{"id":438,"date":"2024-06-09T23:55:34","date_gmt":"2024-06-09T23:55:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/homesinlincolnnebraska.com\/?p=438"},"modified":"2024-07-04T13:53:50","modified_gmt":"2024-07-04T13:53:50","slug":"extremely-disturbing-concerns-over-academic-freedom-at-nyu-abu-dhabi-surface-following-policies-restricting-attire-at-graduation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/homesinlincolnnebraska.com\/index.php\/2024\/06\/09\/extremely-disturbing-concerns-over-academic-freedom-at-nyu-abu-dhabi-surface-following-policies-restricting-attire-at-graduation\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Extremely disturbing\u2019: Concerns over academic freedom at NYU Abu Dhabi surface following policies restricting attire at graduation"},"content":{"rendered":"

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New regulations at NYU Abu Dhabi\u2019s commencement ceremony barred graduates from decorating their caps and gowns with scarves or symbols and carrying posters or \u201cflag-like attire,\u201d with one Ph.D. student allegedly detained for a week and deported after pulling out a keffiyeh at the event, multiple sources told WSN. The regulations reflected escalating concerns over academic freedom at the campus, which students and faculty described in \u201cvery distressing accounts\u201d to NYU\u2019s chapter of the American Association of University Professors.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sources said the Ph.D. student, who they did not identify, pulled a keffiyeh from under their gown and yelled \u201cfree Palestine\u201d as they crossed the stage, which was met with applause from members of the audience, according to multiple students. Other graduates turned their thumbs down as they walked, with some having tattooed henna keffiyehs onto their hands and signed \u201cfree Palestine\u201d in American Sign Language.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Jacqueline Hennecke, the commencement\u2019s banner bearer, said that most students refused to shake hands with former NYU Abu Dhabi vice chancellor Mari\u00ebt Westermann and that security instructed graduates to remove their gowns before entering the ceremony.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cStudents were definitely upset about the attire restrictions,\u201d Hennecke said in an interview with WSN. \u201cThe day before, Mari\u00ebt Westermann got up on stage and made a speech that claimed that it was a normal thing. She basically claimed that keffiyehs and cultural gear had always been banned and that this was the first year they were enforcing it, which was absolutely silly and ridiculous.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

President Linda Mills joined Westermann on stage at this year\u2019s commencement, which was the 11th in the campus\u2019 history and honored its <\/span>largest class<\/span><\/a> to date. The May 22 ceremony also saw several members of the Emirati royal family in attendance \u2014 including Sheikh Zayed bin Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan \u2014 as well as members of NYU\u2019s board of trustees.<\/span><\/p>\n

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NYU president Linda Mills and NYU Abu Dhabi vice chancellor Mari\u00ebt Westermann at the NYU Abu Dhabi commencement ceremony. (Obtained by WSN)<\/span><\/p>\n

Students at the campus\u2019 commencement told WSN the cameras avoided graduates\u2019 hand gestures and cut larger demonstrations out of the live stream, noting that one student was omitted from the video entirely. They also claimed the video posted online blurred and zoomed out of henna and other markings.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen they could tell that a student was going to give a thumbs down or do something more aggressive like that, they would cut away very quickly,\u201d Hennecke said. \u201cI talked to my friends and family who were watching from abroad, and I was like, \u2018Did you see this?\u2019 They were like, \u2018No, not at all.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

