Campus Watch December 7, 2023

USC Professor John Strauss Reinstated to Campus

USC Professor John Strauss has been reinstated to campus after his remarks that every Hamas terrorist “should be killed” went viral.

On Nov. 9 Strauss said to pro-Palestinian protesters: “Hamas are murderers, that’s all they are. Every one should be killed, and I hope they all are.” A selectively edited clip of him just saying, “Every one should be killed, and I hope they all are” went viral on social media to claim that he wanted all Palestinians killed. Strauss has maintained that the “every one should be killed” was referencing Hamas, not all Palestinians. After the video went viral, the university relegated him to teaching virtually the rest of the semester, which the university has claimed was a “precautionary” move to “minimize classroom disruption.”

On Dec. 2, the university said in a statement on the provost’s website: “All of the restrictions previously placed on Professor Strauss have now been lifted.” Strauss’s attorney, Samantha Harris, said in a statement to The Los Angeles Times that Strauss’s reinstatement to campus “is a step in the right direction.” “But he is still under investigation and facing potential discipline for his speech, which is both a violation of USC’s own promises of free speech and an outrageous, viewpoint-discriminatory double standard in terms of how USC enforces its policies,” she added.

Columbia Cancels Student Group’s Teach-In Referring to October 7 Massacre As a “Counteroffensive”

Columbia University is reportedly canceling a pro-Palestinian group’s teach-in referring to the October 7 massacre as a “counteroffensive.”

Fox News reported that the Columbia Social Workers 4 Palestine had promoted the event on social media, which was titled, “Significance of the October 7th Palestinian Counteroffensive,” and scheduled to take place at the Columbia School of Social Work (CSSW) on Dec. 6. “This is not a CSSW-sponsored event,” Columbia School of Social Work Dean Melissa Begg said in a statement to Fox. “The students who organized the event did not seek approval for the fliers and text as required by CSSW processes. CSSW supports free speech but does not condone language that promotes violence in any manner … This event will not go forward at CSSW.”

The Columbia Social Workers 4 Palestine group, however, posted to social media: “If you didn’t hear it from us directly, disregard it.”

UMich Cancels Vote on Referendum Accusing Israel of “Genocide in Gaza”

The University of Michigan announced on Nov. 30 that they canceled a vote on a referendum calling on the university to recognize ““to recognize the millions of people undergoing genocide in Gaza.”

Jewish Insider and The Michigan Daily reported that Timothy Lynch, the university’s vice president and general counsel, sent out an email to students saying that a campuswide email sent out the day before in favor of the referendum had violated university policy and “irreparably tainted the voting process.” Lynch also said the student government refused to handle the matter, which is why the university took action. A vote on a second resolution that would have condemned Hamas’ atrocities on Oct. 7 was also canceled as a result of the email.

In response, the student government claimed that “university personnel” greenlighted the email to be sent out and that “while University policy had been breached by the mass email, the CSG [Central Student Government] governing documents do not clearly forbid this conduct.”

UC Berkeley Sued Over Improper Handling of Antisemitic Incidents

The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law announced on Nov. 27 that they are suing UC Berkeley, Berkeley School of Law, and the UC Regents over UC Berkeley’s alleged failure to properly handle antisemitism on campus since Oct. 7 and over Berkeley Law’s failure to take action against student groups that passed bylaws barring Zionist speakers from campus.

The lawsuit, which was obtained by the Journal, states that following the Hamas Oct. 7 massacre, “a Jewish undergraduate draped in an Israeli flag was set upon by two protesters, who struck him in the head with his own metal water bottle after he dropped it trying to evade them.” The lawsuit also states that two students alleged that pro-Palestinian protesters disrupted a prayer gathering by Jewish students to “deal with the shock of the Hamas attack” and that pro-Palestinian rallies have blocked “the main entrance to campus.” Another allegation is Jewish faculty and staff have received “hate emails” and that the university “failed to respond appropriately or in a timely matter.”

Dan Mogulof, assistant vice chancellor for executive communications in UC Berkeley’s Office of Communications and Public Affairs, told the Journal, “UC Berkeley believes the claims made in the lawsuit are not consistent with the First Amendment of the Constitution, or the facts of what is actually happening on our campus.” He stated the university is “offering counseling support, arranging academic adjustments for impacted students when possible, and have issued clear statements about the campus’s position” and denied that the university ever received reports of hate emails or a prayer vigil being disrupted. He also claimed that “is not possible to hold a rally anywhere on the Berkeley campus that blocks all alternative routes.”