statements? If we understood that there are more than two sides? That someone could be pro-Palestine and pro-Israel? Pro-Palestinian and/or pro-Israeli (i.e. pro people and not necessarily their governments?) Simply pro-human?

  1. What if we each took time to read different views than our own?

 There is a lot of disinformation – including overstatements, omissions, context switches and outright lies from all sides – when it comes to reporting on Israel-Palestine in general, and this war in particular. We also tend to find sources that bolster confirmation bias rather than giving different perspectives.  Analyze what you are reading and check sources, especially when a claim seems shocking and damning. Read news from multiple sources to get a fuller picture. 

  1. What if we all learned about potential biases that can arise, e.g. antisemitism?

Antisemitism shares much in common with other biases like racism, but some unique characteristics as well.  Among the hallmarks of antisemitism is a tendency to accuse Jews of having too much power – often through association with money or alleging a secret conspiracy for domination. In this way, antisemitism acts to arouse suspicion whenever Jews gather, build community or advocate, in ways that would not be applied to other identity groups.  There are also abiding myths, or tropes, about Jewish bloodthirstiness, greed, and disloyalty, along with denial or minimizing of Jewish suffering (e.g. Holocaust denial).  Like other biases, antisemitic ideas are often acquired subconsciously, and therefore are unacknowledged as being present. However, they are widely held and continually find new avenues of expression. 

Perhaps the most deeply held and harmful antisemitic belief is that antisemitism is Jews’ own fault. In other situations, we would call this victim blaming or gaslighting.  This belief is used to justify persistent antisemitic speech, and continually forces Jews to change who they are to be accepted. 

The 75 years since the Holocaust and the founding of the state of Israel have been an unprecedented period of relative peace for Jews – and it took an unprecedented genocide of ⅔ of European Jewry – 6 million Jews – for it to happen.  The Holocaust was the culmination of thousands of years of persecution, expulsion, forced conversion, and mass murder of the Jewish people.  Antisemitic incidents have surged worldwide since 2016 and have risen by at least 400% in the last month.

 Defeating antisemitism requires allyship from folks outside of the Jewish community.  Committing to fighting against antisemitism needs not and does not take away from the fight against other forms of bias.  It’s part and parcel of a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

  1. What if we understood where Zionism came from?

Zionism, as defined by its originators, is the political movement to establish a home for the Jewish people in our ancestral homeland, known variously over time as Zion, Canaan, Judea, Israel, and Palestine. Zionism as a political movement began in the late 1800s in response to rising antisemitism, with the goal of providing both a refuge and a creative center for the Jewish world.  However, the political movement built upon a consistent Jewish longing for return to the homeland where Jews once held sovereignty for more than a millennium prior to the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem by the Romans in the year 70 CE, and where Jews have lived continuously since the time of the kings of Israel and Judah – at least 3000 years.  This longing has been expressed in daily prayer (e.g. “gather us from the four corners of the earth to our land”) and ritual (e.g. the Passover Seder’s ending refrain “next year in Jerusalem”) for 2000 years.  Love of Zion and connection to the land are inextricable from Judaism itself. Judaism is not just a faith – it is a culture refracted and diversified through the intersectional experiences of a multi-ethnic people.  The Jewish people is made up of Jews of all races and from many nations.  

Just as there are many kinds of Jews, there are many approaches to Zionism.  Zionism itself is not mutually exclusive with Palestinian national self-determination.  If someone is a Zionist, and/or an Israeli, it does not mean they unconditionally support the actions of the Israeli government.  Criticism of Israel’s government is legitimate, and it happens all the time within Israel itself and Jewish communities worldwide, including our own on campus.  

Sometimes the terms ‘Zionists’ and ‘Zionism’ are used in a pejorative way.  This verbal usage can be loaded with antisemitic tropes regarding money, control, greed, and power, and can be accompanied by imagery that echoes these tropes.  Thus ‘Zionist’ can be a socially acceptable stand-in for the word ‘Jew’, transferring the impact of antisemitism to Israel and its supporters.  Since this rhetoric perpetuates antisemitic ideas, it impacts all Jews, regardless of their stances towards Israel.

  1. What if … um, ok … what is Hillel?

Goucher Hillel is affiliated with Hillel International and is an agency of the Associated: Jewish Federation of Baltimore.  We have been on campus for 25 years, though our roots go back to Jewish Student Associations and other campus-community partnerships that began in the 1920s.  Hillel programming is funded by voluntary donations from alums, parents, and community members, and is open to the entire Goucher community.  Hillel continually works to create collaborative programming with other identity and affinity groups on campus.  

Hillel International is the Foundation for Jewish Campus Life, and the largest Jewish campus organization in the world.  Hillels serve students on 850 campuses all over the globe.  Hillel was, is, and will always be a space for all kinds of Jewish students — a place where they feel welcomed and included. Regarding Israel, Hillel as an organization supports the existence of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state.  However, every community member is welcome in Hillel regardless of their views on Israel and is welcome to express those views.  Our student leaders and staff have a wide variety of views on Israel, and we celebrate that.  

Our programming relating to Israel is multifaceted and pluralistic.  We seek to create a   nuanced understanding of Israel – including politics, culture, religion, and language –  via different voices and experiences.  We do not shy away from challenging conversations and critique of Israel’s policies.  Engaging with Israel is a central piece of who we are, but it’s not all that we are.   We focus on learning, Shabbat and holidays, service, wellness, and social events.  If you haven’t come to a Hillel program in the past, please know that you’re welcome, regardless of whether you’re Jewish or you’re not Jewish.  We’d love the chance to get to know you and for you to get to know us.