NYU Abu Dhabi\u2019s live stream of its <\/span>2024 commencement exercises<\/span><\/a>, which included speeches from this year\u2019s student speaker and keynote speaker, was published online separate from the video of <\/span>graduates walking across the stage<\/span><\/a> to receive their diplomas \u2014 unlike previous years, where <\/span>one video<\/span><\/a> documented the entire ceremony. Footage from past commencements at the Abu Dhabi campus also shows dozens of students wearing keffiyehs and other cultural attire. Students said that university administrators had assured them this year would be the same.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, a May 17 email sent by NYU Abu Dhabi leadership informed graduates they could only wear \u201capproved academic attire\u201d and that they could not bring bags or any items \u201cnot required\u201d for the ceremony. The email came after this year\u2019s commencement was almost canceled, according to sources, and could only take place \u201cunder strict protocols,\u201d messages from a member of NYU Abu Dhabi\u2019s student government obtained by WSN read.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The student, who requested to remain anonymous due to safety concerns, said they met with administrators to discuss the new regulations and that the changes responded to \u201crecent developments\u201d and \u201cincreased surveillance\u201d by people outside the university, specifically regarding keffiyehs on campus amid on-campus tensions over the war in Gaza. The student also advised others to limit \u201cpublic displays of solidarity\u201d online and in person during commencement.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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The May 17 email from NYU Abu Dhabi administration and a recreation of an excerpt of a message sent by a student government member to students via WhatsApp. (Obtained by WSN)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\u2018Increased surveillance\u2019<\/h2>\n
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According to reports received by NYU\u2019s AAUP chapter, the Emirati government increased its security presence and monitoring of demonstrations at the Abu Dhabi campus over the last few months. Some reported government interrogations of students and faculty regarding their involvement in pro-Palestinian demonstrations on campus. They said these meetings were often followed by search requests from government officials regarding \u201csuspicious activity,\u201d including private social media posts, group affiliations and personal emails.<\/span><\/p>\n

When asked for comment, NYU spokesperson John Beckman said the university has \u201cno authority\u201d over any nation\u2019s immigration or law enforcement, and that the administration makes \u201csubstantial efforts\u201d to ensure students understand the culture and laws of where they study.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn none of our locations \u2014 including in the United States \u2014 are members of the NYU community immune from local laws,\u201d Beckman wrote in a statement to WSN. \u201cWe are frank with our students, faculty and staff that cultures and laws vary \u2014 sometimes profoundly \u2014 from country to country, and it is those very differences that we want our community members to come to understand and be capable of managing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Beckman did not answer questions related to the Emirati government\u2019s alleged uptick in security measures or claims about sanctions and restrictions on pro-Palestinian speech at the Abu Dhabi campus.<\/span><\/p>\n

Paula Chakravartty, vice president of NYU\u2019s chapter of the AAUP, said one student was questioned after looking to buy a keffiyeh via his social media account, and <\/span>a May 30 statement<\/span><\/a> from the AAUP said students had been threatened with arrest for wearing keffiyeh scarves in groups on campus. The press release also alleged an instance in which faculty who proposed a no-confidence vote in NYU Abu Dhabi\u2019s administration \u2014 similar to <\/span>several votes against Mills<\/span><\/a> at NYU\u2019s Washington Square campus \u2014 was met with obstruction and threats of legal action from the Emirati government.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAdministration is threatening faculty and making it easier for the government to repress speech when they should be a bulwark against that kind of repression,\u201d Chakravartty said in an interview with WSN. \u201cThey\u2019re not being accountable to the community they serve, which is extremely disturbing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The AAUP statement also said escalated sanctions and surveillance often targeted \u201cstaff, students and nationals from non-Western countries,\u201d and that \u201ca number of them have been detained, intimidated and deported\u201d based on surveillance of their private email exchanges and private social media posts. In the 2023-24 academic year, NYU Abu Dhabi hosted <\/span>around 2,000 students from over 120 countries<\/span><\/a>, with around four out of five students having attended from outside the United Arab Emirates.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Hennecke told WSN that many students believed a government-led \u201cwatch list\u201d of NYU affiliates had been created around two years ago. She said that at the time, the list had allegedly targeted members of the LGBTQ+ community and that it \u201cdidn\u2019t have anything to do\u201d with other \u201cpoliticized issues.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOnce that became common knowledge, students definitely freaked out,\u201d Hennecke said. \u201cSome students were able to transfer, but most students on the campus \u2014 because they are international \u2014 aren\u2019t really able to transfer that easily. It definitely affected the things we wear on campus, our presence on apps, our language on social media \u2014 it\u2019s just a different existence.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The university did not answer questions related to the alleged \u201cwatch list,\u201d which another anonymous student said was \u201cwidely known\u201d at the campus. In 2015, The Intercept <\/span>reported that NYU had ties<\/span><\/a> with HackingTeam, a surveillance company that has partnered with CyberPoint International to sell spyware to the UAE. The technology has allegedly been used to \u201ccrack down on pro-democracy activists\u201d in the country.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOnce that became knowledge, students definitely freaked out \u2014 some students were able to transfer, but most students on the campus, because they are international, aren\u2019t really able to transfer that easily,\u201d Hennecke said. \u201cIt definitely affected the things we wear on campus, our presence on apps, our language on social media \u2014 it\u2019s just a different existence.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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An \u2018atmosphere of repression\u2019<\/h2>\n
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In its May 30 statement, the AAUP alleged that leadership at the Abu Dhabi campus has restricted pro-Palestinian speech among students and faculty \u2014 including organizing \u201cvigils and teach-ins, hanging banners, posting to social media and wearing keffiyehs\u201d \u2014 and subjected students to disciplinary action for not following university policy.<\/span><\/p>\n

