GOOD NEWS – CSU CHANCELLOR & SFSU PRESIDENT RESPOND WITH STRONG STATEMENTS CONDEMNING AMED’S HATEFUL POST

60 groups in an AMCHA coordinated letter, and many of you who received our last bulletin, wrote to the California State University Chancellor and Trustees demanding an investigation following a message targeting Jewish and Zionist students that was posted on an official site of the Arab and Muslim Ethnicities and Diasporas (AMED) program at SFSU’s College of Ethnic Studies.

Our efforts yielded results!

Both San Francisco State University President Wong and California State University Chancellor White responded forcefully to the intolerant behavior of the AMED program and its director.

In a message to the campus community, President Wong stated:

While [Prof. Abdulhadi] is entitled to voice her own opinion, it cannot be done in a way that implies university endorsement or association. Dr. Abdulhadi’s post does not reflect the opinions, values, or policies of San Francisco State University…All are welcome at SF State and a diversity of perspectives helps us grow as an institution. SF State is taking corrective action and will affirm this core principle in its social media policies and practices to avoid confusion and better safeguard the university’s web presence in the future.

Chancellor White confirmed SFSU’s corrective actions in an emailed reply and further clarified, “As I write you, it is not yet clear whether this faculty member will comply with the request. If not, the University will explore all appropriate options with respect to this conduct.”

In response, AMCHA Initiative coordinated a thank-you letter from 60 groups commending Chancellor White, the CSU Trustees and President Wong for standing up against this exclusionary behavior that fosters intolerance and puts all students at risk.  

The groups’ thank-you letter concluded by saying:

We would also like to point out that such departmental misbehavior does not happen in a vacuum. If the head of an academic unit is willing to use her program’s official social media platform to target a group of students on campus with hateful and discriminatory messages, it is reasonable to ask whether such messages are also being conveyed in the classroom or conference hall.  We hope that you will fully investigate AMED, and any other academic unit on a CSU campus that would misuse the university’s name and resources to promote hatred and bigotry against CSU students.

Thank you again for your letters and actions! Together, we will combat exclusionary behavior targeting Jewish and Zionist students on U.S. college and university campuses.

Please share this good news on social media and with your friends and colleagues.