  1. What if…?

The current war raging between Israel and Hamas has already had an incalculable cost in lives lost among Palestinians and Israelis; Jews, Muslims, Christians, Druze and others; young and old; civilian and military – each life a unique world lost and a tragedy all of its own.  In the coming weeks, there are likely to be more, and that feels gut-wrenching to anticipate.  Some of us have family members and friends we have lost, who are missing, or who are in harm’s way. It feels like we barely have time to acknowledge a loss before bracing for the next wave.  

There are other losses too – a sense of safety and normalcy; prolonged stress that affects health; isolation and depression.  This is hard to hold as we try to go about our everyday lives as students, faculty, and staff.   We want to bring justice, peace, freedom, and understanding to all involved.  On a day-to-day basis, one good thing we can do for ourselves and for each other is to express compassion – for ourselves, for one another, and for everyone affected by this war.  Uprooting bias and hatred of all forms is integral to living that compassion in action.

I believe that the only way to truly counter biases like racism, homophobia, Islamophobia, and antisemitism is through awareness and education.  Two years ago, our Hillel staff and lay leaders took part in a yearlong training for Jewish communal leaders on fighting racism.  Our teacher, Yavilah McCoy, taught us about “oops”, “ouch” and the teachable moment.  Oops is recognizing our own blind spots, and that our words and actions may have hurt someone, even if we didn’t intend to.  It’s having the humility to admit that without defensiveness.  Ouch is calling out bias when it happens to us, and finding a way of letting that person know we have been hurt – this could be an interpersonal conversation, or it could be through a bias report to the Campus Climate Education Team.  Either way, it’s naming the act of bias, not condemning the person as irredeemable.  The teachable moment is understanding that education and interchange is the way that we can unlearn these learned biases.  

Having the humility to ask, listen, and learn is how we access the power to transform ourselves and our community.  What if we all used that power to make this campus a place where we all feel at home, every day?

 1 See Sources like The Anti-Defamation League (ADL)’s Brief History of Antisemitism, as well as Anti Semitism Uncovered: A Guide to Old Myths in a New Era; USHMM’s Christian Persecution of Jews over the Centuries; Berkeley’s Center for Jewish Studies Antisemitism Education Resources; and many more online and in print.* 

https://www.adl.org/resources/press-release/adl-records-dramatic-increase-us-antisemitic-incidents-following-oct-7

*Disclaimer: The source cited above has a distinctly pro-Israeli stance, and in that does not represent an unbiased definition or history of anti Semitism and Zionism. https://www.adl.org/about/adl-israel 

A direct definition of anti Semitism and Zionism can be found in Merriam-Webster Dictionaries official website “Anti-Semitism.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/anti-Semitism . Accessed 5 Nov. 2023.
“Zionism.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Zionism.  Accessed 5 Nov. 2023.

Disclaimer: This piece was published as an op-ed submission from a Goucher community member. The Quindecim is a space for all within the Goucher community to express their views and beliefs. These pieces are released in the name of journalistic integrity and not in an attempt to antagonize or reflect the institution of Goucher as a whole.

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On Options and Variety in the Dining Hall

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Just yesterday, I walked into the Mary Fisher dining hall and found myself pleasantly surprised by the options on display. I thought, Oh, wow. I can finally have a balanced meal today. So onto my plate I heaped some tasty looking fried rice, pork butt, and green beans and went to take my seat in the fishbowl. I eagerly dug in, and everything was fine for a little while. The pork butt was maybe a bit too salty for my taste but the rice was decent and I was having a good time.

Until I got to the green beans.

The second I bit down on the first one, alarm bells rang in my head. Specifically, in my mouth, where I had the unpleasant sensation of hearing squeaking as I chewed. Now, I don’t know about you, but this is the first time I’ve ever eaten green beans that squeaked as I ate them. The incredibly discomforting rubbery texture of the vegetables put me off of them, and I avoided touching them for the rest of the meal. To my dismay, my dreams of having a well-balanced meal for dinner were dashed before they even began.

The fact of the matter is, the dining hall has some pretty shoddy options when it comes to vegetables. Sometimes, there’s an odd wax texture on them, which I suspect must have been the reason for my rubbery green beans. There was a case of rotting lettuce in the salad station even!

However, the case of bad vegetables only nominally affects me, when I don’t have any dietary restrictions due to food allergies, personal beliefs, or religious reasons. For some of my friends, this is not the case. In fact, I was inspired to write this because of a vegetarian friend of mine. I would often see that the only thing she ate was a bowl of cottage cheese. While she was quick to assure me that that wasn’t the only thing she eats, she had her reasons for why she had it so often.

“It’s…one of the only protein sources available other than tofu, and I can’t eat tofu every day,” she told me. “They could just have more variety. [There’s] so many things that you can make…that aren’t just blocks of tofu.”

Another friend of mine is a Jewish girl who, along with keeping kosher, has a plethora of food allergies that limit what she can eat, such as certain fruits and seasonings, along with generally not consuming animal products as a vegan. While the kosher station can often meet her needs as they generally make allergy-free vegan options, she sometimes feels like the rest of the dining hall is less accessible.

“Sometimes there are [not any] options that I can actually eat, so I end up having a salad or just plain bread,” she said. “I would appreciate it if there was…[a consistent] vegan pasta dish…[and] made sure their [all of] vegan dishes were allergen-free.”

She is also tired of the lack of variety, claiming that the vegan beef and vegan chicken are “not really always the best depending on the dish.”

