A recent survey of Jewish and Israeli community members at the University of California, Los Angeles, found that two-thirds of students, faculty and staff reported antisemitism as a problem, and nearly three-quarters believed it was treated less seriously than other forms of hate. The report, which was commissioned by UCLA interim chancellor Darnell Hunt and conducted by the Task Force to Combat Antisemitism and Anti-Israeli Bias, highlights a rise in antisemitic incidents on campus since Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel, sparking an ongoing war in Gaza.
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by Jessica Blake, Inside Higher Ed.
Posted: October 24th, 2024, by: admin. Categories: . Awaiting Comments.
As protests unfolded at scores of college campuses last spring, students were not the only ones punished for participating. Faculty members also faced consequences for supporting the students in their protests or for expressing views that were construed as antisemitic or, less commonly, for pro-Israel activism. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has intensified what many faculty members and their allies believe is part of a growing assault on the ideals of academic freedom, a principle that most American colleges and universities hold dear.
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by Anemona Hartocollis, The New York Times.
Posted: October 23rd, 2024, by: admin. Categories: . Awaiting Comments.
In September, a group representing University of California faculty filed a complaint alleging the system sought to chill their academic freedom and keep from teaching about the Israel-Hamas war “in a way that does not align with the University’s own position.” To some professors, the protest restrictions are also a labor issue. Colleges have been granting tenure to fewer professors, and facing pressure in some areas to do away with it altogether. Legislatures in several states have taken an interest in how topics around race, gender and history are taught. Protest guidelines handed down by administrators are another way the faculty’s say in university affairs is being diminished, some professors say.
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by Annie Ma, The Associated Press.
Posted: October 22nd, 2024, by: admin. Categories: . Awaiting Comments.
Campus has temporarily halted the hiring of new lecturers for the 2025-26 academic year on Sept. 30. Benjamin Hermalin, executive vice chancellor and provost, or EVCP, noted the pause in hiring is intended to be short term. This decision was made to provide maximum flexibility in preparing for financial strains in the next academic year and potentially beyond, according to Hermalin’s email to campus department chairs and other colleagues. Hermalin added that campus will soon face an approximately 8% cut in state funding.
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by Kelcie Lee, The Daily Californian.
Posted: October 21st, 2024, by: admin. Categories: . Awaiting Comments.
“UC’s actions to suppress speech about Palestine on our campuses, which represents an illegal content-based restriction of faculty rights, sets an alarming precedent,” said CUCFA President Constance Penley in a press release. “Our unfair labor practice filing demands they change course and follow the law, and make whole the faculty who have been harmed.”
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by Emily Cao, Andie Kirby, Jayden Higman and John Millsap, USC Annenberg Media.
Posted: September 27th, 2024, by: admin. Categories: . Awaiting Comments.
Wendy Matsumura, an associate professor of history at UCSD and 2023-24 chair of the UCSD Faculty Association, said it was important to fight for faculty’s academic freedom through this filing. “We just thought, this was a moment where we could not just stand by and let the university essentially inflict violence on us, threaten our workplace safety, threaten our ability to take care of our students and obstruct our right to be in solidarity with the union, particularly graduate workers,” Matsumura said.
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by Leo Place, The Coast News.
Posted: September 26th, 2024, by: admin. Categories: . Awaiting Comments.
The Council of University of California Faculty Associations said UC administrators have threatened faculty for teaching about the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and launched disciplinary proceedings against faculty for supporting on-campus student encampments as well as backing a strike by student academic workers this spring. The faculty group made the allegations in a 581-page complaint filed Thursday with California’s Public Employment Relations Board, which oversees labor-management interaction for public employees in the state.
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by Suhauna Hussain, The Los Angeles Times.
Posted: September 23rd, 2024, by: admin. Categories: . Awaiting Comments.
The University of California’s faculty associations describe a campaign of intimidation by UC leaders against faculty including illegal surveillance of professors and use of law enforcement to quash peaceful dissent in a sweeping state labor complaint filed last week. UC Davis’ faculty association joined faculty associations across the UC system accusing University of California campuses of unfair labor practices during pro-Palestine protests earlier this year.
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by Darrell Smith, The Sacramento Bee.
Posted: September 23rd, 2024, by: admin. Categories: . Awaiting Comments.
Faculty have accused the University of California system of labor violations over what they say was a sweeping campaign to suppress pro-Palestinian speech and campus protests across the state earlier this year. The Council of University of California Faculty Associations made the allegations in a complaint filed last week with the state Public Employment Relations Board.
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by The Associated Press, ABC News.
Posted: September 23rd, 2024, by: admin. Categories: . Awaiting Comments.
Anna Markowitz, a member of the UCLA faculty association, remarked that the university’s crackdown aimed to “end Palestine solidarity activism on campus.” She added, “In this ULP charge, we are saying that this illegal suppression of speech cannot stand, whether about Palestine or about other issues that students and faculty may raise in the future.” An unfair labor practice charge submitted to the Public Employment Relations Board is a formal allegation of legal violations, prompting an investigation that can lead to a dismissal or a settlement conference. If no agreement is reached, the case is brought before an administrative labor law judge. The UC system denied the allegations on Thursday, stating that the faculty groups lack standing to file a complaint with the Public Employment Relations Board.
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by Staff, Al Mayadeen.
Posted: September 21st, 2024, by: admin. Categories: . Awaiting Comments.
