Syracuse University sent an email to students taking part in the protest the following represents “our response to their concerns.” According to the University.
The Email ends with, “the University expects you to bring the encampment to a close.”
Dear Students:
As senior staff in Syracuse University’s Student Experience Division, we write to follow up on the meeting you requested with us, held on Monday (May 13). Although we have areas of disagreement, we share a concern for the ongoing loss of life on all sides in the Israel/Hamas war and recognize its impact on members of our community.
With respect to yesterday’s meeting, we cannot agree to your request that the University establish an investment review and oversight committee to pursue your specific concerns, as the University already has an established process in place (described in the attached document Response to Key Concerns Raised by Students Involved in the “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” Protest Activity) for any individual to raise a concern regarding endowment investments. You need to utilize that existing process.
With respect to the University issuing a new statement from the Chancellor calling for a ceasefire in the current conflict, the Chancellor’s statements issued on October 9 and 16 (described in the attached document) clearly and directly addressed the loss of life in both Israel and Gaza, and specifically acknowledged the impact on our community. Given the number of conflicts across the globe at any point in time, the University uses its voice only to address the impact on our community and does so in a limited way to allow individual campus voices to be heard.
You have engaged in protest regarding your concerns since April 29. University staff have taken great care to ensure you and others in our campus community remained safe while you did so. You have been afforded an opportunity to have your voice heard by members of the community, and those who disagree with you have been afforded the right to engage in counterprotest. However, with the academic year now having concluded with Sunday’s Commencement involving over 16,000 students, their family members, and other invited guests, the University expects you to bring the encampment to a close.
Sincerely,
Student Experience Division Leadership
