Stanford is sorry

Photo: Jessica Christian

Letter to the editor in today's SF Chronicle:

Stanford experience

Regarding “Stanford issues apology for ‘antisemitic activity’ ” (Bay Area & Business, Oct. 13): I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw the story on Stanford’s apology for its historic antisemitism.

I was a Stanford student in 1950. When I got word that the dean of women wanted to see me, I felt absolutely no reason to be alarmed. I went to her office and experienced the first of several diatribes in which she spat these words at me: “We don’t like the way you walk, we don’t like the way you talk, we don’t want people like you here at Stanford.” “What have I done?” No response.

My “crime?” I was a New York Jew. But to a terrified 18-year-old, it was as if the world had suddenly gone mad. I was aware that antisemitism existed, though I had never knowingly experienced it before, but felt it was a cop-out to attribute this bizarre episode to that, frantically trying to find another explanation.

I no longer recall how many times this occurred, though she actually tried to get me expelled on bogus charges, but when I finally demanded to speak to the dean of students, and the nefarious campaign ceased after that.

I quit at the end of the quarter.

Serena Bardell

San Francisco