Campus Reform, the education watchdog, took notice of an open letter signed by nearly 600 parents and addressed to Linda Mills, president of New York University. The letter, which calls for her to step down, accuses Mills of allowing “violent and horrific” actions by the New York Police Department after it moved in and shut down a “Students for Justice in Palestine” encampment on the university’s Gould Plaza.
New York University, a private campus in swanky Greenwich Village, is home to approximately 51,000 students.
Admission to the school is difficult, and tuition is approximately $58,200 annually.
“Gould Plaza is one of the only spaces on NYU’s campus where students can gather in large groups,” the letter states, “yet upon assembling, NYU labeled their presence an offense, calling it ‘trespassing’ and barring our students from freedom of movement on their own campus.”
According to NYU, students did indeed trespass by holding an unauthorized demonstration on campus. The university attempted to shut down the demonstration by closing off the plaza but students and faculty ignored the barriers and the protest grew larger and louder. After the crowd refused a police order to leave, officers moved in and began making arrests.
Celine Ryan Ciccio, executive editor of Campus Reform, says many of the parents are grappling with a “new reality” by learning that an education an NYU is not what they expected for their children.
“Instead, their sons and daughters have been indoctrinated,” she says. “In this case, it's culminated in their association with or, in many cases, participation in violent and pro-terrorist activities, which is a nightmare for any parent."
Despite the letter’s claim that police officers were the bad guys, a live news feed showed bottles being hurled at officers during a standoff.
After clearing out the encampment, NYPD said a sign posted there (pictured at top) calls for “Death to Israel” and “Death to America.”
The same poster states “Long Live the Intifada,” which refers to Palestinian terrorist attacks against Jewish targets in Israel that date back to the 1980s.
Even though the parents’ letter claims safety is a top priority, Ciccio says the students put their own safety at risk by breaking university rules and ignoring police orders.
"And I think these parents are just trying to do their best to do damage control,” she says, “but maybe realizing too late that kids are involved in some pretty nasty stuff."
