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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Tried to post this in colleges but Jeff really wants it here!

Tufts community critical of President Kumar's response:

"The petition calls on Tufts to commit to a variety of steps to protect international students, including paying for immigration lawyers, making free housing available on campus for vulnerable community members to increase the protection the school can provide them, and publicly affirming that the school will protect the right to free speech on campus.

“The only approach – practical and ethical – is a full-throated commitment to resisting the US administration’s oppressive policies and to the maintenance of the rights and dignity of all persons,” the petition states. ”Tufts has an opportunity to take a principled and historic stance against this authoritarian crackdown on student free speech in general, speech regarding Palestine in particular, and on the rights of non-citizens in the United States as a whole.”

The petition asserts that Tufts’ longstanding connections to the international community will be risk if the administration does not defend Ozturk and the right to free speech.

“International students, scholars, and staff are and have been critical contributors to Tufts’ educational and research excellence,” the petition reads. “A failure to protect their rights, freedom and dignity in today’s political climate will be a betrayal to that legacy and do irreparable harm to the University’s international standing.”

Signers also signaled they would end financial support for Tufts and “cease recommending that prospective students attend” the university."

[url]https://www.bostonglobe.com/2025/03/27/metro/tufts-ozturk-trump-immigration-crackdown-pro-palestine/[/url][/quote]

Thank you for this. I worked with international students in the Boston area and this incident hit me hard. Given how much money and talent international students bring to Massachusetts, all the area universities should step up and protect their international community. But I think they're all cowed because of the fear of losing federal funding. Another factor which we have to be honest about is the large number of Jewish students in some MA colleges. Tuft's student population is 20 percent Jewish; it's 35 percent at Brandeis and 23 percent at BU. Schools with large Jewish populations are not going to stick their necks out for students who are against the Israeli government (notice I said "government" and not "Jewish or Israeli people") or pro-Palestinian. [/quote]

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