Open Letter from Indiana University Bloomington Faculty re: Campus Protests and Arrests

Comments

#201

Professor and Director of Graduate Studies, IUB Philosophy Department

Gary Ebbs (Bloomington, IN, 2024-04-28)

#207

Associate Professor and Director of Undergraduate Studies
Department of English

Nikki Skillman (Bloomington, 2024-04-28)

#208

Professor of Spanish

Steven Wagschal (Bloomington, 2024-04-28)

#209

Associate Professor, Journalism, The Media School

Suzannah Evans Comfort (Bloomington, 2024-04-28)

#210

The IU administration has committed unconscionable acts representing contempt for peaceful protests and freedom of expression. What is happening to the university that I joined with such pride way back in 1977?

Douglas Hofstadter (Bloomington, 2024-04-28)

#211

I have been at IU for 33 years and am also the parent of an IU alum. This is just not my IU anymore. The Trustees who are IU alums, is this really what you want from your IU?
Shocking and shameful leadership.

Professor, Kelley School of Business

Shanker Krishnan (Bloomington, 2024-04-28)

#215

Students pay tuition to attend Indiana University, where they live, work, and have the right to engage in peaceful protest. They should not be attacked and arrested in this place they call home, a place they should feel most safe. They should not be afraid to stand up for what they believe in, and what is right. Indiana University has failed its students.

Hannah Javidi (Bloomington, 2024-04-28)

#216

I am signing because of the administration’s decision to arrest peaceful protesters from our campus’ designated free speech zone without provocation or eminent threat to campus safety. As other campus leaders have illustrated, dialogue and active support of faculty and student free speech is not only possible but necessary to intellectual life. This administration has proven unqualified and incapable of fulfilling their basic duties as stewards of IU’s academic mission and civic obligation.

Mary Gray (Somerville, MA USA, 2024-04-28)

#218

Distinguished Professor in History

Mark Roseman (Bloomington, 2024-04-28)

#222

Professor of Geography and IU faculty member for 32 years. I am appalled by the current leadership of IU. They are violently cracking down on our students and faculty under pretense. They have lost even more credibility with faculty and staff and, of course, students since the vote of no confidence. They must go.

Scott Robeson (Bloomington, 2024-04-28)

#223

Professor, O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs IUB

Shahzeen Attari (Bloomington, 2024-04-28)

#225

Assessment Librarian
Indiana University Libraries

Andrew Asher (Bloomington, IN, 2024-04-28)

#229

Sending militarized police to break up a peaceful demonstration in Dunn Meadow is unforgivable. Allowing State troopers to station people with rifles on the roof of the IMU is unforgivable. Cynically resorting to the old trope of ‘outside agitators’ to oppress the free speech of students and professors is also unforgivable. All trust is broken. I see no way forward with this administration

David Stringer (Bloomington, 2024-04-28)

#239

Provost Professor, Department of Folklore and Ethnomusicology

Pravina Shukla (Bloomington, 2024-04-28)

#241

I love IU. These recent actions by the Administration are NOT what IU is.

David Rubinstein (Bloomington, 2024-04-28)

#243

Associate Professor of English

Shannon Gayk (Bloomington, 2024-04-28)

#244

Free speech is a critically important right in our democracy; protesters’ rights have been subverted in a duplicitous manner; a police response was absolutely unnecessary and wrong.

Elise Calvi (Bloomington, 2024-04-28)

#246

Professor of Biology

Spencer Hall (Bloomington, 2024-04-28)

#247

Associate Professor in Geography
How can be armed snipers in the campus. It is the administration which makes the campus unsafe, not the protesters. Enough is enough. If you have last bit of shame, resign immediately. We did fire you as a president already.

TAE HEE HWANG (Bloomington, 2024-04-28)

#248

University policies and faculty governance matter.

Christopher DeSante (Bloomington, 2024-04-28)

#253

Apalled at what happened on campus.

Rakeshi Solomon (Bloomington, 2024-04-28)

#254

As an emeriti faculty member, I have been proud of IU's reputation for academic excellence--a reputation that has been harmed by the administration's treatment of protesters. As a journalist and professor of journalism, I am shocked by such indifference to the importance of free speech to this nation's heart and soul.

Carol Polsgrove (Charlotte, 2024-04-28)

#256

the behavior of the administration has been beyond abhorrent. Sending in police and snipers for “tents” only shows the university’s motto of Lux te Veritas is conditional.

Elena Guzman (Bloomington, 2024-04-28)

#261

The administration exercised violent tactics familiar to authoritarianism, launching a violent response to a peaceful gathering of students expressing a political opinion shared publicly by virtually all governments worldwide, excluding our own. With the support apparently of the Board the chief administrators at IU abrogated the rights to free speech, which is foundational to any academy of higher learning. In my opinion the shocking and barbaric attack against law-abiding students warrants the governor's intervention, a removal and reappointment of board members, and an immediate dismissal of the President, provost and vice-provost. The damage these individuals have done to the university is inestimable. Watch enrollments next year, the metric by which these administrators base their "leadership."