After on-campus tensions over the war in Gaza escalated over the last few months, including at the university\u2019s Washington Square campus, NYU Abu Dhabi\u2019s administration began to crack down on pro-Palestinian groups at the site, students and faculty told the AAUP. The group\u2019s statement claimed that \u201cacademic and cultural events relating to Palestine\u201d are subject to approval from the provost\u2019s office and have been \u201carbitrarily canceled,\u201d and that an administrator rejected faculty\u2019s request to establish a \u201cPalestinian cultural affinity group\u201d on campus.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere were attempts to express solidarity in small ways, including having a vigil or hosting a talk or cultural events, and the faculty and students were severely reprimanded and repressed,\u201d Chakravartty said. \u201cIt\u2019s ironic \u2014 you can\u2019t celebrate diversity and then punish people for actually living out their true selves.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Last November, over 900 students, faculty and alumni, <\/span>signed a letter to Westermann<\/span><\/a> that called on NYU Abu Dhabi leadership to condemn Israel\u2019s ongoing siege in Gaza, protect pro-Palestinian activity on campus, establish support for students with personal ties to the \u201cregional conflict\u201d and refuse to host or promote companies \u201cnot aligned\u201d with NYU\u2019s values \u2014 demands similar to those of pro-Palestinian groups at the university\u2019s Washington Square campus.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Westermann <\/span>thanked the letter\u2019s authors<\/span><\/a> for their \u201ccare and concerns\u201d in a Nov. 28 response obtained by WSN, and said she intended to focus on initiatives such as hosting community meals and encouraging academic discussions, rather than issuing public statements. A student at NYU Abu Dhabi, who asked to remain anonymous due to safety concerns, said the relationship between pro-Palestinian students and administrators has remained \u201ctense\u201d since the letter was sent to the campus community.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAdministration has been tearing down pro-Palestinian posters, SJP advertisements that haven’t been officially sanctioned and, basically, any form of expression that hasn\u2019t already been pre-approved,\u201d the student said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Academic freedom at NYU Abu Dhabi<\/h2>\n
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Since the campus opened in 2010, students have <\/span>criticized NYU Abu Dhabi\u2019s guidelines on academic freedom<\/span><\/a>, claiming that the website\u2019s assertion that the campus \u201cenjoys full academic freedom as it exists at NYU New York\u201d does not properly represent conduct expectations at the site. When asked about the campus\u2019 standards of academic freedom, Beckman said the administration and university leadership ensure that students understand \u201cexpectations, obligations and boundaries\u201d of the country in which they choose to study.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The AAUP said in its press release that concerns around academic freedom had increased among students and faculty over the past academic year, with \u201cthe window of compromise for maintaining academic freedom\u201d at the site in the face of local laws appearing to have \u201cclosed, even within the physical boundaries of the campus.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s been this kind of implicit understanding that discussions about many things that might be controversial in the UAE are acceptable within the context of the classroom,\u201d Chakravartty said. \u201cThat seems to have changed profoundly in the wake of Oct. 7.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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On its website, NYU Abu Dhabi says it implements the AAUP\u2019s 1940 <\/span>Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom and Tenure<\/span><\/a> \u2014 the same set of principles NYU\u2019s Washington Square campus implements \u2014 which holds that educators \u201care entitled to full academic freedom in the classroom in discussing their subject\u201d but should not \u201cintroduce controversial matter which has no relation to their subject.\u201d Beckman said NYU had \u201cguaranteed academic authority\u201d over its Abu Dhabi and Shanghai campuses and that \u201cpartners have lived up to those commitments of academic freedom.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Last semester, students at the Abu Dhabi campus criticized the university for <\/span>allegedly enforcing a dress code<\/span><\/a> on campus, referencing an excerpt from the site\u2019s student handbook that cited <\/span>the UAE Penal Code<\/span><\/a>, which includes an Emirati law that restricts cross-dressing. NYU Abu Dhabi updated its handbook \u2014 which is not publicly available but was obtained by WSN \u2014 soon after an investigation into the claims, rephrasing the section on dress to say \u201conly male and female gender roles are recognized under UAE law.\u201d A spokesperson for the campus had previously denied claims of a dress code at the site.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The subsection on “Dress” in the NYU Abu Dhabi Student Handbook. (Obtained by WSN)<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe all came thinking it was a haven of some kind,\u201d Hennecke said. \u201cNone of us thought we could criticize the government, but none of us thought we were criticizing the government by dressing a little bit less feminine or by wearing a keffiyeh in public. We thought we were showing support for something, that\u2019s why it\u2019s been so sudden and hurtful.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

