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Day of Action in Support of Brooklyn College Students for Justice in Palestine
Dear allies and friends,
By now many of you have seen and heard about the latest attack on Brooklyn College. After the political science department cosponsored an event organized by our SJP to host Omar Barghouti and Judith Butler to discuss the BDS movement, Alan Dershowitz has launched a smear campaign.
At first, the demand from Dershowitz and a handful of city politicians was for the Brooklyn College political science department to rescind their cosponsorship (Glenn Greenwald wrote a comprehensive article, highlighting Dershowitz’s double standard). Now, Lewis Fidler, Assistant Majority Leader of the NYC Council, and several other members of the City Council are threatening to pull Brooklyn College’s funding unless the school administration is cancelled or condemned.
Please join us in showing support for our school administration, and encouraging them to continue to support academic freedom and expression on campus. Below you can find the contact details of school admins and sample letters to send, and a statement individuals and groups can sign on to.
We appreciate your continued support. We will be having a press conference Tomorrow and we encourage you to stay in the loop by visiting www.brooklynsjp.com.
In solidarity,
Brooklyn College Students for Justice in Palestine
WAYS YOU CAN HELP
TWITTER USING HASHTAG – #sjpfree2bds
INSTAGRAM THIS IMAGE (CLICK HERE) WITH THE HASHTAG #sjpfree2bds
CALL THE FOLLOWING NUMBERS:
President Karen Gould
(718.951.5671
Provost William Tramontano
718.951.5864
Director of Communications and Public Relations Jeremy Thompson
718.951.5882
Political Science Dept chairperson Paisley Currah
718.951.5306
SIGN THE LETTER OF SUPPORT
http://al-awdany.org/2013/02/sign-on-statement-of-support-for-brooklyn-college-students-for-justice-in-palestine/
EMAIL THE LETTER BELOW TO THE FOLLOWING PEOPLE
President Karen Gould
(718.951.5671
klgould@brooklyn.cuny.edu
Provost William Tramontano
718.951.5864
tramontano@brooklyn.cuny.edu
Director of Communications and Public Relations Jeremy Thompson
718.951.5882
JeremyThompson@brooklyn.cuny.edu
Political Science Dept chairperson Paisley Currah
718.951.5306
pcurrah@brooklyn.cuny.edu
LETTER
To whom it may concern,
My name is ____________________. I am emailing you to express my support for the event on BDS with Judith Butler and Omar Barghouti organized by Brooklyn College Students for Justice in Palestine.
As the most multi-cultural borough in the city of New York, Brooklyn prides itself in its diversity and understanding of different cultures and its ability to connect different struggles and bring people together under one roof.
Brooklyn College is a public institution of higher education that is known for its excellence in academic freedom and learning. As we all know, human rights and equality for all is something that should matter to everyone regardless of religion, ethnicity or political affiliation.
As a student/faculty/staff of Brooklyn College, it is imperative that my school upholds the right to academic freedom as IT IS part of the First Amendment rights enshrined in the United States Constitution.
Academic freedom is a component of freedom of speech which is part of the Bill or Rights in our Constitution. The Supreme Court made it evident with the decision made in the case of Keyishian v. Board of Regents (1967) where they stated: “Our Nation is deeply committed to safeguarding academic freedom, which is of transcendent value to all of us and not merely to the teachers concerned. That freedom is therefore a special concern of the First Amendment, which does not tolerate laws that cast a pall of orthodoxy over the classroom. The vigilant protection of constitutional freedoms is nowhere more vital than in the community of American schools.”
In addition, the Court has drawn a clear link between the importance of academic freedom and the health of our modern liberal democracy. In Sweezy v. New Hampshire (1957), the Court observed: The essentiality of freedom in the community of American universities is almost self-evident… Teachers and students must always remain free to inquire, to study and to evaluate, to gain new maturity and understanding; otherwise our civilization will stagnate and die.”
As a student/faculty/staff of Brooklyn College I stand behind the decision made by the Political Science Department to co-sponsor/endorse the BDS event being organized by Students for Justice in Palestine and other New York based community groups on February 7th.
This event will educate people on why the Israeli-Palestinian issue is a global issue and why so many individuals from all backgrounds support the non-violent BDS campaign to pressure Israel to comply with international and humanitarian law.
Sincerely
your name
MESSAGES WHEN YOU CALL
My name is ____________________. I am calling to express my support for the BDS event with Judith Butler and Omar Barghouti organized by Students for Justice in Palestine.
I stand behind the decision made by the Political Science Department to co-sponsor/endorse the BDS event being organized by Students for Justice in Palestine on February 7th
As a student at Brooklyn College, it is fundamental that my school upholds the right to academic freedom as IT IS part of the First Amendment rights of the US Constitution.
Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters’ statement of support to BC SJP
visit: http://www.brooklynsjp.com/pink-floyds-roger-waters-letter-of-support.html
Alice Walker’s statement of support to BC SJP
visit: http://www.brooklynsjp.com/alice-walkers-statement-of-support-to-bc-sjp.html