NYU hosts hundreds of speaking events every semester, from academic panels to debates, on a broad range of topics and viewpoints. But what does it take for NYU to cancel one? If this week’s events were any indication, government criticism and advocacy will get you canceled without hesitation, while racism and hate speech will not. 

On Wednesday, a petition circulated on social media demanding that NYU cancel a “white supremacist event” scheduled for Thursday evening, garnering 4,528 signatures. The event, organized by the NYU College Republicans, was set to feature prominent far-right political personalities in a discussion about immigration.

What became immediately clear, however, was that this event was not a good-faith, academic conversation, but a vile act of xenophobia and racial profiling. The talk, titled “Immigrant Invasion: You Don’t Have to Go Home, But You Can’t Stay Here,” was marketed by one of its panelists with a poster featuring two Black men, one holding a knife, looming over three angel-winged white panelists. Above this malicious caricature is text that reads, “Why do illegals keep graping and unaliving us?” And yet, the event was welcomed by NYU, until a different issue arose. 

Less than 24 hours after the petition was created, NYU spokesperson John Beckman put out a statement noting that the event would be canceled — not because of its content, but because one of the speakers publicly requested “armed security,” expecting that the event would potentially lead to violence. The statement noted, “Our commitment to academic freedom does not include allowing our community members to be put in harm’s way.”

Notably lacking in this statement was any condemnation of the racist advertisement or affirmation that immigrants should be respected and valued within the NYU community. While the event’s cancellation was labeled a “victory” by those denouncing the event, the fact remains that the university drew the line at potential violence, but not at xenophobic hate speech. The university’s “commitment to academic freedom” would have allowed for the othering of its international community had violent threats not been made.

NYU has already shown its unwillingness to stand up for its international community by remaining silent on growing anti-immigrant sentiment nationwide. The university has issued no condemnation of President Donald Trump’s mass deportations and revocation of student visas — policies that have begun to affect international students across the United States and at our university. 

This failure to address xenophobia and racism becomes even more troubling when contrasted with the university’s aggressive response to perceived antisemitism, which has become a one-size-fits-all label to justify the suppression of pro-Palestinian speech. Even slight criticism of Israel’s war in Gaza can lead to disciplinary action from NYU. The university has repeatedly affirmed its dedication to fighting antisemitism — a commitment it should, of course, uphold — but where is the same outrage and protections for its immigrant community?

While NYU did not cancel this hateful event until its hand was forced, NYU Langone Health seemed more than happy to cancel a presentation just last week that it deemed “antisemitic” and “anti-governmental.” The speech — which was to be given by Joanne Liu, the former head of Doctors Without Borders — discussed global humanitarian crises, but was canceled for its mention of federal cuts to the U.S. Agency for International Development, high death rates among humanitarian workers in Gaza and U.S. relations with Ukraine. The double standard is glaring: NYU will cancel an academic talk that dares to criticize U.S. policy, but chooses inaction and enables white supremacist hate speech unless it begins to make headlines.

The university’s selective enforcement of academic freedom is indicative of its total capitulation to the Trump administration and its Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism. Liu aptly described NYU’s behavior as “preemptive over-obedience” — a stance the university has adopted to avoid retaliation from the government. In doing so, however, NYU — which advertises itself as an international institution — alienates its international students and students of color, placing its own reputation above the safety of its community.

NYU needs to do more than write half-baked statements affirming its commitment to its international student body, starting with holding the College Republicans accountable for their proliferation of hate speech on campus. The university needs to reevaluate what it deems harmful to its community — censoring experts on humanitarian crises while allowing well-known white supremacists on its campus under the guise of open debate is not going to fly. We deserve a university administration that will protect all of its vulnerable populations, not one that bends a knee to a president hell-bent on sowing fear and division.

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