But, according to one junior I interviewed, Goucher can make good vegan meat. Gabie has been a vegetarian her entire life, and has noted that a lot of their meat substitution options often fall by the wayside, especially the notoriously terrible black bean burgers.

“Sometimes they have…quality meat substitutes like…the fake meatloaf and things that are genuinely good but…[they’re] a once or twice a semester thing,” Gabie stated. “They have proven that they can give us actual good meat substitutes and they don’t and it’s very frustrating.”

So the issue here is not a lack of capability. Clearly, there are the occasional good meals that our fellow non-meat eating students can have. But the lack of effort on Goucher’s part to consistently provide all of their students that have dietary restrictions with good, nutritious food is a travesty. It honestly shouldn’t even happen, considering every student who lives on campus is required to have a meal plan. This problem isn’t limited to the dining hall, but also the student market.

A common complaint I’ve heard is that there are very limited vegetarian options to get. Besides the salads and vegetable sushi, there’s not much non-meat eating students can get. Meanwhile, even if you get a salad, you can choose between a ceasar salad (the meatless option still contains cheese) or a plain garden salad consisting of only lettuce. The portion sizes of the rare vegan options are also notably getting smaller, leading to unsatisfying, unfulfilling meals for anyone who chooses to forego the dining hall.

I don’t think it’s asking for much for Goucher to do better. Providing students with accessible, actually good food should be a non-issue. It wouldn’t take much for them to add more non-meat protein options—such as beans—and provide more vegetarian/vegan foods to the student market, like bringing back the black bean burgers that many students actually liked. As many students don’t consume dairy for a variety of reasons, dairy-free desserts such as sorbet should also be common in the dessert station.

But until Goucher gets better, it is up to students to keep reminding them that not everything is up to far. Until that happens, here’s some advice for future vegan/vegetarian Goucher students given from Gabie: “…When there’s good things, get them, because you don’t know when they’ll be back.”

By Jaiden Johnson ‘27

Disclaimer: This piece was published as a student’s op-ed submission. The Quindecim is a space for all students within the Goucher community to express their views and beliefs. These pieces are released in the name of journalistic integrity and not in an attempt to antagonize or reflect the institution of Goucher as a whole.

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Photo Gallery: 11.09.2023 – ‘Walk Out for Palestine’ Event

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On November 9, 2023, “In a display of unity and activism, a large number of Goucher College students and some faculty gathered outside of Mary Fisher Dining Hall to protest the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Palestine.” (From Goucher’s student body has spoken; they say Free Palestine by Theo Efron.) To read the rest of Efron’s article, click here. The following photos are from that event.

Photos taken with Sony A7iii with 20-70mm F4 lens. Photos by Mich Rouse ’24.

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Opinion: Ancient Wisdom for Peacemaking on Campus

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Growing up as a secular American Jew, the number one principle impressed upon me by my mother and grandmother was the commitment to caring for others. This is how I choose to actualize the traditional Jewish identity as the “chosen people” – a people chosen by a greater power, or just self-volunteered, to put the wellbeing of the world first.

To be human is to feel for one another. Not just to sympathize, but to empathize – we read reports of war and we see ourselves or our loved ones there, lacking food and clean water and being bombarded with rockets with no way to flee. We feel alongside them. At its most barebones, this is what it means, to me, to be a Jew. We hold not just our own pain, but the pain of the world.

As the first century sage, Hillel famously put it: “If I am not for me, who will be for me?  And when I am for myself alone, what am I? And if not now, then when?” (Pirkey Avot 1:14)

This teaching is more relevant now than ever – here’s how I’ve been understanding it.

“If I am not for me, who will be for me?”

It has been almost a month since the worst massacre of Jews since the Shoah (Holocaust), enacted by the terrorist group Hamas against Israeli Jews, Arabs, and almost 200 foreign nationals visiting or living in Israel. I use this comparison because for me, and for millions of other Jews, the fear and fury wrought by this disaster is familiar to us. It’s engrained within our bodies, passed down from ancestors who survived pogroms and displacement and a genocide from which our tribe still hasn’t recovered. In response to these collective traumas, people tend to retreat and lash out in different ways to ensure their survival.

In the past, I have placed Jews intentionally behind other marginalized groups seeking equality – believing that self-sacrificing activism would spare me from antisemitism. I can no longer allow the safety of my upbringing, as an assimilated American Jew, to blind myself to the reality of Jews across the world who do not have such a privilege. No one else will advocate for me, or for the Jewish people, if we do not first champion our own needs. I am proudly Jewish, and proudly a Zionist – I believe wholeheartedly in the right of the Jewish tribe to self-determination and safety in our homeland. Alongside preserving my people’s safety, I wholeheartedly believe in the right of the Palestinian people to the same.

“And when I am for myself alone, what am I?”

I commit to holding space for myself and my people to mourn, first and foremost, and I refuse to let the awful pain and trauma prevent me from holding space for Palestinian pain, too. I have enough compassion inside me, still, to do both. For some days after the massacre, I thought my well of empathy had been scraped dry. I saw the tragic numbers of civilian death being reported from Gaza, and all I saw on the back of my eyelids were the Jewish lives brutally cut short by Hamas’ attack.

Connecting with other Jews was what allowed me to realize that I was still capable of holding love and compassion for people outside my tribe. Being able to mourn publicly and share the fear that was governing every facet of my existence was enough to be able to understand again that Palestinians were feeling the same way. We are both people of the Levant, and more importantly, we are both human. Outside of the vocal minorities on both sides, seeking continual war, death, and destruction, there are two peoples who simply demand safety, access to basic needs, and sovereignty.

