CJFS-B Condemns Disgraceful and Disturbing Repression at NYU
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Download this statement as a PDF here.
May 16, 2025
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On May 15, news broke that NYU had withheld the diploma of graduating student Logan Rozos for a courageous commencement speech condemning the role of the United States in funding and enabling atrocities in Palestine. Concerned Jewish Faculty and Staff condemns, in the strongest terms, NYU’s punitive response and calls on NYU to immediately reinstate Mr. Rozos’ diploma and to cease any disciplinary proceedings.
NYU claims that Mr. Rozos “misused” his platform. To the contrary, Mr. Rozos used his platform to demonstrate the values of critical thought, conscience, and courage – precisely the foundation of a university education. NYU further claims that Mr. Rozos uttered ‘one-sided’ views. As Jewish faculty and staff opposed to the false premise that criticism of Israel is itself an act of bias, we applaud Mr. Rozos for speaking with empathy, compassion, and honesty about a current event he views as a defining moral issue of our time. His comments condemned violence that has been identified by human rights organizations around the world as a genocide.
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Whether or not every member of the audience agreed with his words, Mr. Rozos represented a vital tradition of student speech and activism that universities should praise and protect, not impugn and punish. By withholding Mr. Rozos’ diploma, NYU not only undermines its credibility but also sends a chilling message to all students: that their degrees may be conditional on silence.
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To condemn and discipline a student for using his voice to speak out is deeply troubling. NYU prides itself on being a global institution committed to academic freedom and the exchange of ideas. Silencing a graduating student for expressing a widely shared moral stance runs counter to these values.
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Against the backdrop of the Trump administration’s open assault on our universities and on free and open inquiry, the stakes have never been higher for protecting the rights of free speech, assembly, academic freedom, and protest. NYU’s decision to punish Mr. Rozos for his thoughtful graduation remarks alone betrays the basic values of higher education.
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