After Turmoil, Florida State University says anti-Semitism has ‘no home’ on campus
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
(JTA) — Six weeks after thousands of Florida State University students petitioned for their student body president to be removed over social media posts they described as anti-Semitic, the school’s president has announced several changes aimed at making Florida State more hospitable for Jewish students.
In an open letter to the campus community, John Thrasher said he wanted “to reaffirm that Antisemitism and religious discrimination have no home at Florida State University” and outlined what he said were “significant developments on campus to combat Antisemitism.”
A task force will review Jewish student life on campus, students will be surveyed about anti-Semitism on campus and staff will be trained annual on issues including anti-Semitism, religious discrimination and ways to foster a more inclusive campus for Jewish students and employees, he wrote.
Plus, the school has reestablished a Jewish Student Union and is creating an alumni network “to provide enhanced support and educational resources for all our students,” Thrasher wrote, while the university calendar will be revised to include “all significant religious holidays.”
Thrasher’s letter comes about six weeks after more than 8,000 FSU students signed an online petition to remove the student senate president over social media posts described as anti-Semitic, and less than a month after the student senate passed a resolution that would help to combat anti-Semitism on campus, which also recognized the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of anti-Semitism.
“I want to reaffirm that this is a top priority. My university leadership team and I will continue to work determinedly to combat Antisemitism and unlawful behavior,” Thrasher wrote in the letter. “While freedom of speech is of paramount importance on a college campus, so is creating a climate of acceptance and appreciation for the value and richness of the many cultures and ideas that make Florida State University such an excellent academic experience.”
The post After turmoil, Florida State University president says anti-Semitism has ