Letters: Northwestern University wrong to capitulate to divisive activists

Northwestern University students and supporters encircle the encampment in Deering Meadow on campus on April 25, 2024, in Evanston. May 10) in which he explains his decision to reach an agreement with anti-Israel protesters who had set up an encampment on Deering Meadow last month. While I appreciate Schill’s commitment to fostering dialogue and understanding, as an alumnus, I must express some concerns regarding the implications of his actions.

I question how the administration can retain any semblance of legitimacy if it doesn’t now engage with all extremists, no matter how incompatible their demands are to Northwestern’s academic mission.Northwestern University President Michael Schill’s op-ed shows that you can be a president of an elite university and lack the capacity for moral courage in action. Schill’s handling of antisemitism at Northwestern brings to mind the “paradox of tolerance” as described by philosopher Karl Popper.

After not enforcing Northwestern’s rules, Schill then decided to capitulate to the demands of the protesters to improve life at Northwestern for Muslim students and students from the Middle East and North Africa, provide greater information to students about NU’s investments , create a house for Muslim and Middle Eastern students, and include Gaza in the university’s Scholars at Risk program.

This statement by Schill in his op-ed, however, is appalling: “The tents are down, removing a source of antisemitic intimidation to many of our Jewish students.” If he has documented evidence of widespread “antisemitic intimidation” by the protestors, then please, bring it forward.

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