“And if not now, when?”

The unspeakable horrors inflicted on Israel by Hamas, and the humanitarian crisis unfolding in the besieged Gaza City, represent a cyclical pattern of violence that has been developing for centuries. It also represents a chance to do better – to reaffirm our commitment, as Jews and citizens of the world, to holding humanity sacred. As the news cycle changes over and the attention of the West wanes, I pledge to stay present.

Ultimately, although my soul is in Eretz Yisrael (The Land of Israel), my body is 5,800 miles away on Goucher’s campus. As tensions on campus grow, as a microcosm of the conflict in the Levant, the same fear-based reactions I see in the global Jewry – retreating or lashing out – I see in my peers, and in myself.

The belief in the sanctity of human life is not a uniquely Jewish one. I believe, truly, that the vast majority of Goucher’s community ultimately have the same hope: peace, safety, and self-determination for all inhabitants of the Levant. In the frenzy of an active war, there is little we can do from campus. What we can do – what I commit to doing – is listening, even when someone’s opinions contradict my own. Learning from all sides, recognizing propaganda for what it is and never presuming my own expertise. To love and mourn and fight for the safety of Palestinians as I do my own tribe. Most importantly, to always hold their humanity alongside my own.

By Em Klein-Luce

* Disclaimer: This piece was published as a student’s op-ed submission. The Quindecim is a space for all students within the Goucher community to express their views and beliefs. These pieces are released in the name of journalistic integrity and not in an attempt to antagonize or reflect the institution of Goucher as a whole.

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Goucher’s student body has spoken; they say Free Palestine.

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 In a display of unity and activism, a large number of Goucher College students and some faculty gathered outside of Mary Fisher Dining Hall to protest the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Palestine. The demonstration not only voiced concerns about the devastating genocide against the Palestinian people but also served as a platform for students to criticize the administration’s pro-Israel stance. 

Student holds a sign reading “Jews against genocide, peace for Palestine” | Photo Credit: Mich Rouse ’24
Students gather on Van Meter Highway. | Photo Credit: Mich Rouse ’24

The protest saw students coming together to raise their voices against the atrocities in Palestine. The demonstration was characterized by a shared commitment to social justice and a call for a more empathetic campus community.  

Against the backdrop of Mary Fisher Dining Hall, students took turns addressing the crowd through a megaphone, passionately articulating their perspectives on the issue, and cries of “free Palestine” could be heard after almost every speaker. Each speaker brought a unique view to the conversation, emphasizing the importance of creating understanding and empathy on campus.  

Crowd of students gather outside Mary Fisher Dining Hall. | Photo Credit: Mich Rouse ’24

The theme of unity emerged in the shared cause and the diversity of voices present. Students from various communities and academic disciplines came together to express their solidarity with the Palestinian people. This demonstration illustrated the capacity of our community to engage in open dialogue and activism, putting aside individual differences for a common cause. 

There was no greater example of this than when Judaic Studies assistant professor, Maxwell Greenberg, got on the megaphone to sympathize with the Palestinian cause. Greenberg, being Jewish himself, vowed to teach from an unbiased perspective within his department.  

The protest also highlighted the student body’s dissatisfaction with the administration’s pro-Israel stance. Criticisms were voiced regarding what many in the community viewed as radio silence on addressing the genocide being committed against the Palestinian people, especially when Goucher’s administration was quick to release a statement of solidarity with Israel after the Hamas attack.  

Goucher College students aimed to create a space for dialogue and education through their speeches and chants. The demonstration called for increased awareness about the historical and political context of the conflict. As well as being conscious of mainstream media narratives and propaganda.

As students passionately expressed their concerns, the protest exemplified the impact of peaceful protest and collective action. The diverse range of perspectives showcased the strength that comes from understanding and the willingness to engage in open dialogue and how people can be brought together when fighting for a common cause. 

 The event concluded with a candlelit vigil where participants laid candles and artwork in respect of the Palestinian lives lost, as the names of martyred children were read aloud. 

Students hold candles in remembrance of those martyred. | Photo Credit: Mich Rouse ’24
Candles surround three signs reading “Queers for a free Palestine,” “do not Ignore Genocide,” and “Don’t Normalize Genocide” | Photo Credit: Mich Rouse ’24

The coming together was an inspiring example of the community Goucher has the potential to be and should be used as a platform for more significant student input in how our college is represented. Every student has a voice, so why not use it for the better? 

Analysis by Theo Efron ’26

Disclaimer: This piece was published as a student’s analysis of the events reported. The Quindecim is a space for all students within the Goucher community to express their views and beliefs. These pieces are released in the name of journalistic integrity and not in an attempt to antagonize or reflect the institution of Goucher as a whole.

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What We Know: How Different Groups Are Responding to Escalations in the Israel-Palestine Conflict

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Since war broke out between Israel and Hamas last month, college campuses across the nation are experiencing tension as groups from opposing sides clash and communities grieve casualties on both sides.

Here’s a run-down of responses from the Goucher community.

On October 7th, the day of the initial Hamas attack, Goucher Hillel released a statement on their instagram account, voicing support for all Israelis, students, and professionals at Hillel Israel. Read the full statement here.

Three days later on October 10th, Goucher College President Kent Devereux sent an email to all official students, faculty and staff, titled “Statement Regarding Hamas Attack on Israel, and Resulting War.”