Laura McCloskey (Bloomington, 2024-04-28)

#264

I don’t believe the state police needed to be brought into this situation. Another example of poor decision making.

Sue Whiston (Bloomington, 2024-04-28)

#266

I believe in the right to peacefully protest, especially on a college campus, and I oppose leadership changing a decades-old policy to hinder this right.

Cheryl Jackson (Bloomington, 2024-04-28)

#267

Professor of Chemistry, IUB

Trevor Douglas (Bloomington, 2024-04-28)

#274

Outraged by the administration’s disregard of procedures, allowing state police to manhandle and arrest peaceful protestors, refusing the free expression of ideas and opinions, and trampling long-held values and policies. They must go. Never in my 47 years at IU have I seen such disrespect of students, faculty, and shared governance. JCR Professor Emerita of Political Science

Jean Robinson (BLOOMINGTON, 2024-04-28)

#277

Professor of Mathematics

Dylan Thurston (Bloomington, IN, 2024-04-28)

#284

The ignorance and incompetence of the university administration has now become dangerous, with the display of guns and armed police on campus.

Donald Gray (Bloomingon. IN, 2024-04-28)

#286

Professor of Spanish and Portuguese. University and campus administration has shown a profound disregard for policy and transparent processes of governance. But the decision to send in a militarized response to peaceful protestors this week is an absolute disgrace. This administration has no regard for principles of free expression and apparently little regard for the real safety of students either.

Patrick Dove (Bloomington, 2024-04-28)

#289

1) I am a patriotic American who believes in protecting Constitutional first amendment rights.
2) I am an IU Professor who feels a moral responsibility to protect our students. I am gravely concerned that our current President and Provost are seriously endangering our students.
3) I believe that there is abundant evidence that President Whitten and Provost Shrivastav are guiding the IU ship onto the rocks.

Brian Calvi (Bloomington, 2024-04-28)

#292

I was one of the faculty members brutalized and arrested. I went there to stand up for my students’ First Amendment rights.

Heather Akou (Bloomington, 2024-04-28)

#293

Associate Professor, Counseling and Educational Psychology, School of Education

Maryellen McClain (Bloomington, 2024-04-28)

#296

I’m affected by acts taken on protesters and the shameful actions of the administration to change long standing rules to achieve their agenda.

Stephen Glaholt (Bloomington, 2024-04-28)

#297

I have been proudly associated with IU since 1985, first as a graduate student and then as a faculty member. While there have been moments when I have disagreed (always quietly) with the actions of the administration, never until now have I been literally ashamed by the actions of those leaders. I have signed this petition in solidarity with my colleagues across campus in denouncing actions that offend the mission of this (once) proud institution.

Eric Isaacson (Bloomington, 2024-04-28)

#298

As an emeritus member of the Maurer School of Law Faculty, I am appalled by the disrespect for well-established policies and norms, the unwarranted militarization of the campus, and the contempt for the 1st amendment by the named administrators.

John Scanlan (South Bend, 2024-04-28)

#299

Professor of Music (Musicology) emeritus

Daniel Melamed (Bloomington, 2024-04-28)

#301

Professor Emeritus
Indiana University School of Optometry

William Swanson (Bloomington, 2024-04-28)

#305

Clinical Professor, Kelley School of Business

Susan Monaco (Bloomington, 2024-04-28)

#306

If we take away students’ right to engage and peacefully protest, we have lost a very important part of the learning environment.

Deanna Malatesta (Bloomington, 2024-04-28)

#312

Professor of Informatics
Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering

Katie Siek (Bloomington, 2024-04-28)

#315

The unprecedented aggressive police crackdown with the blessing of the higher administration on our students and faculty should make us recoil in utter moral horror. To remain silent in its wake makes us complicit in it.

Asma Afsaruddin (Bloomington, 2024-04-28)

#318

Professor, Kelley School of Business

Chris Berry (Bloomington, 2024-04-28)

#320

Associate Professor, Art History

Faye Gleisser (Bloomington, 2024-04-28)

#324

Senior Research Scientist, Geography

Sally Letsinger (Bloomington, 2024-04-28)

#326

Associate Professor
Department of English

Monique Morgan (Bloomington, 2024-04-28)

#328

I am proud to be a professor of History at Indiana University. The current Administration have brought our fine public institution into disrepute. They have shown themselves to be incompetent and hostile managers, hence the overwhelming faculty vote of no confidence. As recent events show they have no hesitation in violating free speech, continuing to violate shared governance, and bringing violent force to campus.

Sarah Knott (Bloomington, 2024-04-28)

#330

I'm outraged by the violence perpetrated on our students, staff, and faculty

Alessio Piccolo (Bloomington, 2024-04-28)

#332

Calling in the Indiana State Police to violently disrupt a peaceful student protest runs contrary to my values, those of Indiana University as an institution, and our nation. Inviting such violence and intimidation against our own students and faculty (under the pretext of an ad hoc policy on "tents") must have consequences.

