Campus Watch April 4, 2024

Two Harvard Law Student Gov’t Members Resign Following Passage of BDS Resolution

Two members of the Harvard Law School Student Government announced that they are stepping down from their positions after the student government passed a resolution calling for the law school to divest from Israel.

The student government passed the resolution by a vote of 12 in favor, three against and three abstentions, The Daily Wire reported on March 31. The two student government members that resigned wrote in an open letter that the student government of “rushing” it through a secret ballot at an emergency meeting that prevented the campus community from having a chance to weigh in on the resolution. A subsequent meeting was held to discuss these procedural concerns, and the resolution’s passage was upheld.

The Harvard Law Jewish Association said in a statement posted to social media, “By passing this resolution, student government asks the campus and the world to assume that those who have any connection to Israel are villainous. This resolution is beyond just procedurally and substantively offensive: it is antisemitic.”

Anti-Israel Protesters Disrupt UMich Honors Event

Dozens of anti-Israel protesters reportedly disrupted a March 24 event at the University of Michigan honoring students’ academic achievements.

According to Jewish Insider (JI), the protesters launched chants during the Honors Convocation event accusing University President Santa Ono of “funding genocide.” The university subsequently ended the event early. 

Ono said in a statement on March 26, “I am proud of our university’s history of protest. But none of us should be proud of what happened on Sunday. We all must understand that, while protest is valued and protected, disruptions are not. One group’s right to protest does not supersede the right of others to participate in a joyous event. The protesters’ intrusion on one of the university’s most important academic traditions was unacceptable. It was not in keeping with our student code and our longstanding policy on freedom of speech and artistic expression. It was painful for everyone who had gathered – and especially so for members of our Jewish community.” Regarding potential disciplinary measures against those involved in the disruption, Ono said: “The university cannot share that kind of information, but declining to discuss a particular case does not imply that disciplinary action did not or will not occur.”

NC High School Teacher Absent After Removing Palestinian Flag from Classroom

A teacher at a Riverside High School in Durham, N.C. has been absent from the school after she complied with the school’s request to take down a Palestinian flag that was hanging up in her classroom.

The flag was noticed after math teacher Kayla Thompson won the Pirate Hero of the Month Award on March 17, which the Riverside PTA gives to “a Riverside teacher, coach, or staff member who has gone above and beyond to support our community,” The Raleigh News & Observer reported. The school honored Thompson for winning the award by posting a photo of her on their website; the Palestinian flag could be seen in the background of the photo, sparking outrage online. Thompson agreed to the school’s request on March 19 to take down the flag, but has not been back on campus since. The school declined to comment to the News & Observer on whether or not Thompson left on her own accord.

Myriad students held a walkout and protest on campus March 22 regarding how Thompson has been treated.

Pro-Palestinian Protesters Arrested, Suspended After Holding Sit-In at Vanderbilt Building

More than two dozen pro-Palestinian protesters who staged a sit-in at a Vanderbilt University administration building on March 25 were arrested or suspended.

According to reports, around 30 protesters rushed Kirkland Hall, where Chancellor Daniel Diermeier has his office, and held a sit-in for nearly 24 hours over the university removing a Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) ballot initiative. Three students were arrested for allegedly pushing a community service officer and faculty member; a fourth, who was protesting outside the building, was arrested for allegedly breaking a window. The university gave the rest of the students involved in the sit-in interim suspensions.

In a March 27 email sent to community members, Diermeier wrote that “dozens of peaceful demonstrations have occurred over the past several months. In consideration of safety and the university’s normal operations, we, as a matter of policy, define time, place and manner limitations. The university will take action when our policies are violated, the safety of our campus is jeopardized and when people intimidate or injure members of our community.”