As the world continues to grow and expand, we want to believe as a nation and as a global community that hatred has dissipated. In the 21st century, we want to believe that the intolerance which permeated our past has been all but vanquished. After all, people don't typically scream slurs at others when they discover that they're Jewish. No one is forced to wear yellow stars as they go about their daily business. Jews are allowed to worship freely and openly in their communities. And while I feel the need to salute these rights that the United States affords its Jewish citizens, in a country principled on inclusion, which prides itself on being a "salad bowl" nation, I cannot help but feel disappointment, particularly in light of recent news events, about the anti-Semitism which still characterizes American discourse.

Last week, a group of high school students from Princeton, New Jersey were caught playing a game entitled "Jews v. Nazis," which, according to the New York Times, was a variation of beer pong. At Rutgers, the University of Wisconsin, and Vassar, students found images of swastikas on campus. And at Emory University early in 2014, a historically Jewish fraternity was targeted with anti-Semitic graffiti.

These, of course, are just large-scale instances that have reached the general public's eye. On Haverford's Yik Yak recently, a question arose about whether or not Jews in the Bi-College Consortium had ever experienced anti-Semitism. To this, some had said no, but the overwhelming majority said yes. Some people looked to draw the conclusion that anti-Semitism flourished in places with few Jews and less understanding. But, to this, some replied that they lived in communities dominated by Jewish populations and had still experienced anti-Semitism. Of course, the Haverford community is just a small sample of the Jews who live throughout the world; Jews throughout the nation and the world have experienced anti-Semitic acts against them, whether in the form of hateful comments or actual acts of aggression.

It is disappointing that, despite thinking we live in a progressive world, we still allow this type of hate to infiltrate our society and its values; the same goes for racism, sexism, hatred based on political ideology and sexual orientation, ableism, etc.. How can we, as people, feel comfortable knowing that people target others and actually are so filled with hatred over someone's beliefs, skin tone, etc., that they're willing to attack or target them? How do we fix all of this?

The bigger issue, of course, is that law cannot fix all of our problems. We have laws that allow for religious practice, for equal opportunities, for justice essentially, but still, these things still exist.

What we need, then, is a change of mindset. We need to move to recognize that the people around us are just that: people. In doing this, we can ensure that hatred will not characterize our daily interactions. That no student will have to wake up to a swastika on his door. That anti-Semitism might cease to exist.