In this email Devereux writes “First, I want to say that we at Goucher strongly condemn the unprecedented, deadly attack by Hamas terrorists upon Israel, and that we stand in firm and caring support of members of our community who have friends and family who may be in harm’s way. The violence and harm are utterly heartbreaking and have traumatized our Jewish, Israeli and Middle Eastern community members who have family, friends, or colleagues in, or direct ties to, the region.”

This email cites Goucher Hillel staff as a support system for affected students, as well as the Student Counseling Center, and WellTrack Connect.  

Goucher Hillel has held a number of information and listening sessions on campus since releasing the previous statement, all advertised on their instagram page. The most recent of these sessions is an Israel-Hamas War Briefing on Zoom, taking place remotely on Thursday, November 2. Those wishing to participate have been prompted to email Assistant Director Beth Vander Stoep at beth.vanderstoep@goucher.edu for a link to this session.

In addition to the named support systems, President Devereux wrote in support of those speaking on the conflict to do so with a “focus on our shared humanity.”

The following is an excerpt pulled from his October 10 email, under the subtitle: Speaking to One Another Across Different Viewpoints

 “We understand that each individual will view the events differently. There should be one thing that unites us all, which is that the murder of civilians can never be justified. The indiscriminate murder that we have seen on the news reports has made a number of our students feel unsafe.

Beyond that, there may be several viewpoints about this conflict that can often be at odds with one another, and our students need to feel safe in their identities and share their beliefs. It is up to all of us to ensure a safe environment at Goucher and welcome a wide range of perspectives and beliefs on our campus.”

On October 24, an email statement from Goucher’s Center for Race, Equity, and Identity (CREI) was sent to all official students, faculty and staff. This statement affirmed CREI’s commitment to social justice, with words from Juan M. Hernandez, Ed.D Assistant Vice President for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Title IX.

Hernandez stated, “Ultimately, social justice requires us to call out power and oppression in all of the ways it exists; but asks us to do that work in a manner that allows us to grow as a community where we acknowledge that we are imperfect human beings who are committed to centering human dignity, the pursuit of knowledge, and the fair and equitable treatment of all.”


On the same day, October 24, a space was held to uplift and voice support for Palestinian lives, with a presentation on recent events in Palestine and their historical context, followed by a Q&A discussion. According to fliers posted on campus advertising the event, the presentation was given by a Speak Out Now Socialists activist, but the event organizers are unknown. 

October 31st, a group of unknown individuals put up a poster display of artwork in support of Palestinian liberation on Mary Fisher. Attached to this display was an artist’s statement urging the college to leave it up at least one week after the initial posting. The display was removed from Mary Fisher approximately two hours later. 

The artist’s statement was left untouched on the window of Mary Fisher, now with a printout citing Goucher College’s commitments to respect, inclusion, communication, service and social justice, and responsibility. 

The reason cited by administration for the removal of this display was a violation of the college’s recently adopted demonstration policy, a policy made known to students exactly one day prior via a policy update email sent to all official students, faculty and staff on Monday, October 30th. 

On November 6, an instagram post from the official Goucher CREI account advertised a healing space to take place on November 7 in the Sanford J. Ungar Athenaeum.

The original message stated: “We will be holding a space Tuesday night for anyone that hasn’t felt like they have had a space to process Hamas’ terrorist attack on Israel and the genocide perpetrated by Israel as a result.”

Just a few hours later, this statement was removed from the account, and edited for re-upload with a new statement:

“We will be holding a space Tuesday night for anyone that hasn’t felt like they have had a space to process Hamas’ terrorist attack on Israel and the counterattacks by Israel as a result.”

On November 7, a second project by the group now known as @decadesandoceans on Instagram took place on a picnic table outside the academic quad. This project, cited by the organizer as a class project, was meant to be a space held for grieving the martyrs and lives lost in Palestine.

A list of names, victims of the Israeli siege on the Gaza Strip released by Palestine’s Ministry of Health, was placed on the table, along with markers and strips of cloth for participants to write names on in remembrance and hang from the branches of the tree overlooking this table.

Just a few hours after the project’s initial set up, the project was defaced, with the words “Stop killing Jews” written at the top of this list.

@decadesandoceans released a statement of their account regarding this defacement.

“Dear individual(s) who felt called to do this: To vandalize a space that is held for grieving the loss of innocent life, that is in no one’s way and causes no one harm, to allow all lines to be crossed, surrender one’s humanity and let apathy triumph- how reminiscent of the behavior of those who have fallen victim to zionist propaganda!”

Read the full statement of their account, linked above.

November 8, President Kent Devereux sent an email to all official students, faculty and staff, titled “National Day of Protest Tomorrow, November 9”

This email stated:

“I understand that tomorrow (Thurs., Nov. 9, 2023) is a national day of protest in response to the current events unfolding in Israel and Palestine. We are aware that in solidarity with this protest some of our students are planning a class walkout at 11:00 a.m. tomorrow.  

As students exercise their right to free speech during the school day tomorrow, Goucher staff will be prepared to ensure that this walkout is conducted safely and respectfully, with as little disruption to normal operations as possible.”

Additionally, President Devereux sent reminder reference links to the college’s Student Code of Conduct, as well as the Campus Demonstration Policy, a newer policy made known to students via a policy update email sent to all official students, faculty and staff on Monday, October 30th.

President Devereux concluded his email with the news that Campus Safety security officers would be present for this walk out, as a means to ensure student safety.

“Finally, please note that we have coordinated with Campus Safety to ensure that we have additional security in place this week, because more than anything else, the safety and security of our students and staff are of utmost priority. If you need to reach Campus Security for any reason, please call them any time at 410-337-6111. 

