Updates to student conduct guidelines will not change university policies, NYU spokesperson John Beckman said in a Tuesday statement addressing concerns about the citing of “code words, like ‘Zionist,’” as examples of potentially discriminatory speech.
“This is not the ‘weaponization’ of a word — it is providing further guidance to our community about how our policies apply in different circumstances,” Beckman said. “Our requirement to protect all students from discrimination, harassment or threats — regardless of their background — is aided by greater clarity.”
The statement specifically responded to a Sunday press release from Faculty & Staff for Justice in Palestine, which called the change a “dangerous precedent” that “troublingly equates criticism of Zionism with discrimination against Jewish people.” Recent protesters and off-campus organizations like New York City’s chapter of the Palestinian Youth Movement have also criticized the policy, arguing that it would be used to limit pro-Palestinian speech on campus.
In the statement, Beckman reiterated several sections related to recent pushback, saying that the guidelines are intended to uphold Title VI of the Civil Rights Act and that “conduct that otherwise triggers our non-discrimination and anti-harassment policy cannot be shielded by using ‘Zionist’ as a substitute or codeword for Jew or Israeli.” He also said the university is not “seeking to ‘stifle’ speech” and remains “fully committed to academic freedom.”
In a document detailing the guidelines, NYU listed several examples of policy violations, including the “use or dissemination of tropes about protected groups” and “calls for genocide of an entire group of people,” and said the expectations “apply equally across the board.” In the statement, Beckman also said the document aimed to address “exclusionary or harassing conduct” rather than public debate.
The guideline updates were provoked by “calls for greater clarity” from over 300 students, faculty, administrators and staff across more than 20 listening sessions over the summer, according to Beckman. Last semester, after facing significant backlash for her handling of pro-Palestinian demonstrations — where dozens of students and faculty were arrested — NYU president Linda Mills said that listening sessions were “the only way forward.”
The NYU People’s Solidarity Coalition and FSJP did not respond to requests for comment.
Contact Dharma Niles at [email protected].
