The Jewish Students Punished in the Name of Jewish Safety

The universities say that they are upholding their own rules and policies and keeping campus safe for all. New York University decided to withhold the diploma of a student speaker, Logan Rozos, who delivered an unapproved graduation speech on “the atrocities currently happening in Palestine” that quickly went viral. “He lied about the speech he was going to deliver and violated the commitment he made to comply with our rules,” an NYU spokesperson said in a statement. “NYU is deeply sorry that the audience was subjected to these remarks and that this moment was stolen by someone who abused a privilege that was conferred upon him.”

George Washington University, meanwhile, announced an investigation after commencement speaker Cecilia Culver delivered a speech, also different from the one she submitted, encouraging her peers not to donate to the university until it divests from Israel. Culver (and the dean who followed her and thanked her for sharing her perspective) were denounced by some for antisemitism; Culver has since “been barred from all GW’s campuses and sponsored events elsewhere,” per the university.

Barnard, for its part, insisted in a statement that “no students were disciplined or had their degrees deferred as a response to the content of their speech or expression.” Instead, “disciplinary measures were taken in response to vandalism, course disruption, and other actions that violated Barnard’s Student Code of Conduct and interfered with the core academic mission of the college.”