Thank you for ensuring that our community remains committed to and grounded in these principles of free expression and mutual respect.”

On November 9, a student organized walk out took place at 11am in support of Palestinian liberation. An estimated 60+ students and a few faculty members left classrooms at 11 to convene in front of Haebler Memorial Chapel, then walking down Van Meter highway. The group then gathered in from of Mary Fisher dining hall and speakers took turns voicing calls for action, boycotts, and concerns about the devastating genocide against the Palestinian people.

Students also took to criticizing the administration’s response, or lack thereof, to this crisis as well as their blatant pro-Israel stance.

Following this gathering, the group returned to the front of Haebler Memorial Chapel for a candlelit vigil where participants laid candles and artwork in respect of the Palestinian lives lost, as the names of martyred children were read aloud from the list of victims released by Palestine’s Ministry of Health.

Update: This is a developing story. The Quindecim is also investigating longer-term projects regarding this subject matter, and will give updates as they arise.

This story was last updated November 13, 2023

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Palestine: The Men Deserve Our Help Too. 

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Over the past few weeks, the Israeli siege on Gaza has left many a “think of the children” narrative circulating social media.

We have been bombarded with images of deceased children, we know that nearly half of Gaza’s population is under 18, and we know that most people being treated in Gaza hospitals and refugee camps were children as well. 

Coverage of women and children in Gaza and the West Bank is essential, it is a gateway into the reality of the brutalization of the Palestinian people. 

Countless scholars have written about how women and children are the first and last to lose in war because war is a feminist issue, and Palestine is no exception. However, when Palestinian men are out of focus in the conversation, we are signing their death certificates as well. 

I want to be extremely clear, reader, that this article is the very antithesis of “All Lives”, and “Men Cry Too”, sentiments. This is about persecuted men of color, semantics be damned. 

If you’re a background supporter it’s easy to say that the men of Palestine are martyrs and that it’s admirable to die for your state, but we should ask ourselves why this is the present narrative. Is this after decades of being desensitized to seeing black and brown men give up their lives? Have we fallen for the trick that men of color are supposed to die for the cause?

The internet is circulating videos of Palestinian men saying they wish to stay and die there, but there are also videos of men saying that they are terrified and praying for their safety. Why is one story more marketable than the other?

We could implore ourselves to focus on some men because they are fathers, husbands, sons, and brothers. (A similar argument among the Liberal West for why we should have women’s rights – because they are mothers, daughters, etc).  But why do you need to belong to someone to deserve dignity? 

We could show support for Palestinian men because they work in the hospitals, they drive the aid trucks, and they pull their own from collapsed buildings. Pray tell, why do they need to be heroes to deserve a home?

 Where is the room for ordinary men to be saved? Where is our grief for the “regular” guy? Why do body bags have to be tiny for the world to pay attention? 

The current demand for a perfect victim in women and children likens the conflict to a television show. As if, it’s not “entertaining” enough to see “ just another brown man” suffer.  After all, we’re used to it by now. 

Now is not the time to reinforce a hyper-masculine idea of survival, now we need to exercise the most careful empathy, for everyone’s benefit. Palestinian men, just like all persecuted men of color, deserve to grow old in their own homes. 

Palestinian men are central in their communities of course. In many cases, they are heroes, fathers, and whatever romantic idea we may want to place on them. Above all, however, they’re just people, just people who deserve better. Just people whose survival depends on the advocacy and attention of us as just people. 

* Disclaimer: This piece was published as a student’s op-ed submission. The Quindecim is a space for all students within the Goucher community to express their views and beliefs. These pieces are released in the name of journalistic integrity and not in an attempt to antagonize or reflect the institution of Goucher as a whole.

Nostalgic Halloween Costumes For Your Duo or Group

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Happy (almost) Halloween Gophers! This year,  Halloween trends seem to reflect a need for nostalgia, specifically late 90s and early 2000s nostalgia. In the midst of the Barbenheimers and Travis and Taylor’s of the world, here’s some 2000s cartoon duo or group costume inspiration for Halloween 2023. 

For The Girly Girls – The Spies from “Totally Spies!”

Sam, Alex, and Clover are here to save the day and your Halloween evening. They may be less well-known than other groups on this list, but they’re still iconic and incredibly easy since each spy has her own signature color palette. Bonus points if you add a “Jerry” to your group for a fully rounded cast. 

Image courtesy of IMDB

For The Goth Girlies – The Hex Girls from “Scooby-Doo and The Witch’s Ghost”

An inspiration for some, the bi-awakening for many, the Hex Girls from Scooby-Doo are a great choice for those with lots of blacks, reds, and purple in their closet. If you’re a musician this is the perfect time to walk around with your bass or guitar for maximum realism. If you’ve got a ton of people in your friend group – you can of course add the original Mystery Incorporated into your pack. 

Image courtesy of Choice Fine Art 

For The Sweethearts –  Eustace and Muriel Bagge from Courage The Cowardly Dog 

Courage The Cowardly Dog is the stuff of nightmares, – we can question if as children we should have been watching it late at night back in the 2000’s but what we can’t question is how Eustace and Muriel are the perfect (oblivious) old married couple. 

Image courtesy Variety Magazine

For The STEM Bros – Phineas, Ferb and Baljeet from Phineas and Ferb 

Of course Phineas and Ferb rival actual architects for some of their inventions over the course of their 104 days of summer vacation, but we don’t give enough credit to Baljeet for how smart he is – see One Good Scare Ought To Do it. 

