Community Engagement Following Student Protests  

May 8, 2024

Dear Rutgers–New Brunswick Community,

Last week, President Holloway and I took decisive action to ensure our campus community’s safety and support our students’ academic achievements, especially those approaching their final exams. Our goal was to facilitate a swift, peaceful, and safe resolution to the protest at Voorhees Mall.

Since reaching an agreement with the protesting students, I have received messages from many individuals expressing deeply heartfelt questions, concerns, distress, and disagreement with the terms of the agreement. Others have praised our decision to work with the students rather than further escalate a fraught environment. Please know that all your perspectives are respected and taken seriously, and I am grateful for your candid communication.

Ensuring a safe campus environment requires the involvement of our entire community. I intend to consult and collaborate with many constituent campus community groups in the coming weeks. We must continue to work together to make our community safe and free from bias and hate.

To ensure that our conversations going forward are substantive and productive, I want to take this time to clarify the terms of the agreement we reached last week. The agreement, found here, reflects the commitments made by the university.

The protesting students requested that Rutgers divest from companies that do business with Israel.

President Holloway addressed this request in Monday’s statement to the Rutgers University Board of Governors: “Some people have wrongly come to believe that Rutgers agreed to divest from companies that do business in Israel. We did not. We have a policy already in place for investment decisions and we are adhering to it and the process that flows from it. We did agree to meet with the students who made the request and nothing more.”

The protesting students asked Rutgers to terminate its partnership with Tel Aviv University, including its future presence in the New Jersey Innovation & Technology Hub in New Brunswick.

We did not agree to sever Rutgers’ relationship with Tel Aviv University or its future presence in the Hub. Agreements with global partners are matters of scholarly inquiry. Rutgers has relationships with universities worldwide, and they have helped us move our mission forward.

The protesting students asked Rutgers to establish a relationship with Birzeit University.

Rutgers has had a relationship with Birzeit University since 2022, and is committed to continuing that relationship through research collaboration and scholarly exchange.

The protesting students asked Rutgers to accept ten displaced Gazan students on scholarship.

Rutgers has, in recent years, accepted and arranged scholarships for students who were displaced by conflict in Afghanistan, Ukraine, and other areas, and will work to implement support for displaced Palestinian students.

The protesting students asked Rutgers to create a cultural center for Arab and Palestinian students.

Student Affairs will develop a plan to create a new cultural center at Rutgers–New Brunswick.

The protesting students asked the university to name “Palestine” and “Palestinians” in future communications related to the war in Gaza.

Rutgers–New Brunswick has and will continue to name Palestine, Palestinians, and Gaza in public communications about the war.

The protesting students asked the university to release a statement from the Office of the President about the war in Gaza.

The university did not agree to issue such a statement.

The protesting students asked Rutgers to hire administrators with cultural competency and knowledge about Arabs, Palestinians, Muslims, anti-Palestinian action, and Islamophobia.

Rutgers–New Brunswick is working to develop training sessions on anti-Palestinian, anti-Arab, and anti-Muslim racism for all administrators and staff. We commit to hiring a senior administrator with cultural competency in and with Arab, Muslim, and Palestinian communities with mutual respect and interest in engaging with faculty in Jewish Studies and those specializing in antisemitism and Israel relations.

Additionally, we are developing training sessions on antisemitism for all administrators and staff.

The protesting students asked Rutgers to hire professors specializing in Palestine and Middle East studies, institute a center for Palestine studies, and establish a path to departmentalization of Middle East Studies.

The Office of the Chancellor will convene a working group to conduct a feasibility study for creating a new department and hiring faculty. The group’s first task is to identify gaps in the current faculty and make recommendations.

The protesting students asked Rutgers to display the Palestinian flag and those of other people in areas of campus that display international flags.

The Office of the Chancellor will take stock of areas displaying international flags and evaluate how to ensure appropriate representation.

The protesting students requested amnesty for students, student groups, faculty, and staff expressing their First Amendment rights to protest regarding Palestine and the war in Gaza.

The university is unwavering in its support of free speech and does not retaliate against students or employees for exercising their right to free expression. However, all campus community members remain subject to Rutgers policies and practices, including the University Code of Student Conduct, the Policy Prohibiting Discrimination and Harassment, and the Policy on Disruptions. Violations of those or other University policies found to have occurred before, during, or after the protest will result in a referral for appropriate disciplinary action. Restorative practices may be engaged to help bring students together and repair harm to the community. The commitment to end the encampment through this agreement will be considered a favorable mitigating factor.

University leadership will honor this agreement, contingent upon adherence to Rutgers policies and no further disruptions. I would also like to note that the students peacefully disbanded the protest in good faith, and I believe the agreed-upon steps will help us become a more inclusive community.

I would like to express my gratitude to the members of the Chancellor’s Advisory Council on Arab, Muslim, and Palestinian Life, and the Advisory Council on Jewish Life who expressed shared values and a commitment to collaboration across differences, spirited exchange, curiosity, and collaboration. I am committed to putting structures in place for both councils to serve as collaborative partners to ensure that this agreement promotes bridge-building for our entire campus community.

Our Rutgers community includes diverse opinions and perspectives, with passionate and sincere advocates from many communities. But, as I have stated before, hate and bigotry have no place at Rutgers. Together, we can and must protect freedom of speech while safeguarding the rights of all students, faculty, and staff to live, learn, and work in a secure and welcoming environment.

Sincerely,

Francine Conway, Ph.D.
Chancellor and Distinguished Professor
Rutgers University–New Brunswick