(Updated June 21, 2002)

On May 7, we saw a blatant example of how far our campuses had fallen, courtesy of the near-riot at SFSU. While a pro-Palestinian crowd swarmed pro-Israel rally members, used physical violence, and shouted "Get out or we will kill you" and "Hitler did not finish the job," administration officials on the scene did nothing. For those who want a refresher, Glenn Reynolds of FoxNews.com has the details.

Today will be totally dedicated to the Blog Burst. Many bloggers have lined up with Winds of Change, commenting on shared new materials and adding their own perspective on the SFSU situation. Despite Blogger's ongoing problems last night and today, participants include:

SFSU Blog Burst Index: Parting Bursts

Just to keep the record complete, here are the follow-up posts that have come to my attention...

• My turn. To use a Chris Matthews term, "Now, Let Me Tell You What I Realy Think!" On June 10, I also posted a follow-up and some scoops.
  
  
• "Still Mo'SFSU" (Armed Liberal, June 02) says: "if the facts are what they appear to be, this is beyond absurd... there is a wide gulf between passionate, even heated speech... and threatened and actual violence.... It frightens me a bit that this distinction is somehow not clear to the eminient administrators of the University."
  
  
• In "Sometimes It’s Just A Bad Day To Be A Liberal" Armed Liberal wades in again on June 5 to take down Mike Golby, a South African blogger upset by the Blog Burst. Armed Liberal doesn't have a lot of sympathy.
  
• Mac's Temporary Blog (of Wall Street Journal fame), gives an update of the situation as of June 15. It gets even more disturbing.
  

  SFSU Blog Burst Index: May 31, 2002
  

  The natural process of debate and discussion has kept the Blog Burst rolling into another day.

  • We'll say it again: big thanks to The Wall Street Journal's Best of the Web! Note that we've divided the posts by day.
    
    
  • We knew PejmanPundit would weigh in eventually. This California lawyer offers a legal analysis of the SFSU incident, and the options available to the Jewish students. Then another legal eagle builds on his analysis in the comments section.
    
    
  • Meryl Yourish posts "SFSU Follow-Through: Going nowhere fast, or, Why they call it Hate Jew U." What follows is a fresh letter from Patricia Jennings, who was with her son at the May 7 rally that turned into an anti-Israel hatefest. This letter also details how SFSU is dragging its feet on follow-through - a worrying sign...
    
    
  • Reader Bilha Weisz and Howard Fienberg of Kesher Talk built on Bruce Hill's post yesterday, sending in this link from the Jerusalem Post. It covers SFSU. It also suggests that more than a few folks will be taking Burce up on his call to activism in the near future.
  Based on the letter Meryl just posted, they'll need it.
  

  SFSU Blog Burst Index: May 30, 2002
  

  Blogger's many technical difficulties yesterday, and the natural process of debate and discussion, have kept the Blog Burst rolling into another day.

  • "SFSU Update: A Parent's Tale" (Mac's Temporary Blog) gives some of the human dimensions of what's going on, and the impact it's having on some students and their families. It also made the Wall Street Journal's Best of the Web today! Way to go!
    
    
  • Erin O'Connor (Cant Watch) has been doing an outstanding job on the campus beat for a while, and she keeps that streak going today. "In this blog I want to focus on a different, more elemental aspect of the problem: the role of fashion in helping to create and sustain campus support for the Palestinian cause."
    
    
  • So what's to do? In "How the Empire Can Strike Back" (Bruce Hill), a former student politician drags out a very instructive story from his days: "...instead of cowering in fear and whining, the Jewish Students Society decided to counter attack." Victory, he says, is very possible.
    
    
  • Middle East Realities has their technical difficulties sorted out now, with a little help from their friends. Their first posting revisits President Corrigan's original letter. Their next post wonders why some people seem to think destroying olive trees is bad, but killing people is OK. Fair question.
    
    
  • Fun & Profitt chimes in again today, in response to yesterday's "Negation Through Moral Equivalence" article. A fine addition - and yes, cross-blog discussions are encouraged in the Blog Burst!
    
  Wall Street Journal "Best of the Web" Today. #3 on Blogdex. Top 20 on Daypop. Instapundit. The mighty Blog Burst rolls on....
  

