Dear Members of the Campus Community:
Late last week, a collective that is not a sanctioned student organization posted flyers advertising their intention to host an event on campus tomorrow related to the boycott, divestment and sanction (BDS) protest movement.
The posting of these flyers by an unsanctioned group, without advance permission, is against our institutional policies for student events. Additionally, the flyers used incendiary language that does not align with our institutional commitment to provide an educational environment where all students are free from discrimination based on race, color, or national origin, including shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics.
University personnel has followed all policies and procedures in responding to the presence of these unsanctioned flyers on our campus, including by exercising our right to remove them.
In accordance with our policies for third-party free speech, this event will be allowed to move forward, with the expectation that organizers and participants adhere to all institutional regulations. There will be no tolerance for hatred, bigotry, racism, intolerance, antisemitism, Islamophobia or violence in any form.
Staff in Student Affairs have reached out to the organizers of this event, among whom are some current New Paltz students, to offer support and confirm they understand our regulations for events of this nature. Those messages have not yet been acknowledged. We will continue to create opportunities for the organizers to meet with University personnel as part of our broader effort, in line with our policies and our values, to protect the rights and safety of our community members.
I am sending this note for information as I believe it is important in this climate to keep all of our colleagues informed.
Sincerely,
Darrell P. Wheeler
President
