Governor Kathy Hochul IHe issued a letter To the presidents of colleges and universities across New York State saying that calls for genocide being made on college campuses are a violation of the New York State Human Rights Law as well as Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This letter comes on the heels of a congressional hearing on anti- Semitism: Many university presidents have failed to clearly and unequivocally condemn anti-Semitism and calls for genocide on college campuses.
The governor emphasized that New York State will enforce violations of the state’s human rights law and refer Title VI violations to federal officials. Advocating genocide would be considered a direct violation of the SUNY and CUNY Code of Conduct, and Governor Hochul made clear that all colleges and universities in the state are expected to hold themselves to the same standard, and to have a clearly defined and well-publicized mechanism for individuals to report complaints.
On December 8, Gov. Hochul Announce The message is at Shabbat services at Temple Israel, the site of the shooting and subsequent arrest earlier this week. The governor also visited Temple Beth Emeth in Albany to share a message of solidarity and made clear that New York State does not tolerate hate and violence on campus.
Following the escalation of hate and bias incidents in the weeks following the October 7 Hamas terrorist attacks, Governor Hochul said to publish All New York State resources available to protect New Yorkers in at-risk communities and on campus. The governor also announced that Judge Jonathan Lippman will conduct an independent, third-party review of CUNY’s policies and procedures related to anti-Semitism and discrimination, and will make recommendations on how all colleges can better protect the safety of their students.
The full text of Governor Hochul’s message is below:
To: New York State College and University Presidents
This week, I was shocked, like many Americans, to see the presidents of several prominent universities — current leaders responsible for educating the young minds who will grow into the leaders of tomorrow — fail to clearly and unequivocally condemn anti-Semitism and calls for the genocide of humanity. Jews on their university campuses.
I have contacted SUNY Chancellor John King to confirm that it is SUNY policy that advocating genocide for any group of people on one of SUNY’s 62 campuses will be considered a violation of the SUNY Code of Conduct and will result in prompt disciplinary action . Chancellor King emphasized that this was the case, and that SUNY would not tolerate anti-Semitism or hatred of any kind. CUNY Chancellor Felix Matos Rodriguez emphasized that the same applies to CUNY schools.
Additionally, failure to address such activity would constitute a violation of the New York State Human Rights Law as well as Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Under Title VI, any recipient of federal funds is responsible for keeping students free from hostile aggression. environment based on their race or national origin – a standard that has been applied to anti-Semitism.
I am writing to ensure that your organization applies the same standard in its Code of Conduct, and has a clearly defined and well-publicized mechanism for individuals to report complaints. As Governor of New York State, I want to emphasize that colleges and universities that do not comply with federal and state laws that protect students from discrimination can be deemed ineligible to receive state and federal funds.
I assure you that if any school in New York State is found to be violating the law, I will activate the State Human Rights Division to take aggressive enforcement action and will refer potential violations of Title VI to the federal government.
The ethical lapses demonstrated by the disgraceful answers to questions asked during this week’s congressional hearing cannot and will not be tolerated here in New York State.
I remain grateful for the work you do in educating and protecting our students and your partnership in keeping hate and intimidation off our campuses.
sincerely,
Governor Kathy Hochul