Image courtesy of  Tumblr

For The Cultured Group – The Proud Family (and Dijonay) from The Proud Family. 

This is a group that doesn’t even need a description, if you know you know. If you’re just a duo, Penny and Dijonay are perfect, but it’s honestly a disservice not to have BeBe, CeCe, and Suga Mama proud to up the chaos. 

Image courtesy of Disney+

For The Hyper Femme Folks – The Main Fairies from The Winx Club 

Absolutely no relation to the newest live-action adaption but what better excuse to absolutely douse yourself in color, glitter, and fake wings? The Winx Club girls are incredibly drag/gender-bend friendly as well. 

Image courtesy of WWW.WinxClub.Com

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Remember?

The following is a poem by Xyn Evans Remember?  Of course I do. Everything looked so vibrant and exciting. It

Opinion: The Student Market is one of Goucher’s most active spots, so why is it closed so early?

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Located in the heart of the Goucher community, the student market gives students an alternative to the dining hall on a campus without many food options. Being one of just three food sources at Goucher, the student market’s value is clear, which begs the question: Why is it being treated like an afterthought?

Over the summer, as part of the many changes made to Mary Fisher, the decision was made to cut the hours of the Student Market. To put this into perspective, when I first arrived at Goucher, the Market stayed open until 8pm. Those hours were ideal for students with varying schedules, allowing us to grab what we needed before, in between, or after classes. It’s a place full of activity and foot traffic, making it even more surprising to return to campus this year and discover that the hours had been reduced, with the market now closing at 5pm.

Understandably, this decision has not been met with widespread enthusiasm among the student body. Last year, the Market was a reliable dinner alternative for many. Now, with its early closure, the number of food options available on campus after 5pm goes from low to even lower. This places students with night classes, afternoon-heavy schedules, and especially athletes, in a difficult position, as they may not be able to get to the market before it closes. It also makes the dining hall the sole option for dinner, which is difficult considering Mary Fisher’s hit-and-miss nature.

In the broader context of society, 5pm may signal the end of the workday, but that’s far from the case on a college campus. In the life of a college student, there are still many hours between 5pm and the end of our “workday,” especially when classes run as late as 10:30pm, so it raises a valid question: Why shouldn’t the Student Market’s hours reflect that reality? It offers

options that no other place on campus provides, and students already utilize the dining hall and Alice’s until they close. So, why should the Market be the one to get the short end of the stick?

Recognizing the Student Market’s role on campus is an essential first step; despite not being a place where students spend a lot of time, it is one of the busiest spots at Goucher. The Grab-n- go offers a faster meal option, and the market’s assortment of snacks, drinks, and stations makes it a cornerstone in the Goucher community and should be treated as such.

Students clearly understand the value of the student market, which means it’s time for the administration to do the same. On a campus already short on food options and with tuition on the rise, actively limiting those options further is counterproductive, and the lack of transparency on this decision is even more frustrating. A decision like this with no student consultation or heads-up shows a lack of consideration for the inconvenience it causes us and only further displays the disconnect between Goucher’s student body and its administration.

At the very least, the Student Market’s old hours should be reinstated to close at 8pm. This way, students who don’t have time to go to the dining hall or aren’t feeling the food that day can have a reliable alternative. I urge the administration to recognize the value of the Student Market and take action to ensure that it remains a foundation of the Goucher community.

This QR code links to a petition to change the student market hours! Scan it! 

By Theo Efron ‘26

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The Last Shall be the First: Zionism, Decolonization, and National Liberation

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“When history is written as it ought to be written, it is the moderation and long patience of the masses at which men will wonder, not their ferocity.” -CLR James The Black Jacobins

*The bourgeoisie media continues its role of being stenographers for the ruling class, playing the same role as in 2001, they regurgitate wild claims and racist language of the American capitalist class and its imperial outposts in Europe and Israel. However, there can be no mistake, no miscalculation, Israel is a settler-colonial project. Sir Ronald Storrs, first British Governor of Jerusalem called the Zionist mission one of creating, “a little loyal Jewish Ulster” (Cronin 2017). Despite the massive reorganization of the capitalist world-system since Storrs (the death of the British Empire, the Cold War, and American unipolarity) Israel maintains its position as an extension of Euro-American power. Theodor Herzl (1955) expresses this sentiment arguing “we should there [Palestine] form a part of a wall of defense for Europe in Asia, an outpost of civilization against barbarism” (p.254-55).

Ignoring the language of civilization and barbarism that defines colonialism I’d like to examine the colonial project of Zionism further. In 1902, Herzl presents the Zionist political project as “something colonial” in a letter penned to Cecil Rhodes (1960: 1194). The later revisionist Zionists understood their task at hand as part of a historical process: 

It is utterly impossible to obtain the voluntary consent of the Palestine Arabs for converting Palestine from an Arab country into a country with a Jewish majority. My readers have a general idea of the history of colonization in other countries. I suggest they consider all the precedents with which they are acquainted, and see whether there is one solitary instance of any colonization being carried on with the consent of the native population. There is no such precedent… This is equally true of the Arabs. They feel at least the same instinctive, jealous love of Palestine as the old Aztecs felt for ancient Mexico, and the Sioux for their rolling prairies… Every native population in the world resists colonists as long as it has the slightest hope of being able to rid itself of the danger of being colonized. That is what the Arabs of Palestine are doing, and what they will persist in doing as long as there remains a solitary spark of hope that they will be able to prevent the transformation of Palestine into the Land of Israel (Jabotinsky 1923: 2-4). 

