Open Letter to the University Administration Re: Recent Events
Dear Carol, Andrew, Suzanne, et al
24 years ago, my wife Runya and I founded the Chabad Jewish Student Center at USC. In the years since, we have welcomed to our home tens of thousands of Trojan students. We are the longest-serving religious affiliates at USC, and have consistently worked with the university to advocate and create an inclusive welcoming environment for our students.
Largely, those efforts have been successful. We have always been proud of the fact that USC in recent years has been one of the better campus climates for Jewish students and the Jewish community. I proudly serve on the Committee on Jewish Life, and have volunteered hundreds of hours for it and related work. I consider you all friends and allies, and I believe the same is true in return.
Recent events, though, have strained this relationship. My students are hurt and feel like they have been thrown under the bus – and I feel the same way.
On April 4, USC announced the 2024 valedictorian and salutatorians. It emerged that the chosen valedictorian featured as her profile link on Instagram a call for the complete “abolishment of the State of Israel”, as part of an entire page filled with accusations of Israel and Zionism as a racist endeavor and delegitimizing Israel’s very existence.
The US State Department defines antisemitism as including behavior “denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g., by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor.” That definition has been upheld by Executive Order, and is the definition to which all universities receiving federal funding are held. By that definition, the speech presented on the valedictorian’s page is antisemitic and hate speech.
I have nothing against the valedictorian as a person, and I am impressed by her academic achievements. But being chosen as valedictorian is an honor that expresses the university’s pride in the chosen student as exemplary for the entire student body. This selection has caused great distress to students in our Jewish community and beyond.
On April 15, you released a statement that the valedictorian would not be speaking due to security concerns. This statement says nothing about the sentiments expressed, nor about the fact that those sentiments continue to be featured on her social media. This statement conveys the idea that the university supports the hate speech, and in fact creates the impression that it is our community that poses a security threat, rather than the ones being maligned.
In news stories around the country, USC’s Jewish students are now being portrayed as threatening the safety of the valedictorian, and as silencing Muslim voices – when nothing could be farther from the truth. In the LA Times, Andrew, you are quoted as saying: “This is a security decision. This is not about the identity of the speaker, it’s not about the things the valedictorian has said in the past.”
I find this position incredibly disappointing. Rather than upholding our student Code of Conduct and embracing a teaching opportunity about the impact of hate speech – even if unintended, the university is choosing to cover it up and hide behind security concerns; a position that amplifies the damage to our community and destroys so much of the trust we have all worked so hard to create.
I pray for wisdom and moral clarity on the part of our university’s leadership. Hate should never be platformed, courage must be found to stand up for what is right, and to own up to mistakes when they are made. I look forward to the day when USC actually lives up to its commitments to create an environment that is inclusive and welcoming to all.
Thank you,
Rabbi Dov Wagner
Chabad Jewish Student Center @ USC
Links:
Jewish Life Committee: https://we-are.usc.
President Folt’s messages: https://we-are.usc.
Education Department’s Investigation: https://www.
Valedictorian Announcement: https://www.
Link featured on the valecditorian’s Instagram: https://free-
Definition of antisemitism: https://www.
Provost Guzman Statement: https://www.
Open Letter to the University Administration Re: Recent Events
Dear Carol, Andrew, Suzanne, et al
24 years ago, my wife Runya and I founded the Chabad Jewish Student Center at USC. In the years since, we have welcomed to our home tens of thousands of Trojan students. We are the longest-serving religious affiliates at USC, and have consistently worked with the university to advocate and create an inclusive welcoming environment for our students.
Largely, those efforts have been successful. We have always been proud of the fact that USC in recent years has been one of the better campus climates for Jewish students and the Jewish community. I proudly serve on the Committee on Jewish Life, and have volunteered hundreds of hours for it and related work. I consider you all friends and allies, and I believe the same is true in return.
Recent events, though, have strained this relationship. My students are hurt and feel like they have been thrown under the bus – and I feel the same way.
On April 4, USC announced the 2024 valedictorian and salutatorians. It emerged that the chosen valedictorian featured as her profile link on Instagram a call for the complete “abolishment of the State of Israel”, as part of an entire page filled with accusations of Israel and Zionism as a racist endeavor and delegitimizing Israel’s very existence.
The US State Department defines antisemitism as including behavior “denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g., by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor.” That definition has been upheld by Executive Order, and is the definition to which all universities receiving federal funding are held. By that definition, the speech presented on the valedictorian’s page is antisemitic and hate speech.
I have nothing against the valedictorian as a person, and I am impressed by her academic achievements. But being chosen as valedictorian is an honor that expresses the university’s pride in the chosen student as exemplary for the entire student body. This selection has caused great distress to students in our Jewish community and beyond.
On April 15, you released a statement that the valedictorian would not be speaking due to security concerns. This statement says nothing about the sentiments expressed, nor about the fact that those sentiments continue to be featured on her social media. This statement conveys the idea that the university supports the hate speech, and in fact creates the impression that it is our community that poses a security threat, rather than the ones being maligned.
In news stories around the country, USC’s Jewish students are now being portrayed as threatening the safety of the valedictorian, and as silencing Muslim voices – when nothing could be farther from the truth. In the LA Times, Andrew, you are quoted as saying: “This is a security decision. This is not about the identity of the speaker, it’s not about the things the valedictorian has said in the past.”
I find this position incredibly disappointing. Rather than upholding our student Code of Conduct and embracing a teaching opportunity about the impact of hate speech – even if unintended, the university is choosing to cover it up and hide behind security concerns; a position that amplifies the damage to our community and destroys so much of the trust we have all worked so hard to create.
I pray for wisdom and moral clarity on the part of our university’s leadership. Hate should never be platformed, courage must be found to stand up for what is right, and to own up to mistakes when they are made. I look forward to the day when USC actually lives up to its commitments to create an environment that is inclusive and welcoming to all.
Thank you,
Rabbi Dov Wagner
Chabad Jewish Student Center @ USC
Links:
Jewish Life Committee: https://we-are.usc.
President Folt’s messages: https://we-are.usc.
Education Department’s Investigation: https://www.
Valedictorian Announcement: https://www.
Link featured on the valecditorian’s Instagram: https://free-
Definition of antisemitism: https://www.
Provost Guzman Statement: https://www.