{"id":356,"date":"2025-05-16T16:14:30","date_gmt":"2025-05-16T16:14:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/perfectporchswing.com\/?p=356"},"modified":"2025-05-30T15:18:35","modified_gmt":"2025-05-30T15:18:35","slug":"nyu-withholds-diploma-of-gallatin-graduate-who-condemned-genocide-currently-occurring-in-gaza","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/perfectporchswing.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/16\/nyu-withholds-diploma-of-gallatin-graduate-who-condemned-genocide-currently-occurring-in-gaza\/","title":{"rendered":"NYU withholds diploma of Gallatin graduate who condemned \u2018genocide currently occurring\u2019 in Gaza"},"content":{"rendered":"

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NYU is withholding the diploma of a Gallatin graduate after he condemned \u201cthe atrocities currently happening in Palestine\u201d during his speech at the school\u2019s graduation ceremony on Wednesday. The university has faced significant pushback for its decision from several student, faculty, alumni and civil rights groups.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Logan Rozos, the student speaker at this year\u2019s ceremony, said that his \u201cmoral and political commitments\u201d guided him to speak on behalf of those affected by Israel\u2019s ongoing siege in Gaza \u2014 which has prompted several demonstrations on campus in the last two academic years.\u00a0 Shortly after his speech, NYU spokesperson John Beckman issued a public statement denouncing Rozos\u2019 choice to \u201cmisuse his role\u201d to \u201cexpress his personal and one-sided political views.\u201d Beckman said that Rozos lied about the speech he would deliver and \u201cviolated the commitment he made to comply\u201d with the university\u2019s rules.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI want to say that the genocide currently occurring, supported politically and militarily by the United States, is paid for by our tax dollars and has been live streamed to our phones for the past 18 months,\u201d Rozos said during his speech. \u201cI do not wish to speak only to my own politics today, but to speak for all people of conscience, in all people who feel the moral injury of this atrocity.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Rozos did not respond to requests for comment. During his three-minute speech, most graduates in the Beacon Theatre cheered while other guests booed him and yelled \u201cGo to Palestine\u201d when he mentioned the word \u201cgenocide.\u201d At the end of the ceremony, Gallatin Dean Victoria Rosner apologized to the crowd for the disruption.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The group NYU Alumni for Justice in Palestine encouraged alumni to email Beckman and Rosner to demand that the university release Rozos\u2019 diploma <\/span>in an Instagram post<\/span><\/a> on Thursday. The group said that \u201cno one should be punished for speaking out against a genocide\u201d and included Beckman\u2019s email address and phone number. Faculty & Staff for Justice in Palestine <\/span>also encouraged members<\/span><\/a> of the NYU community to send emails to eight university and Gallatin administrators, accusing NYU of violating academic freedom. The Council on American-Islamic Relations, New York \u2014 a Muslim civil rights group \u2014 <\/span>commended Rozos on Thursday<\/span><\/a> for demanding an end to the war in Gaza and called on NYU to end any disciplinary proceedings against him.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Hours before Beckman\u2019s statement, the account EndJewHatred a <\/span>posted a video<\/span><\/a> of Rozos speaking at the ceremony, criticizing NYU for hosting a \u201cpure, unchecked Jew-hatred\u201d ceremony with a speaker that had made many graduates feel \u201cunsafe\u201d with his \u201cfalse narratives and lies.\u201d It also demanded that NYU publicly condemn Rozos\u2019 speech as a violation of university policies and revoke his diploma. On Thursday, the New York and New Jersey branch of the Anti-Defamation League <\/span>applauded NYU<\/span><\/a> for seeking disciplinary action against Rozos and condemning his speech.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In an interview with WSN, Gallatin professor and FSJP member Ritty Lukose called administrators\u2019 reaction a \u201cviolation of academic freedom\u201d for silencing pro-Palestinian speech. She added that although Rozos likely deviated from the speech he submitted, it\u2019s hard to determine whether he violated university policy because he was never asked to sign a document that \u201cobliged him to say what he submitted.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cGraduation speeches are occasions in which people speak to the issues of their generation, and that\u2019s what Logan did and we should respect and stand by our students when they feel compelled to do so,\u201d Lukose said. \u201cThe submission of what you\u2019re going to say is part of a structure in which academic speech about Palestine and what\u2019s going on in Gaza is being actively suppressed.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At around 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Gallatin <\/span>removed Rozos from its website<\/span><\/a> highlighting 21 distinguished students in the school. About three hours later, the group Faculty and Staff Against Antisemitism at NYU released a post claiming that Rozos was \u201c<\/span>groomed<\/span><\/a>\u201d by Gallatin professors, who \u201ctaught him that truth is optional and performance is everything.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

A Gallatin professor, who requested to remain anonymous out of fear of retaliation, said that most faculty on stage did not view Rozos\u2019 speech as a violation of school policies and that \u201cthere was no reason\u201d to ask him to leave. Lukose said that even if faculty disagreed with his speech, there was \u201cno reason to curtail his right to say it.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe did exactly what everybody on that stage was celebrating students for and urging them to continue,\u201d Lukose said. \u201cFor the university to behave punitively and to condemn him for following his moral conscience is just unconscionable.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

At last year\u2019s Gallatin ceremony, <\/span>dozens of graduates held signs<\/span><\/a> reading \u201cfree Palestine\u201d and \u201cNYU has blood on its hands\u201d as they crossed the stage. A student also shook the hand of Associate Dean of Students Patrick McCreery with red paint and some refused to shake hands with Rosner. Some students also yelled phrases such as \u201cyou support genocide\u201d as Rosner gave her speech.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Last year, the valedictorian in Global Liberal Studies was <\/span>prohibited from delivering a speech<\/span><\/a> at the program\u2019s graduation ceremony that criticized NYU\u2019s ties to Israel, sanctions against pro-Palestinian protesters and police prescence on campus because the speech was \u201cnot celebratory.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s particularly tragic is that this is a moment where there\u2019s a war on higher education from Washington, D.C.,\u201d Vasuki Nesiah, a Gallatin professor and member of NYU\u2019s chapter of the American Association of University Professors, told WSN. \u201cNYU should be standing up for academic freedom, for the integrity of institutions of higher education and not conducting that war in house.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Contact Amanda Chen at achen@nyunews.com.<\/em><\/p>\n

This story NYU withholds diploma of Gallatin graduate who condemned \u2018genocide currently occurring\u2019 in Gaza<\/a> appeared first on Washington Square News<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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