It is clear that Zionism is not a radical reinterpretation of the world or decolonial self-determination as some try to erroneously claim. Zionism is the colonial ideology of Euro-America repackaged to protect the interests of the imperialist powers during the hegemonic interregnums. What remains perfectly clear to us as workers, students, and people of color is that the oppressed people of the world have a right to resist and assert their existence. 

The Zionists have presented their political project to us clearly and there can be no hesitation who to side with. Walter Rodney (2019 [1969]) asks us “by what standard of morality can the violence used by a slave to break his chains be considered the same as the violence of a slave master” (p. 16). The colonial world is not one simply of exploitation, it delineates the world between man and beast. It transforms the colonized people from subjects of history to objects of history. The extirpation of Palestinian lands necessitates the ideological extinction of the Palestinian. The State of Israel seeks to classify the Palestinians as a relic of the past therefore erasing their possibility of contributing to the future. Dr. Gish Amit, while conducting research for his PhD, uncovered documents in the Israeli State Archives from 1957 calling for the destruction of 26,000 books that were deemed “unsuitable for use in Arab schools in Israel, [because] some of them contained inciting materials against the State, and therefore their distribution or selling might cause damage to the State” (State Archives). Amit (2008) says: 

This untold story of the fate of Palestinian ‘abandoned’ books clearly demonstrates how occupation and colonization is not limited to the taking over of physical space. Rather, it achieves its fulfillment by occupying cultural space as well, and by turning the cultural artifacts of the victims into ownerless objects with no past. Israel’s collection of Palestinians’ books marks the transformation of a lively and dynamic Palestinian culture into museum artifacts. Thus, Palestinian’ books were placed within the shrine of Israeli libraries, fossilized on the shelves- accessible and at the same time completely lifeless (p. 7). 

It is imperative for the Palestinian people to reconnect that suppressed past to build the future that struggles to be born. This historical erasure is a quotidian violence toward the colonized, it manifests itself in the banning of textbooks, flags and other national symbols, placing other languages in a subaltern position, etc. 

The strategies of the Zionist entity to displace and dispossess Palestinians of their land are not novel. Similar strategies were deployed by the United States in the 1830s; having put up a façade of respecting treaties made with Indigenous nations there was a growing sense of frustration among the American ruling class that the Indigenous people had not yet died off or traded their land. Within this context the American government encouraged land speculators and settlers to cross the Appalachians and seize land as a paramilitary extension of the American government. Settlers, historically and contemporaneously, have never constituted an apolitical civilian role. The settler represents the primary point of struggle, the struggle over land. Fanon (1963) elucidates this point, “for a colonized people the most essential value, because the most concrete, is first and foremost the land: the land which will bring them bread and, above all, dignity” (p. 44). 

The colonial regime originates violence at the first point of contact between the colonist and the native. How can the colonized people be asked to condemn themselves when they fight back against the entity that produces an atmosphere of violence against the spirit, mind, and body. This is the sort of: 

Violence in everyday behavior, violence of the past that is emptied of all substance, violence against the future, for the colonial regime presents itself as necessarily eternal. We see, therefore, that the colonized people, caught in a web of three-dimensional violence, a meeting point of multiple, diverse, repeated, cumulative violences, are soon logically confronted by the problem of ending the colonial regime by any means necessary (Fanon 2018 [1960]: 654). 

We stand with the Palestinian resistance because we carry with us, in our bodies, our souls, our minds, the prints of colonialism. To be marked is to be in eternal solidarity. We cannot be silent. Our siblings in Palestine represent, for us, a struggle of historical proportions, a struggle that carries with it the hopes and dreams of our ancestors that imagined a world turned upside down. The colonial system can’t be undone, it can only be done away with. Assata Shakur (2001 [1987]) affirms this for us, “if I know anything at all,/ it’s that a wall is just a wall/ and nothing more at all./ It can be broken down” (1). 

By Sebastian Mendoza

REFERENCES

Amit, Gish. 2008. “Ownerless Objects? The Story of Books Left Behind in 1948.” Jerusalem Quarterly 33: 7-20. 

Cronin, David. 2017. “Winston Churchill Sent the Black and Tans to Palestine.” Irish Times, May 19. Retrieved October 9, 2023 (https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/winston-churchill-sent-the-black-and-tans-to-palestine-1.3089140).

Fanon, Frantz. 2018 [1960]. “Why we use Violence.” Pp. 653-659 in Alienation and Freedom, London: Bloomsbury Academic. 

Fanon, Frantz. 1963. The Wretched of the Earth. New York: Grove Press. 

Herzl, Theodor. 1955. Theodor Herzl: A Portrait for this Age. Cleveland: World Publishing Co. 

Herzl, Theodor. 1960. The Complete Diaries of Theodor Herzl, New York: Herzl Press and Thomas Yoseloff. 

Jabotinsky, Vladimir. 1923. The Iron Wall. http://en.jabotinsky.org/media/9747/the-iron-wall.pdf. 

Rodney, Walter. 2019 [1969]. Groundings with my Brothers. Verso Books. 

Shakur, Assata. 2001 [1987]. Assata Shakur An Autobiography, Chicago: Lawrence Hill Books. 

State Archives, Jerusalem, GL-1429/5

* Disclaimer: This piece was published as a student’s op-ed submission. The Quindecim is a space for all students within the Goucher community to express their views and beliefs. These pieces are released in the name of journalistic integrity and not in an attempt to antagonize or reflect the institution of Goucher as a whole.

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