Campus Watch August 22, 2024

Report: Two Columbia Profs on Disciplinary Committee Involved With Anti-Israel Encampment

The Washington Free Beacon obtained pictures of two Columbia University professors who serve on a disciplinary committee dealing with protest rules that purportedly show that the two professors participated in the anti-Israel encampment on campus in the spring.

The Free Beacon named the two professors as being English Professor Joseph Slaughter and Writing Professor Susan Bernofsky, who are on the 15-member university senate rules committee. Slaughter, according to the Free Beacon, “was photographed conversing with protesters outside Butler Library, the site of the encampment, while holding one of the neon vests worn by protest marshals. Metadata from the photos, dated April 29, corroborate Slaughter’s location.” The Free Beacon also obtained a photo that appeared to show Slaughter wearing the vest and holding a sign saying “no war on students” after students involved in the encampment were arrested. Bernofsky was photographed “standing guard along the perimeter of the encampment,” the Free Beacon reported.

Slaughter denied partaking in any student protests in the past year, but would not provide any rationale to the Free Beacon regarding the photographs. Bernofsky didn’t respond to the Free Beacon’s request for comment.

More Than 1,800 Academics Sign Petition Denouncing AAUP’s Reversal on Opposition to Academic Boycotts

More than 1,800 academics have signed a petition denouncing the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) for reversing their nearly 20-year long opposition to academic boycotts.

The petition called the AAUP’s new position “wrong-headed and dangerous… Normalizing academic boycotts poses a profound threat to academic freedom.” The petition argued that academic boycotts must be opposed because “scholarly progress depends on the free exchange of ideas… Scholarly knowledge cannot progress if scholars’ voices are silenced for reasons of politics, whether the political entanglements of their institutions or their national government or even the political views of the individuals themselves.” The petition concluded by stating: “The AAUP does not speak for us. We call on our fellow scholars to join us in opposing boycotts of fellow scholars wherever they might reside and be employed.”

CUNY Police Officers Express Fear University Is Not Prepared for Anti-Israel Protests

Police officers at the City University of New York (CUNY) anonymously told The New York Post that they are concerned that the university is ill prepared to deal with anti-Israel protests in the coming academic school year.

One officer told the Post that “there have been no meetings about any of this. Ever since the encampment ended, everyone went on vacation. There’s no ‘Let’s prepare for September.’” Another said that “our numbers just aren’t there. If there’s a spontaneous protest that we don’t have any knowledge of, we’re going to be outnumbered – just by the sheer number of students enrolled, we’re outnumbered.” The officers also claimed that the university has emphasized “de-escalation” with their officers and that officers are being replaced with security contractors who don’t have the requisite law enforcement training. “Our academy class used to be 100-to-150. We’ve got five now – five in the academy class,” one officer told the Post, adding that the “pay is so low for these guys and they’re paying millions for contractors to be here with no training, no background. The safety of the campus community is totally not their concern. They’re not concerned about the students and the staff. They’re worried about their image and making sure the students express their freedom of speech.”

A spokesperson for the university told the Post that campus safety is their highest priority and that “university leadership has been in ongoing communication with campus directors of public safety, academic and student affairs regarding their preparedness for the fall” and meetings have been held on the matter. The spokesperson also said that “our officers undergo extensive and continuous training certified by the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services and we are grateful for our officers’ continued dedication to keeping our campuses safe.”

UC Irvine Students Suspended Over Anti-Israel Protests Sue University

Five students at UC Irvine sued the chancellor, Howard Gillman, and the UC Regents on July 30 over being suspended due to their involvement in anti-Israel campus protests.

The Orange County Register reported that the students allege in the lawsuit that the university has refused to lift their suspensions without presenting the necessary evidence and that the cases have dragged on; as such, they don’t have access to any campus amenities. Among the events that triggered the suspensions for the students included their involvement with the anti-Israel encampment on campus as well as being involved with a caravan “where students drove cars on campus roads while honking and displaying Palestinian flags, including during June 14 graduation ceremonies,” per the OC Register.