There is no end to the observations one can make about the current pro-Hamas university demonstrations. Some are obvious, but I’d like to offer a less obvious take on the unrest we’re seeing.

I could ask where the university security personnel are when a segment of the university student population (the Jewish students) is being harassed and threatened. I could comment on why it is the far upper tier of universities seeing this unrest and not less prestigious (i.e., news-grabbing) institutions, a dichotomy that suggests a less-than-grassroots nature to the demonstrations. Or I could ask why so many of the demonstrators seem significantly older than the traditional “college age.” But, as I get older, I’m trying very hard to hold my views squarely to what I personally know and have experienced, as the only source of value to a reader such as yourself.

So here’s what I know. I was a Biology/Pre-Med major in college, a very tough road to hoe that would eventually lead to a Ph.D. in Cell Physiology (a still tougher road). What I recall very vividly from those nine years was how brutally tough they were. Twenty credit semesters with another three credits of “lab courses”—with those latter credits typically being harder than any classroom credit. For me, university was work, hard work, and a lot of it.

And here’s the take-home point for all to ponder: It should be tough!! An advanced degree in the natural sciences means that you are pitting yourself against nature; specifically, attempting to figure it out, right down to the molecular level. It is a path that is very objective and unforgiving. You either can do it, or you can’t.

Image by Andrea Widburg using AI.

Opinions (and intentions) don’t matter. It’s your intellect against some mystery of creation. You either meet the challenge or you don’t. Getting there requires an inordinate amount of study and absorbance of mountains of information. You are like a laborer working on the top tier of the great pyramids—you have to climb a great deal just to get to where you can begin to do your work.

So here’s the rub: You do all this as a student in the natural sciences because you think you have what it takes to make a unique insight, establish a compelling connection, or engender a seminal breakthrough. And why? To make the world a fundamentally better place.

That’s not a cute joke. From having known them very well, I’d say over 80% of those in the natural sciences are in it for that reason.

You could say that they are no different from community organizers (that is, the latter also claim that they’re there to make a difference), but with one key distinction: The natural scientist willingly takes years simply to be in a position to achieve something of real value to society. It’s not an endeavor you pick up on a whim or a feeling. It requires years of training and commitment.

And now for my main point. These years of arduous training exact a great deal of one’s time, at places such as universities, research institutes, medical centers, etc. If you have enough time for your family, you have very little left over.

So, I’m left to wonder, who are these university student demonstrators who have all this time that one might think would be better laser-focused on learning their craft? Ask yourself who served humanity better—Mao Zedong, Greta Thunberg, Barack Obama, or the folks that discovered and gave us aspirin and anesthetics? When you have your next severe headache or are about to have a tooth extracted, ponder that question.

Moreover, it’s not just their own time that an anarchist wastes. The societally frenzied seem hell-bent on wasting your time as well. They keep that future researcher from getting to class/lab. They wreak havoc with the intricate web of societal connections that enable him or her to learn/perform.

To conclude, a final thought: To truly make the world a better place takes enormous (and long-term) discipline, sacrifice, and focus. It was true for Einstein. It is true for the man or woman who fixes my broken central air system, or the man or woman who removes my diseased gall bladder. Those are the people for whom I have tremendous respect, regard, and gratitude. Those with the bullhorns and placards...not so much.