Nate Yonamine, Assistant Visual Editor
Pro-Palestine students set up a "liberated zone" in Schenley Plaza on Tuesday.
Dear Chancellor Joan Gabel,
We, a group of University of Pittsburgh educators, are standing in solidarity with the students who established the “liberated zone” in support of Palestine on Schenley Plaza. Across the country, university administrations have taken punitive measures such as suspensions, expulsions and arrests against students using their freedom of speech in establishing Gaza solidarity encampments to protest ongoing violence in Gaza and to call for University disinvestment from the war on Gaza. We call on the University of Pittsburgh to set a different example, one that upholds our students’ civil rights and refrains from using force or intimidation to suppress students’ free speech.
At the University of Pittsburgh, numerous student organizations across campus have created a coalition working in support of the Palestinian-led movement calling for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel following the precedent set during past boycotts of apartheid South Africa. The “liberated zone” is an expression of these students’ discontent and demands for justice and University divestment. Their dedication to human rights and justice should be celebrated by the University.
As educators, we believe in fostering conscientious citizens willing to stand up against injustice, especially at this historic moment when university students nationwide are rising to have their voices heard. We stand with these students who are critically engaging with the world and their role within it. As such, we call for the University to refrain from any legal and disciplinary action for all encampment participants. We also call for the University to refrain from calling the police or threatening to arrest, suspend or expel students for their activism. Finally, as an institution dependent on our students, we call for the university to fulfill its moral obligation to engage in good-faith conversations with students’ demands.
In solidarity,
Stephanie Love, Assistant Professor, Anthropology
Elaine Linn, Assist Dir for Academic Affairs, Global Studies Center
Omid Shekari, Assistant Professor, Studio Art, Dietrich
Raed El Rafei, Assistant Professor, English Department
Darlène Dubuisson, Assistant Professor, Anthropology, Dietrich
Steve Goldstein, Assistant Professor, Anthropology, Dietrich
Emily Wanderer, Assistant Professor, Anthropology
R.A. Judy, Professor, English
Tanzeen Rashed Doha, Visiting Assistant Professor, Anthropology
Crystal N. Eddins, Associate Professor, Sociology, Dietrich
Lisa D. Brush, Professor and Chair, Sociology DSAS
Anonymous, Sociology, Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Zachary Sheldon, Visiting Assistant Professor, Anthropology
Melanie M. Hughes, Professor, Sociology, Dietrich School of Arts & Sciences
Nancy Fultz, Teaching Assistant Professor, Sociology
Mohammed Bamyeh, Professor, Sociology
Michael Goodhart, Professor, Political Science
Niklas Frykman, Associate Professor, History
Marcus Rediker, Distinguished Professor, History/Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Pernille Røge, Associate Professor, Department of History, Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Ruth Mostern, Professor, DSAS – History
Sabina Vaught, Professor, School of Education
Barbara McCloskey, Professor, History of Art and Architecture
T. Elon Dancy II, Ph.D., Helen S. Faison Endowed Chair, Education Foundations, Org, and Policy/School of Education
Jabeen Adawi, Clinical Assistant Professor of Law, School of Law
Jules Lobel, Professor of Law, Law
Alexandra Weiner, Part-time Instructor, Department of Mathematics, Dietrich
Anonymous, Visiting lecturer, Sociology, Dietrich
Martez Files, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Black Studies in Teacher Education, Teaching, Learning, and Leading
Anonymous, Economics
Dr. Scott Heath, Visiting Assistant Professor, Africana Studies
John Stoner, Teaching Professor, History/Dietrich
Peng Hai, Assistant Professor, DSAS-History
Beatrice Dias, Assistant Professor, School of Education
Michael E. Sawyer, Associate Professor, Department of English
Rashad Williams, Assistant Professor, Graduate School of Public and International Affairs
Alveena shah, Assistant Professor, Law
Lisa Ortiz, Assistant Professor, Department of Teaching, Learning, and Leading; School of Education
Angie Ocampo-Roland, Assistant Professor, Political Science – Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Brooke Shannon, Assistant Professor, Graduate School of Public and International Affairs (GSPIA)
Tomas Matza, Associate Professor, Anthropology
Gabby Yearwood, Teaching Professor, Anthropology, Dietrich School of Arts & Sciences
Hillary Lazar, Visiting Lecturer, Sociology, Dietrich School of Arts & Sciences
Yasmine Flodin-Ali, Assistant Professor, Department of Religious Studies
Victor Figuereo, Assistant Professor, School of Social Work
Joy Priest, Assistant Professor, English
Eladio B. Bobadilla, Assistant Professor, History, Dietrich
Litzy Galarza, Assistant Professor, Communication, Dietrich School of Arts & Science
Edouard Machery, Distinguished Professor, History and Philosophy of Science, A&S