Meteorologia

  • 19 MAIO 2024
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US university accused of violating rights of pro-Palestine students

Columbia University's Faculty Senate, a body of professors, students and administrators, passed a resolution accusing the leadership of the Ivy League school of violating the rights of students and faculty.

US university accused of violating rights of pro-Palestine students
Notícias ao Minuto

06:27 - 27/04/24 por Lusa

Mundo Israel/Palestina

For more than a week, New York University’s campus has been occupied by a pro-Palestinian student encampment calling for an end to the war in Gaza.

A resolution that passed Friday by a vote of 62 to 14, with three abstentions, called for an investigation and accused the administration of violating established protocols, undermining academic freedom, chilling free inquiry and denying students and faculty due process.

University President Nemat Shafik has been criticized for calling police to the campus in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village last week, leading to the arrests of more than 100 student protesters.

The resolution, which was reported by The New York Times, said that police officers harassed students and used “intrusive investigative methods,” including “attempting to enter students’ rooms and dorms … without students’ consent.”

Officers demanded “to see students’ cellphones and text messages under threat of suspension if they did not comply,” the resolution said.

The resolution also called for the creation of a Faculty Senate task force to investigate the university’s decision-making.

The resolution is largely symbolic, since the Faculty Senate does not have the authority to remove the president.

Also on Friday, the university’s vice president for communications, Ben Chang, told a news conference that discussions were continuing with student protest organizers about dismantling the encampment.

Chang cited a video that he described as “deeply disturbing” and threatened “disciplinary action,” saying that “calls for violence and statements singling out individuals based on their religious, ethnic or national identity are unacceptable and violate university policy.”

The statement was an apparent reference to a video, recorded in January and posted online Thursday, that showed one of the encampment’s leaders, Khymani James, making controversial comments, including saying that “Zionists deserve to die.”

James apologized for the remarks on social media Friday.

Hours later, the university announced that James had been barred from campus, but it did not say whether he had been suspended or expelled.

Hundreds of college students across the United States have rallied on campuses to protest the war in Gaza, demanding that the U.S. immediately halt all arms sales to Israel and to any company that supports the conflict.

See Also: Hamas está a estudar contraproposta de Israel para nova trégua (Portuguese version)

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