Add Wesleyan University in Connecticut, and its President Michael Roth, to the list of weak universities and leaders who have capitulated to demands of anti-Israel encampment protesters in exchange a promise not to distrupt reunion and commencement events.
Wesleyan is a campus awash for many years in anti-Israel activisms and hate. It was not surprising, then, to see a tent encampment arise as it did at dozens of other campuses around the country.
In an article in The New Republic explaining why he was not calling the police to dismantle the encampment, despite a clear violation of pre-existing campus rules, Roth noted that students sought to intimidate him after one meeting: “… outside the chants grew louder: “Roth, Roth, you can’t hide / you can’t hide from genocide.” When I walked home, an angry crowd of maybe 75 followed close behind.”
He also noted that some faculty abused their power over students to force their anti-Israel views on the campus:
“I’ve checked in with many Jewish students individually and sat down with a group to talk about their fears—and their complaints about faculty bias. Amazingly to them and to me, a few professors took votes in their classes to decide whether they should hold class in the encampment. Minority rights? Not something these faculty seemed concerned with, at least not until the provost reminded them that they could not force any student to support a cause with which the professor happened to agree. Of course, faculty are free to support any cause they like, but whatever political acumen they believe themselves to possess, they are not free to impose this on their students.”
This is important background because the notion that MORE ‘pro-Palestinian’ education and activism was needed bears no relation to reality. At Wesleyan, as at most universities (including Cornell), ‘pro-Palestinian’ voices are dominant by a large margin.
In his explanation for not removing the encampment, Roth laid bare his anti-Netanyahu, anti-Republican politics:
We could have immediately closed down the encampment because the protesters hadn’t gotten advance permission for tents, and because they were writing messages on the adjacent buildings in chalk. Over the last week I’ve gotten many notes from alumni, parents, and strangers chastising me for not making the protesters “pay a price” for breaking the rules. In my initial message to the broad university community, I wrote: “The students [in the encampment] know that they are in violation of university rules and seem willing to accept the consequences.” So why haven’t I made them feel those consequences? Cops don’t always give people tickets for going a few miles over the speed limit. Context matters, whatever Republican Congresswoman Elise Stefanik says…. How can I not respect students for paying attention to things that matter so much? I respect that they’re concerned about Gaza; I admire that they’re not entirely taken up with grades or lining up their credentials. Will their protest help? My fear is that such protests (especially when they turn violent) in the end will help the reactionary forces of populist authoritarianism. I also think student protesters are wrong to focus on university investments. I would prefer they use their energies to pressure the U.S. government to do more to get the hostages released, to stop supporting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s war tactics, and to bring more direct aid to people in Gaza on the brink of starvation. My team expects to discuss all of this with students in the coming days. Right now, I’m most concerned with protecting their right to protest in nonviolent ways that don’t undermine our educational program. For me, the modest violations of the rules are preferable to the narrow-minded vocationalism that others seem suddenly to pine for.
But Roth didn’t just not punish the anti-Israel encampment protesters, he rewarded them.
To get anti-Israel protesters to remove the encampment and not to disrupt reunions and commencement, Roth agreed to push Palestinian activism deeper into the university, to put on the table a range of academic interactions with Israel, and also to put divestment to a Board of Trustees vote by September 2024 (similar to what happened at Brown University).
Roth sent an email to students and alumni on Saturday, May 18, 2024, announcing the deal (emphasis added):
“Dear friends,Over the course of the past three weeks, the Administration has been in meaningful engagement with the group of pro-Palestinian protesters on campus. Our conversations have been rooted in a shared affection for Wesleyan and a desire that the institution be aligned as fully as possible with its community’s values. Provost Nicole Stanton and Dean Mike Whaley have now successfully concluded their discussions with representatives of the group of protesting students and their faculty monitors.In these meetings, the University explained that as of December 31, 2023, 1.7% of Wesleyan’s endowment was invested in companies categorized as Aerospace and Defense businesses. None are directly involved in the manufacturing of weapons. As of the same date, 0.4% of the endowment is invested in companies in Israel, all of which are software companies. The protesters did not ask for information about investments in any other countries, but we can say that Wesleyan’s endowment is not invested in any companies listed by the protesters.Later this month representatives from the pro-Palestinian protest will meet members of the Investment Committee. In the fall, the Committee for Investor Responsibility (CIR)—a standing representative body of students, faculty, alumni, and staff—will be able to propose changes to the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) framework for investment/divestment for consideration by the Board at its fall meeting.Agreement Ending Wesleyan’s EncampmentThe protesters have agreed to clear their camp by Monday morning. No students will face disciplinary sanctions for being in the encampment, but after the camp is cleared normal university regulations will be enforced. The protesters agreed not to disrupt Reunion and Commencement events. Individuals who refuse to comply will be suspended and face legal action.It is always important that we maintain a safe enough environment on campus for people who disagree with one another and who embrace opportunities to learn from people with various points of view. Yes, protests are demanding for all constituencies of a university. At their best, they help turn our attention to issues that really matter. I am hopeful that soon we can re-direct our collective efforts to urging our lawmakers, both here in Connecticut and in Washington DC, to do everything in their power to create a resolution in Israel and Gaza that will result in the return of the hostages, an end to the fighting, and a commitment to a process that will recognize the rights of all parties. More generally, I have hopes that the political energies recently displayed by our students will play a positive role in addressing the momentous questions before this country in the coming elections.Sincerely,Michael S. RothPresident
You can read the main agreement with addenda here (full embed at bottom of post. Here are some of the main points:
Divestment Vote By Board In September 2024
In the main agreement, reiterated in Appendix 1, Wesleyan agreed to a September 22, 2024, Board of Trustees vote on divestment:
“Representatives of the SJP will meet with trustee members of the Investment Committee to present their perspective when the Board of Trustees is on campus for their upcoming meeting on May 23-24, 2024. The CIR, in consultation with various university constituencies, will forward a proposal to the Investment Committee at their earliest Fall convening. The Board of Trustees commits to a vote on the resulting proposal as early as their September 22, 2024 meeting.”
