Why did Shabbos Kestenbaum sued Harvard Keeps?

Shabbos Kestenbaum sued Harvard University for failing to protect Jewish students from rampant antisemitism and harassment, particularly after the October 7th attacks, alleging the university tolerated, enabled, and ignored a hostile environment, leading to a lawsuit that ultimately settled confidentially in May 2025.

Why did Shabbos Kestenbaum sue Harvard?

Shabbos Kestenbaum (born December 19, 1998) is an American Jewish activist. After the October 7 attacks on Israel, he filed a lawsuit against Harvard University alleging that the university failed to protect Jewish and Israeli students from antisemitic harassment and discrimination.

Did Shabbos Kestenbaum graduate from Harvard?

Kestenbaum was a plaintiff in the Students Against Antisemitism lawsuit, but did not settle at the time. He graduated from Harvard Divinity School last year and has become a growing voice in a Republican-led campaign to root out antisemitism in major American universities.

Why did Asians sue Harvard?

In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs claimed that Harvard imposed a soft quota of "racial balancing" that artificially depressed the number of Asian American applicants it admitted.

What did the 13 Harvard students do?

The 13 Harvard students did not receive their degrees at the 2024 commencement because they participated in a pro-Palestine encampment on campus, leading to disciplinary action, including probation and suspension, for violating university policies. Their actions involved setting up a protest encampment demanding divestment from companies tied to Israel, prompting the university's governing body to withhold diplomas despite faculty recommendations to allow graduation, which sparked protests and a commencement walkout in support of the students. 

Shabbos Kestenbaum: Why I Sued Harvard | Stories of Us | PragerU

Can a 2.5 GPA go to Harvard?

It's extremely unlikely, but theoretically possible, to get into Harvard with a 2.5 GPA, as they use holistic admissions, but it would require extraordinary achievements (like founding a major company, Nobel Prize, extreme athletic recruitment, or immense donations) or documented hardship to explain the low grades, as most admitted students have GPAs near 4.0. While a handful of students with GPAs in the 2.0-2.9 range are admitted, these are rare exceptions, often balanced by exceptional test scores or other unique factors, with many examples showing that even strong extracurriculars don't guarantee admission with low grades. 

What is the #1 hardest school to get into?

There isn't one single #1 hardest school, as it changes slightly by year and criteria, but Harvard University, Stanford University, MIT, and Caltech consistently rank among the top with extremely low acceptance rates (often 3-4%) and intense competition for spots, though other top global universities like Oxford and Tsinghua are also incredibly selective. Harvard is frequently cited as the hardest due to its high volume of applications and focus on global leadership potential, while Caltech is known for its extreme difficulty in STEM. 

Who dropped out of Harvard and became rich?

The co-founder of the world's largest software company, Bill Gates left Harvard University to focus on building his Microsoft empire. Today, he's worth a mammoth $106 billion (£78.5bn) and previously held the title of world's richest person for 13 consecutive years.

Who won the Harvard lawsuit?

On September 3, Burroughs ruled in favor of Harvard, writing that the government had infringed upon Harvard's free speech rights and that it was "difficult to conclude anything other than that defendants used antisemitism as a smokescreen for a targeted, ideologically-motivated assault on this country's premier ...

Who is the most famous Harvard dropout?

The most famous Harvard dropout is widely considered to be Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft, who left in 1975 to build the software giant, becoming a titan of technology and philanthropy, though Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook) and media mogul William Randolph Hearst are also prominent figures who left the university for massive success.
 

What part of Mexico has the most Jews?

Most Jews in Mexico live in Mexico City, with about 75-95% of the country's Jewish population concentrated there, especially in neighborhoods like Polanco and Lomas de Chapultepec, while smaller but significant communities also exist in cities such as Monterrey, Guadalajara, and Tijuana. 

Who is Shabbos Kestenbaum?

Shabbos Kestenbaum, Harvard University Cambridge, MA.

Shabbos is the founder and President of the Harvard Divinity School Jewish Student Association and active member of both Harvard Chabad and Harvard Hillel.

