Dear President Ono,
The Education and Workforce Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives summoned you for an interview. This Committee’s hearings have exacerbated the very real problems of antisemitism, Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian racism. At Columbia and other institutions, the hearings have occasioned unseemly and controversial crackdowns on pro-Palestinian student protestors.
As you prepare, SACUA offers this advice:
(1) Defend the University’s mission of scholarship, research and teaching, and uphold its commitment to intellectual and academic freedom.
Diversity of thought and freedom of expression are foundational to the University’s mission. In January, the Board of Regents rearticulated the University’s commitment to its Principles of Diversity of Thought and Freedom of Expression, which supports “nurturing a diverse, equitable, and inclusive community.” The activism of more than 100 students recently encamped on the Diag stands within a distinguished history of political action at the University. Like today’s protesters, the anti-apartheid activists of the 1970s and 1980s encamped on the Diag. Like the students of the Black Action Movement, today’s protesters interrupted the regular running of University affairs.
Early in the morning on May 21, police outfitted in riot gear descended on the encampment and, on short notice, broke it up. Students were pepper sprayed and manhandled by police; several went to the hospital for treatment; four protestors were arrested. By using force, rather than engaging in discussion leading to resolution, your administration has undermined the mission of the University and the trust of our community. Students will make mistakes in their struggles to protest this war, but faculty and administrators must be held to a higher standard. The use of violence is “a descending spiral, ultimately ending in destruction for all and everybody” (Martin Luther King Jr., 1964). We call upon you to commit to dialogue with the student protesters and to defend our common mission: to enable vigorous and meaningful dialogue about the most controversial matters in public life.
(2) Object to the House committee’s unduly expansive definition of antisemitism, which is being used to stifle criticism of Israeli military operations in Gaza.
We agree with the view of the American Civil Liberties Union articulated in an April 26, 2024, letter to Congress: an overbroad definition of “antisemitism” can “chill free speech on college campuses by incorrectly equating criticism of the Israeli government with antisemitism” (“Oppose H.R. 6090, the Anti-Semitism Awareness Act”). Branding any pro-Palestinian action or statement as antisemitic is careless and only makes it harder to meaningfully address antisemitism. The broad constituency of student activists protesting the ongoing massacre and humanitarian crisis in Gaza includes such groups as the Jewish Voice for Peace. So, too, have many faculty been broadly supportive of the protestors. Earlier this year, the Senate Assembly passed a resolution calling on the University to “divest from its financial holdings in companies that invest in Israel’s ongoing military campaign in Gaza.”
Our faculty and students have many reasons for standing in solidarity with Gaza’s people. The state we serve is home to the largest community of Arab Americans in the United States. Dearborn is full of patriotic, proud Michiganders whose family ties extend to Palestine. Palestinians are among our students. Friends and relatives of University students have been among the more than 35,000 people reportedly killed in Gaza by the Israeli military since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
We commend the presidents of Rutgers and Northwestern, who chose to develop positive commitments with students, such as scholarships for students displaced by war; their democratic approaches are now being mischaracterized by the Congressional committee as “antisemitic.”
(3) Bear in mind our University’s mistakes of the 1950s before acquiescing to pressure from legislators, donors and alumni that would misalign us with the University’s values.
In 1954, Professors Chandler Davis, Mark Nickerson, and Clement Markert were called before the House Un-American Activities Committee, which was investigating alleged Communist influences in American universities. Instead of supporting the faculty, the U-M president fired Davis and Nickerson and suspended Markert. These decisions sent a chill across campus, impacting hiring decisions, emboldening bullying and leading scholars to shy from producing politically controversial research for decades.
The University should not repeat the mistakes of the past. We urge that you work with the Association of American Universities to rally university presidents against this nationwide assault on academic freedom. We hope you will stand firm against House Republicans’ political maneuvers, as three leaders of public schools recently did on May 8 when appearing before the House committee. We suggest you remind the committee that their efforts would be better spent in brokering a viable, peaceful solution to the conflict in Gaza.
— This is an abbreviated version of a letter to President Ono approved by the Senate Advisory Committee on University Affairs on May 28, 2024.
— Faculty Perspective is provided by The University Record as a forum for U-M faculty representatives to comment on university issues. Opinions presented are those of the authors and do not reflect the views of the Record or the University of Michigan. Submissions are coordinated through the Faculty Senate Office.