  SFSU Blog Burst Index: May 29, 2002

  • "Negation Through Moral Equivalence" (Cut on the Bias). A sharp look at local media's coverage of the SFSU events, and the pattern they're part of. Especially relevant in light of the Forward Magazine article [q.v.].
    
    
  • "SF Chronicle's coverage of anti-Semitism is as biased as its reporting on Palestinian terrorism" (David Melle)
    
    
  • Rantburg's Fred Pruitt slices, dices, and makes julienne fries out of the administration's weak response. Particularly amusing in light of the "you're persecuting us!" reaction by GUPS to even Corrigan's mild admonitions.
    
    
  • "White Flags Flying at SFSU" (Random Jottings). Lasers right in on SFSU's ironic motto: "Love is Stronger than Hate". The photo accompanying his blog post is priceless.
    
    
  • "Anti-Semitism on Campus" (What Are They Saying?). Mary Madigan outlines the larger trends, and addresses GUPS morally bankrupt response to President Corrigan along the way. "We don't have to work very hard to find examples of anti-Semitism," she writes. "But we may have to work hard to stop it."
    
    
  • "Blogburst on Baghdad by the Bay" (Redwood Dragon). I thought that meant Berkeley, didn't you?
    
    
  • "San Francisco Update" (Campus Education). Speaking of Berkeley....
    
    
  • "The Shadow University Lives" (Dodgeblog). He's not surprised.
    
    
  • "Rat's Nest" isn't surprised either: "It can't happen here'?  Folks, it is happening here, and it's being done by just the the people who, we were assured... wouldn't let it happen. They were lying, of course.  Shame on us for believing them."
    
    
  • Arrr, matey! The Privateer shows his tender side, and posts a account by SFSU student Ben Epstein of his experiences at the May 7 rally.
    
    
  • "Hate Crimes: News Updates" (My Free Press). Follow-up information on subsequent developments re: charges, etc.
    
    
  • Forward Magazine has an interesting and related article; so interesting and relevant that I've added it to the Blog Burst.
       -- Meryl Yourish Comments
    
    
  • Particia Jennings refers me to this 1999 article on SFSU's own web site, demonstrating that anti-semitism has been a serious problem on that campus for a long time.
    
    
  • Let's not forget the other recent SFSU incident, involving the Muslim Students Association and an anti-Jewish blood libel poster. Mike Sanders of "Keep Trying" has some great coverage!
    
    
  • Bay Area Blogger Public Nuisance is a bit more charitable, and thinks some of the reports are overstating the tension in the Bay Area as a whole. He explains why he's no fan of the SFSU administration, though, and links to a few other Blog Burst participants to make his points. Especially...
    
    
  • Armed Liberal, who chimes in with a serious post. There may be 2 sides to the issue, but not to the behaviour demonstrated. On a lighter note, he writes: "The President of SFSU, Robert Corrigan, has convened a task force. As much as I hate to make Star Wars references... you'll recall that’s what the Chancellor did when he couldn't take action on the invasion of Naboo. And you'll remember where that got him."
       -- Meryl Yourish Comments
    
    
  • Fun & Proffitt's article is blunt: everything FoxNews.com predicted is coming true, and SFSU is backsliding. He shows us how and where. "The silence is deafening. And it frightens me.... This is the war against terror. This is the home front."
       -- Jay Manifold agrees
    
    
  • N.Z. Bear (The Truth Laid Bear) adds his 2 cents on the issue. Like any bear, however, he has a follow-up swipe. His rippingly sarcastic "5 Things You Can't Do at SFSU (and 3 Things you Can)" lays bare the hypocrisy of SFSU and its supposed codes of conduct.
  Good job, everyone!
  

  More Sources
  

  Meryl Yourish's special section of SFSU-related posts will really deepen your understanding of this issue.
  

  The Winds of Change SFSU Action Plan.
  

  There is also an SFSU Yahoo Group with public access to its file archives, pictures, and posts. This is a useful source for further research, as it includes media reports, additional commentary from people who were there, etc. Many of these materials formed the basis of our Blog Burst posts.