(ALBANY, NEW YORK) – United University Professions (UUP) President Fred Kowal, who heads the Nation’s largest Higher Education Union, is responding to the U.S. Department of Education warning 60 Universities - including three State University of New York (SUNY) Schools, that they are under investigation for alleged anti-Semitic discrimination and harassment.

The Education Department's Office for Civil Rights on Monday (March 10th) sent letters to dozens of colleges to let each know they face "potential enforcement actions" if their obligations under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act to protect Jewish students on campus aren't being met.

In a press release, the obligations in question were stated to include "uninterrupted access to campus facilities and educational opportunities."

On the list of 60 were three New York Universities: SUNY Binghamton; SUNY Rockland; and SUNY Purchase. 

Kowal, whose Statewide Union represents more than 42,000 Academic And Professional Faculty and Retirees, issued the following statement in response:

“College and University Campuses are sanctuaries of freedom of thought and expression, regardless of whether we support or oppose those statements of free speech.

United University Professions will always stand for freedom of thought, freedom of expression and the right to free speech on SUNY Campuses and all Higher Education Institutions across New York State and the Nation.

This is why our Union rejects, in the strongest possible terms, the issuance of a list of 60 Universities under investigation by the U.S. Education Department for alleged anti-semitic harassment and discrimination.

Included on this list are three SUNY Campuses.

Such a list smacks of McCarthy-era blacklisting and that is something we cannot and will not stand for.

UUP has a long history of opposing and speaking out against antisemitism in all of its ugliness - including violence, harassment, hatred and discrimination.

This Union will always stand against any and all instances of antisemitism on our campuses.

However, we do not condone the Education Department’s heavy-handed, authoritarian method of addressing the situation by publicly naming campuses and threatening them with enforcement actions and revocation of public funding.

There are many other, better ways of addressing this situation than by using it as a hammer against freedom of speech for political gain.

UUP also opposes the arrest of Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, who was taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement despite being a legal permanent resident with a green card and whose wife is an American Citizen.

We are heartened by a March 10th ruling by a Federal Judge who temporarily blocked Khalil’s deportation and we trust Khalil’s due process rights - due him as a legal permanent resident of the United States - are afforded to him.”

UUP Members are employed at 29 New York State-operated campuses, including SUNY’s Public Teaching Hospitals and Health Science Centers in Brooklyn, Long Island and Syracuse.

UUP is an affiliate of the New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) Union, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), the National Education Association (NEA) and the AFL-CIO.

To Directly Access This Labor News Report, Go To: Press Release | Statement by United University Professions President Frederick E. Kowal on a list of 60 campuses under investigation by the U.S. Education Department

And For More, Go To: U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights Sends Letters to 60 Universities Under Investigation for Antisemitic Discrimination and Harassment | U.S. Department of Education