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| Veksler |
From ABC News: The student body president at the University of California, Santa Barbara is calling out alleged antisemitism on campus after she says she was targeted in unauthorized signs displayed at the university's multicultural center.
Reports of antisemitism and Islamophobia have flooded universities across the U.S. amid rising tensions over the Israel-Hamas war, according to the U.S. Department of Education. Tessa Veksler, a fourth-year student at the university and student body president, shared photos of the signs, with several including her by name, and wrote, "I do not feel safe on campus," in an Instagram post Monday. The messages on the signs included "Tessa Veksler supports genocide," "Zionists not welcome" and "You can run but you can't hide Tessa Veksler," her post showed.*
"How can Jewish students feel safe when they see a Jewish leader being explicitly targeted? This is dehumanizing and rooted in antisemitism," Veksler wrote on Instagram. "This incident is not an isolated event but rather a culmination of neglecting to adequately address the implications of such speech and actions within our university." UC Santa Barbara's Office of the Chancellor released a statement** to the campus community Monday, saying the messaging was in "violation of our principles of community and inclusion."
"The signage has been removed and the campus is conducting a bias incident review based on potential discrimination related to protected categories that include religion, citizenship, and national or ethnic origin," the statement said. Veksler and the multicultural center have not responded to ABC News' request for comment...
Full story at https://abcnews.go.com/amp/US/uc-santa-barbara-student-body-president-allegedly-targeted/story?id=107591529.
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*https://www.instagram.com/p/C31UnNOR0aQ/?img_index=1.
**https://chancellor.ucsb.edu/memos/2024-02-26-message-our-campus-community:
We are writing to provide an update about our efforts to improve climate and community on our campus. Since our “Principles of Community” memo on October 26, 2023,*** our campus has sought to deal with complex and difficult issues related to the ongoing violence in the Middle East. We appreciate the efforts of many of our faculty, students, and staff to fulfill our responsibility to educate, enlighten, and deal with disagreement with respect and sensitivity, despite some conflict and controversy.
We were distressed to learn of incidents over the weekend that included offensive social media messages and signage at the MultiCultural Center entrance. Campus offices are reviewing these unauthorized and unofficial messages. The signage has been removed and campus is conducting a bias incident review based on potential discrimination related to protected categories that include religion, citizenship, and national or ethnic origin. The posting of such messages is a violation of our principles of community and inclusion.
We call everyone’s attention to the new UC Presidential Policy on Anti-Discrimination, which was effective on February 20, 2024, and can be found online on the UCOP Policies webpage located here. The new policy covers Harassment, Discrimination and Retaliation by and against students, employees, and third parties on University property or in connection with University employment or programs or activities.
Prohibited Conduct under the Policy based on national or ethnic origin or ancestry extends to individuals who experience Discrimination or Harassment based on their actual or perceived shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics, or citizenship or residency in a country with a dominant religion or distinct religious identity. This includes, for example, antisemitic, anti-Arab, and Islamophobic Discrimination or Harassment. Some of these forms of Discrimination or Harassment may also represent Prohibited Conduct based on other Protected Categories covered by this Policy, including based on religion. The policy includes strong protections for freedom of speech and academic freedom.
We strive to create opportunities for civil dialogue, free from bullying and discrimination, that allow all community members to have their voices heard, and to have a space in which to respectfully express their views. To ensure that we uphold our community values and principles, the campus is committed to thoroughly reviewing and addressing all reported bias incidents.
UC President Drake has announced one-time funding to help UC campuses address and combat antisemitism, Islamophobia, and other forms of bias, bigotry, and discrimination at the University. The intention is to contribute to our mutual aim of safe, inclusive, and respectful environments at all campuses. Funding will address emergency mental health and trauma support for students, faculty, and staff; voluntary, extracurricular educational programming; and training and professional development for leaders, faculty, and staff. We are consulting widely about these programs and we will be in touch as plans are developed.
The Division of Student Affairs has posted reminders about campus rules and expectations for students, as well as campus safety and support resources. Faculty and staff with needs and concerns can contact the Academic & Staff Assistance Program, the Ombuds Office, or the University of California Ethics & Compliance Program. Information about reporting bias incidents can be found here.
We hope for an end to the violence in the Middle East. We call upon all members of our community to treat each other with respect, care, and sensitivity. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Henry T. Yang, Chancellor
David Marshall, Executive Vice Chancellor
Margaret Klawunn, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs
Jeffrey Stewart, Interim Vice Chancellor for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
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***https://chancellor.ucsb.edu/memos/2023-10-26-principles-community.
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Note: In a way, this episode is informative about the Regents' recent abortive debate about departmental political statements which focused on trying to define website "landing pages." In this case, the statement was on a door, not on the web at all. If whoever was in charge of the Center was aware of the door signage and didn't immediately remove it, it was or became a departmental political statement. The issue has nothing to do with defining webpages except for the fact that websites can be a platform for such statements. Statements are either appropriate to make or not, regardless of platform.
