When it comes to anti-Israel displays at prestigious schools, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has been one of the worst.
There have been chants of “intifada” on campus, leaving Israeli students terrified. A student was allowed to disrupt a math class with a deranged anti-Israel rant, and Jewish students were allegedly blocked from entering buildings.
Now, we are learning that the school declined to expel some of the students behind this because they would have faced deportation from the United States.
FOX News reports:
MIT faces backlash for not expelling anti-Israel protesters over ‘visa issues’: ‘Who is in charge?’The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) was blasted this week after its administrators acknowledged the university stopped short of expelling anti-Israel student protesters because of “visa issues.”MIT President Sally Kornbluth said in a statement Nov. 9 that the school would merely suspend students who participated in the disruptive protest from non-academic campus activities to avoid “collateral consequences for the students, such as visa issues.” One day earlier, the Coalition Against Apartheid, a pro-Palestinian student group, conducted a large protest that Kornbluth confirmed defied MIT policies governing student actions.”In late morning, the face-to-face confrontation between the protesters and counterprotesters intensified,” Kornbluth said. “We had serious concerns that it could lead to violence. To prevent further escalation and protect the physical safety of everyone present – including both student protesters and passers-by in our busiest lobby — the administration felt it was essential to take action.””The students will remain enrolled at MIT and will be able to attend academic classes and labs,” she continued, noting some of the protesters’ “visa issues.” “We will refer this interim action to the Ad Hoc Complaint Response Team, which includes the chair of the Committee on Discipline, for final adjudication.”
The Daily Wire has more on this:
While MIT is not the only American college campus where such protests are taking place, critics noted that it was the first to shed some light on why anti-semitic protests and demonstrations are getting overlooked with regard to disciplinary actions.Joel Petlin shared the statement along with his own observations, noting that the school had apparently refrained from taking action because they were concerned that foreign students — who make up nearly one-third of MIT’s student body — could have their visas revoked.“I can’t think of a better example of saying the quiet part out loud than @MIT admitting that they won’t expel Antisemitic students because they will lose their student visas and be deported. How many other colleges are protecting dangerous people who don’t belong in America?” he asked. “Incredible admission from @MIT president. Visa issues are why the students who are threatening Jews on campus are not being expelled.”
A large crowd of MIT students reacted to this decision by mocking the school’s weakness. Watch:
No one has a “right” to attend college in the United States. MIT would be wise to reverse this decision and allow the students in question to face deportation. All of our colleges and universities should be doing that.
Featured image via Twitter video.
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