Why did Mark Zuckerberg drop out of Harvard?

From Facemash To Facebook

The platform quickly expanded to other universities and eventually to the general public, reshaping how people connect online. Zuckerberg left Harvard to focus on Facebook full time as the company gained rapid traction.

Did Jared Kushner's father donate to Harvard?

Kushner met personally with Harvard University's president and in 1998 donated $2.5 million to Harvard. His son, Jared, was then beginning his senior year of high school, where he was not a particularly good student with test scores below Ivy League standards. Jared was admitted to the Harvard freshman class of 1999.

Is Harvard Extension School a real Harvard degree?

Yes, a degree from the Harvard Extension School (HES) is a legitimate Harvard University degree, carrying the Harvard name and insignia, but it is distinct from degrees from other Harvard schools like Harvard College or the Business School, often listed as a Bachelor or Master of Liberal Arts in Extension Studies (ALB/ALM). While it offers rigorous, accredited programs for adult learners, it's recognized as a specific pathway, emphasizing flexibility, grit, and career advancement for part-time students. 

Why is MIT not Ivy League?

MIT isn't an Ivy League school because the Ivy League is defined by its athletic conference (NCAA Division I, no athletic scholarships) and geographical location in the Northeast, not just academic prestige; MIT is a Division III school, focused more on science/tech, and not part of that specific athletic league, even though it rivals the Ivies academically.
 

Is MIT full of Asians?

While the percentage of white matriculants remained largely unchanged—a drop of just one percentage point from the class of 2027—the percentage of Asian American students skyrocketed from forty percent to forty-seven percent.

What is the prettiest Ivy League?

1. Princeton University: Princeton's campus is renowned for its beautiful, spacious, and well-maintained grounds. Gothic and collegiate architecture dominate the landscape. Their eating clubs also add to the uniqueness of campus life.

Why did Bill Gates quit Harvard?

In 1975, the MITS Altair 8800 was released based on the Intel 8080 CPU, and Gates and Allen saw the opportunity to start their own computer software company. Gates dropped out of Harvard that same year. His parents were supportive of him after seeing how much he wanted to start his own company.

What billionaire never graduated high school?

Richard Branson dropped out of high school when he was only 16 after struggling with dyslexia. Soon after quitting school, Branson founded his first business, a student magazine, and eventually a mail-order record company. which later became the Virgin Records music label.

What is the hardest Ivy League to get into?

Harvard is overall the hardest Ivy to get into — with an acceptance rate below 4% over the past four years.

Where do top 1% send kids to college?

The "top 1%" of students, often defined by family income, tend to go to highly selective, elite universities like Dartmouth, Yale, Penn, Brown, Princeton, and Stanford, MIT, and Harvard, with some Ivy League schools having a higher concentration of these students than the bottom 60% of income earners. Rankings vary, but MIT, Princeton, Harvard, Stanford, and UC Berkeley consistently appear at the top for overall academic standing, attracting top talent across all income levels. 

Is Oxford harder than Harvard?

Neither Oxford nor Harvard is definitively "harder"—they are both exceptionally difficult but in different ways, with Harvard generally having lower acceptance rates (making it tougher to get in) while Oxford's intense, subject-focused structure, particularly its final exams, presents a unique academic challenge. Harvard emphasizes a holistic review for well-rounded leaders, while Oxford focuses intensely on deep academic merit and subject mastery. 

Is it harder to get into Vanderbilt or Duke?

While both are extremely selective, Duke is generally considered slightly harder to get into than Vanderbilt, primarily due to its lower acceptance rates, with Duke often hovering around 6% compared to Vanderbilt's 9-10%, though both have become significantly more competitive recently, with Vandy's rates also dropping into the low single digits. The choice often comes down to specific strengths: Duke emphasizes leadership and research in the Research Triangle, while Vanderbilt offers strong programs, especially in Nashville, with varied academic focuses, making the "harder" factor dependent on your profile.