Reevaluation of Academic Partnerships With Israel
In perhaps the most shocking aspect, Wesleyan has agreed to open up for discussion its interactions with Israel and Israeli academia (emphasis added):
“III. Study Abroad & University Academic and Career-Services PartnershipsSJP-WPSE and University administration agree to convene a broadly collaborative ad-hoc community consultation process during the Fall 2024 semester concerning the norms and guidelines that might apply broadly and globally to other formal relationships that Wesleyan maintains with approved study-abroad programs, career services, and other formal academic partnerships. Examples relevant to the current crisis include the Tel Shimron archaeological field school, the pre-approved academic partnerships with universities in Israel, and career services programs (should they exist) to invite recruiters from industries with tied to the military industrial complex.These consultations will begin in September of 2024 with the convening of a consultative ad-hoc committee (AHC) composed of students, faculty, and staff representatives. The Educational Policy Committee (EPC) will nominate three (3) faculty representatives to this working group. The WSA will nominate three (3) students, and the Office of Student Affairs will nominate three (3) staff members. The AHC will designate its own chair and meeting schedules, with the expectation that they will generate concrete policy recommendations by January 2025.The AHC will deliver recommendations about study abroad and academic partnerships to the EPC, which will take these recommendations to the faculty for consultation and a formal vote by the conclusion of the 2025 Spring semester. The AHC will likewise deliver recommendations about the Gordon Career Center s (GCC) activities by January 2025, which will review and respond to those recommendations and implement any resulting policy changes by the end of the 2025 Spring Semester.
While Wesleyan has not agreed to any specific steps to diminish or remove interaction with Israeli academia, subjecting a specific program and the broader “academic partnerships with Israeli universities” to the “ad-hoc committee” process is a strong signal that Wesleyan is at least entertaining some form of academic boycott of Israel. The university could have just rejected the process completely.
That partnerships with Israeli universities is on the table was the understanding of Wesleyan SJP, celebrating the deal on Instagram:
SJP also included its goals in the statement attached as an addendum to the agreement:
“3. We demand Wesleyan University cease all affiliations with Israeli academic institutions and institute a full academic boycott of programs and affiliations with Israeli academic institutions; including termination of all Study Abroad programs with Israeli academic institutions by the Office of Study Abroad, the Wes-at-Shimron Archaeological Field School, as well as all Gordon Career Center recruitment programming involving companies target for divestment.”
Amnesty
No one will be punished for violating school rules.
“SJP-WPSE and University administration agree that formal judicial charges related to violations of Wesleyan s policies on disruptions (i.e. establishing the encampment without prior approval) and chalking in the immediate encampment area shall be suspended if the encampment is voluntarily cleared.Policy violations (including disruptions, damage/vandalism, harassment, etc.) occurring in the encampment area after the clearing of the encampment, or that occur elsewhere on campus, will be subject to usual disciplinary procedures.SJP-WPSE commits to the safe removal of all encampment-related material from Wesleyan property by the morning of Monday, May 20, 2024. After the clearing of the encampment, all parties will be subject to the existing disruption policy.”
Additional Provisions – Promoting Palestinian Narrative
Wesleyan also agreed to a series of steps to deepen the Palestinian narrative on campus, which already is dominant.
“V. Additional InitiativesAs a starting point, the parties agree to the following initiatives geared towards the overall campus response to this crisis, Palestine, and the study of Palestine:• Utilizing Wesleyan’s existing “Scholar at Risk” program to bring displaced Palestinian scholar(s) to Wesleyan.• Trying to provide scholarships to a cohort of displaced Palestinian students who are interested in studying at Wesleyan.• Making available micro-grants from the political engagement fund to support Wesleyan students interested in working toward political solutions beyond campus during the summer of 2024 and beyond.• Academic Affairs will review Wesleyan’s Middle Eastern Studies minor during the 2024-25 academic year and is open to enhancements and improvements to the program.• The Wesleyan Office of Residential Life (Res Life) will assess student interest in the reestablishment of the Turath program house that previously served as the focal point of Arab, Middle Eastern, and Muslim cultural and religious activities on campus. Pending sufficient interest, the Office will initiate a relaunch of the program house by Fall of 2025.• Wesleyan’s College of the Environment (COE) will explore a collaboration with the Palestine Heirloom Seed Library.• The University will pursue opportunities to bring Palestinian artists to Wesleyan through the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture (AFAC) as well as possible collaborations with the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music and the Barenboim-Said Foundation (USA).• The Wesleyan Center for the Arts commits to bring Palestinian artists to campus as part of its programing during the 2024/25 academic year.• The University as a whole invites all units to consider additional collaborations with Palestinian institutions.”
In all, Wesleyan’s capitulation is among the worst, or the worst, we have seen so far. It has anoined SJP, a national organization with questionable ties and which expressly seeks the destruction of Israel, as an officially recognized negotiator over the academic freedom of the university.
The Wesleyan President and administration rightly are seen as giving into extortion in order to preserve peace at reunions and commencement. In so doing, they have dangled the possibility of the university entering into some form of divestment or academic boycott of Israel in front of students who have learned that violating university rules pays. Even if Wesleyan ultimately rejects an academic boycott, or divestment, it has done tremendous damage.
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