Johan Bollen (INFO, Luddy) (Bloomington IN, 2024-04-28)

#333

I am shocked and saddened by the administration’s violent response to peaceful protest. I am appalled that they changed the policy without faculty input.

Carol Hostetter (Bloomington, 2024-04-28)

#336

Head, Scholarly Communications Department
IUB Libraries

Karen Stoll Farrell (Bloomington, 2024-04-28)

#337

College Professor Emeritus

Henry Glassie (Bloomington, 2024-04-28)

#339

Professor of Italian

I have profound disagreements with the protesters on a number of points, but I support their right to peacefully express their views.

Massimo Scalabrini (Bloomington, 2024-04-28)

#340

I completely agree with this petition.

Jeremy Siek (Bloomington, 2024-04-28)

#341

The safety of the campus and IU's sinking reputation across the country. The current administration needs to step down,

Robert Stone (Bloomington, 2024-04-28)

#343

Whether or not one agrees with the protestors' politics, the aggressive response to counter them was a betrayal of IU's longstanding values.

Associate Professor, O'Neill School

Allison Schnable (Bloomington, 2024-04-28)

#344

Associate Professor, School of Education

Enrique Galindo (Bloomington, 2024-04-28)

#355

The Whitten Administration is violating IU community’s constitutional rights for peaceful assembly.

Minjeong Kang (Bloomington, 2024-04-28)

#357

I too worry that a student may be killed. The display and possible use of deadly force is disproportionate, inappropriate and counter to American civil values.

Gregory Renn (Bloomington, 2024-04-28)

#358

Zero credibility remains. Hiring Whitten was a huge mistake in the first place. She's done nothing but reinforce that simple fact. We can thank our spineless Board of Trustees for this mess.

Preston Garraghty (Bloomington, 2024-04-28)

#362

Regardless how I feel about the protests, it is unconscionable for University administration to allow and encourage law enforcement to intimidate and arrest our own students and faculty.

Kyle Adams (Bloomington, 2024-04-28)

#365

I'm signing because the egregious behavior of the President and Provost are in direct conflict with democracy, open debate, and the ethos of IUB. I teach a course called Civil Procedure that outlines the methods of suit and focuses on the essential
values of consistent and even-handed procedure.
Whitten and Shrivastav are neither civil nor do they respect procedure. They have been dishonest and reckless, showing no concern for the welfare of faculty and students. They should resign in shame for their incompetence and viciousness.

Aviva Orenstein (Bloomington, 2024-04-28)

#366

Professor, Media School

Michael Martin (Bloomington, 2024-04-28)

#369

Educating students in free speech and academic freedom is our goal at Indiana University, not violence

Claudia Johnson (Bloomington, 2024-04-28)

#370

I am faculty and voted no confidence in all three.

Jody Madeira (Bloomington, 2024-04-28)

#371

I am concerned member the Indiana University faculty.

I. India Thusi (Bloomington, 2024-04-28)

#380

School of Education

Vanessa Miller (Bloomington, 2024-04-28)

#381

Associate Professor of History

Jason McGraw (Bloomington, 2024-04-28)

#383

We are asking for basic human decency.

Ellen Wu (Bloomington, 2024-04-28)

#384

Professor (Emerita) of Music, Jacobs School of Music. I am signing because the issue of faculty governance (their consultation, input, and fair consideration in matters of policy) is crucial to IU policy administration: IU students and faculty should not be pushed around, arrested and/or banned from campus for exercising their right to free speech in an area traditionally sent aside for this purpose.

Marianne Kielian-Gilbert (Bloomington, 2024-04-28)

#385

The level of disciplinary action was completely disproportionate to the assembly and protest.

Clay Fuqua (Bloomington, 2024-04-28)

#392

This administration has lost all credibility to serve and help fulfill IUs educational mission by its blatant disregard for the principles of shared governance and its autocratic attitude in quashing peaceful protest.

Simon Brassell (Bloomington, 2024-04-28)

#394

Peaceable assembly is a right.

Julia Valliant (Bloomington, 2024-04-28)

#395

Professor of Political Science, Indiana University

William Bianco (Bloomington, 2024-04-28)

#396

Associate Professor
Department of Counseling and Educational Psychology

Ellen Vaughan (Bloomington, 2024-04-28)

#397

Alyce Miller
Professor Emerita
Department of English
Attorney-at-Law

I am appalled by this administration and picture Herman B. Wells turning over in his grave. Shame on the administrators!!!

Alyce Miller (Silver Spring, 2024-04-28)

#398

Indiana University can do better. Arresting peacefu students in the name of public safety goes against everything we teach our students. We teach them to be thoughtful and stand up for what they believe in. Cracking down on peaceful free speech goes against promoting Intellectual Diversity.

Andrew Hopson (Indianapolis, 2024-04-28)