Malcolm Dennis is walking to a protest at Carleton University.  An Israeli flag wrapped around his body, he joins a group of friends to walk to the University Centre.

The year is 2018.

The protest is against countries that abuse human rights and is considered the key event of Human Rights Week.

Human Rights Week is a recent development on Canadian campuses. It started as a response to Israel Apartheid Week and was originally called Islamic State Apartheid Week.

Originally, critics lambasted the event as a veiled attempt by pro-Israel students to unfairly criticize Arab nations. But the name was soon changed to Human Rights Week and broadened to include all human rights abusers in the world, not just the Middle East.

Slowly, Human Rights Week became a staple on campuses as the Jewish Students Association (JSA) linked up with other groups such as Doctors Without Borders and the United Way on Campus to raise awareness of the terrible atrocities happening in the world.

Malcolm carries a sign that reads, “Give women equal rights.” It’s a response to policies in some countries that severely limit the ability of women to do anything other than what their husbands allow.

The event is part of a tremendous transformation on campus for Jewish students.

Only 10 years ago, anti-Israel and anti-American protests dominated student politics.

There is still a group of radicalized students, but they have been pushed out of the mainstream. Instead, a new student government on campus has endorsed Human Rights Week and even offered funding for the initiative.

The new student association president, Nick Bergamini, will give the keynote speech at the protest.

Bergamini was elected with the help of Jewish students and has always felt indebted to the community. Malcolm was one of several Jewish volunteers on his campaign.

A couple years earlier, Jewish student leaders had put forth a concerted effort to engage their community in campus elections. While Jewish organizations didn’t endorse any one political group, they did forge ties with each candidate, ensuring no bridges were burned.

By earning the respect of Bergamini and other campus leaders, the JSA was able to get approval for a new multifaith centre to be built on campus.

The new multifaith centre offers religious groups space to hold events. Every Friday night, the JSA offers a free Shabbat dinner to anyone who wants to attend. The food is provided by community leaders who make generous donations year after year.

The new funding comes as part of a concerted effort by Jewish federations across the country to focus more on campus life in Canada.

Malcolm has attended many of the Shabbat dinners along with his friends in Alpha Epsilon Pi, the Jewish fraternity.

The fraternity is sponsoring a charity event next week. It’s called Skate for the Cure and involves a big group of students skating down the Rideau Canal to raise awareness and funds for breast cancer research.

Malcolm is part of the organizing committee for the event, which has become an annual occurrence on the Ottawa calendar. Even the city’s mayor drops by each year to officially open the skate.

Malcolm is living in an ideal world for Jewish students.

It took a lot of work by a lot of courageous people, but finally the cycle of anti-Semitism and anti-Israel behaviour on Canadian campuses has been pushed to the periphery.

A few years earlier, Jewish campus leaders decided not to let fear dictate how their community would operate at Carleton and other universities. Instead, Jewish students took a more active role on campus both politically and socially.

It was a long and hard fight. Malcolm still has to deal with one professor who makes off-hand comments about Jews and money, but he quickly reported the person to the top academic body on campus, and the professor has been suspended and is under review.

Malcolm doesn’t let the anti-Semitic professor bother him too much. After all, he has a protest to attend and a fundraiser to organize.

What a time to be a Jewish student on a Canadian university campus.