At NYU\u2019s Washington Square campus, students, faculty and staff have also faced arrests and disciplinary action for engaging in pro-Palestinian demonstrations, including two Gaza Solidarity Encampments at <\/span>Gould Plaza<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>the Paulson Center<\/span><\/a>. Pro-Palestinian student and faculty groups have since continued to demand that the university divest from companies with ties to Israel and shut down its study away site in Tel Aviv. More recently, a group of faculty and staff have pledged to <\/span>withdraw any administrative work<\/span><\/a> if NYU leadership does not fulfill protesters\u2019 demands by Aug. 1.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not on summer break so long as this kind of repression continues,\u201d Chakravartty told WSN. \u201cMaybe the administration is expecting us to forget about the impact of these kinds of actions because it\u2019s summer. We\u2019re not going to look away \u2014 we\u2019re going to keep pressing and speaking out.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Correction, June 11: A previous version of this article misstated the position of Sheikh Zayed bin Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. It also incorrectly stated that the Ph.D. student was denied their diploma at the ceremony. The article has been updated and WSN regrets the errors.<\/em><\/p>\n

Contact Dharma Niles and Krish Dev at news@nyunews.com.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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This story \u2018Extremely disturbing\u2019: Concerns over academic freedom at NYU Abu Dhabi surface following policies restricting attire at graduation<\/a> appeared first on Washington Square News<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

New regulations at NYU Abu Dhabi\u2019s commencement ceremony barred graduates from decorating their caps and gowns with scarves or symbols and carrying posters or \u201cflag-like attire,\u201d with one Ph.D. student allegedly detained for a week and deported after pulling out a keffiyeh at the event, multiple sources told WSN. The regulations reflected escalating concerns over […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":440,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[14],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/homesinlincolnnebraska.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/438"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/homesinlincolnnebraska.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/homesinlincolnnebraska.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homesinlincolnnebraska.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homesinlincolnnebraska.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=438"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/homesinlincolnnebraska.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/438\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":445,"href":"https:\/\/homesinlincolnnebraska.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/438\/revisions\/445"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homesinlincolnnebraska.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/440"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/homesinlincolnnebraska.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=438"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homesinlincolnnebraska.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=438"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homesinlincolnnebraska.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=438"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}