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There's more:
From the San Francisco Chronicle: Hundreds of anti-Israel student protesters broke down the door of UC Berkeley’s Zellerbach Playhouse on Monday night, smashing a window and preventing an Israeli speaker from addressing a few dozen Jewish students. Danielle Sobkin, one of the organizers who invited Israeli lawyer Ran Bar-Yoshafat, said the mob grabbed a sophomore who tried to attend the event, called him a “dirty Jew” and spit on him. She said that protesters also shoved a senior into the auditorium door as she tried to check in attendees, and that they grabbed a freshman by her neck.
“This isn’t an isolated incident. This is a continuous trend that’s persisted my entire time on campus. Jewish hate. The targeting of Jewish students,” said Sobkin, co-president of Bears for Israel, one of three Jewish groups that invited Bar-Yoshafat. “For a lot of us, this was the tipping point. The last straw,” she said, noting that she’s seen anti-Israel graffiti for years on campus, and said that for nearly two weeks, anti-Israel protesters have partially blocked the iconic Sather Gate broadcasting the sounds of war. Though she is a junior, Sobkin said she has enough credits to graduate this spring, “I’ve had all the Berkeley time I can handle.”
UC Berkeley spokesperson Dan Mogulof confirmed that about 200 student protesters mobbed Zellerbach, but could not substantiate injuries. He urged anyone who was hurt to report the incident to UC police and to the school’s Office for the Prevention of Harassment and Discrimination. On Tuesday, Chancellor Carol Christ and Provost Benjamin Hermalin posted a message titled “Upholding Our Values” and expressing “deep remorse and sympathy to those students and members of the public who were in the building, fearing for their safety.”**** The message called the incident an “attack on the fundamental values of the university” and said, “We cannot allow the use or threat of force to violate the First Amendment rights of a speaker, no matter how much we might disagree with their views.” ...
Full story at https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/uc-berkeley-talk-israeli-lawyer-halted-violent-18692073.php.
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****https://news.berkeley.edu/2024/02/27/upholding-our-values:
Chancellor Carol Christ and Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Benjamin Hermalin sent the following message to the Berkeley campus community Tuesday afternoon.
We write to you today with great sadness, concern, and dismay in the wake of an incident on our campus last night, an incident that violated not only our rules, but also some of our most fundamental values. Our purpose is not just to inform our community about what happened. We are writing with the hope that we can and will come together in defense of our Principles of Community that safeguard free speech, diversity of perspective and the ties that bind this community together.
Last night an event was scheduled featuring a speaker from Israel, who had been invited to campus by some of our student organizations. Minutes before the event was to start, a crowd of some 200 protesters began to surround the building. Doors were broken open and the protesters gained unauthorized entry to the building. The event was canceled, and the building was evacuated to protect the speaker and members of the audience.
We want to express our deep remorse and sympathy to those students and members of the public who were in the building, fearing for their safety. Today, like last night, our colleagues in Student Affairs are reaching out with offers of support and we are urging students to report what they witnessed and experienced to UCPD and/or our Office for the Prevention of Harassment and Discrimination. We share your anger and concern, and we understand that we must do all that we can to prevent anything like this from happening again.
Due to safety concerns, we worked with the hosting organization to move the event to a different location, one that was believed to be more secure. We also stepped up security and sent a team of UCPD officers to the event. We approach events like this with two priorities: to do what we can so that the event can go forward, and to do what we can to safeguard student safety and well-being. Last night, despite our efforts and the ample number of police officers, it was not possible to do both given the size of the crowd and the threat of violence.
We are committed to responding to violations of our "Time, Place, and Manner" rules. We deeply respect the right to protest as intrinsic to the values of a democracy and an institution of higher education. Yet, we cannot ignore protest activity that interferes with the rights of others to hear and/or express perspectives of their choosing. We cannot allow the use or threat of force to violate the First Amendment rights of a speaker, no matter how much we might disagree with their views. We cannot allow the use or threat of force to imperil members of our community and deny them the ability to feel safe and welcome on our campus. We cannot cede our values to those willing to engage in transgressive behavior.
We will in the days ahead decide on the best possible path to fully understand what happened and why; to determine how we will address what occurred; and to do everything possible to preclude a repeat of what happened.
The attack on the building, and on the event, was an attack on the fundamental values of the university, which are also essential to maintain and nurture open inquiry and an inclusive civil society, the bedrock of a genuinely democratic nation. We are now, and will remain in the future, committed to Free Speech as essential to our educational mission, our institutional identity, and the strength of our community. We hope for your support as we seek to protect and preserve our Principles of Community.
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