Among the students studying at the Ariel University Center of Samaria are Yossi from Raanana, Gali from Modi'in and Eli from Tiberias, along with 13,000 other students from around the country. They all chose to study in Ariel because they see the University Center of Samaria as a worthy place to pursue their academic and professional ambitions as they look toward their future. However, it's possible that the foundations beneath their belief will soon crumble, as is the solid ground of Israel's academia, which has already deemed that the institution is worthy of becoming a full-fledged university. Is Israeli academia, which preaches the principle of democracy to everyone, tainted with hypocrisy- In May of 2005, while Ariel Sharon was prime minister, the government made the decision to convert the college into a university. The attorney-general determined that the only body authorized to make such a decision was the Council for Higher Education in Judea and Samaria, which would come to a conclusion after receiving recommendations from the Planning and Budgeting Committee. Lo and behold, a few days ago the committee, headed by Professor Manuel Trajtenberg, recommended prolonging the recognition of the college as a university center (not a full-fledged university) without changing its status until May 2013. The recommendation was based on the (inexplicable) reasoning that there is no need at this point in time for another university. This strange decision firmly situates Ariel University Center at center court of the political arena, and the students are the ball. Suddenly it appears that the new university that senior academics have long yearned for is no longer a factor in their decision-making process. Everyone talks about how Israel needs a worthy academic institute as an alternative to the universities that exist today. These same universities control the market for higher learning and act as a monopoly, similar to the Church's hegemony in medieval times, as only a special few were allowed access to the information only they possessed. Everyone loves to mention "Israeli creativity." Just recently it was published that universities abroad were trying to woo Israeli minds. You can see Israelis at Harvard, Cambridge and other prestigious schools; that's how it is when there is no alternative and no quota on academics. It sometimes seems that the officials working at the Council for Higher Education are confused, forgetting to look around to remind themselves that it's the students who sustain academia in Israel, that it is the students who make the research labs flourish and fill the learning seminars and libraries. Without them there would be no university, college or any combination of the two. No more! We are fed up with the deceptions, evasions, and bucking of responsibility by the decision-makers. Professor Trajtenberg's principles of social justice have all of a sudden become blurred, and the social justice professor is not explaining his decision, nor is he assuming responsibility for the dangerous consequences his decision entails, which could affect Israel's economy and our academic future. The Council for Higher Education in Judea and Samaria is meeting on Tuesday to discuss the future of the Ariel University Center of Samaria. What is needed here is not courage, and certainly not leadership. What we need here is common sense. The right thing to do is allow for the creation of Israel's eighth university. The time has come to emancipate the world of Israeli academics. Let us study in peace and quiet. The writer is the chairman of the new student union at the Ariel University Center in Samaria.
Common sense in higher learning
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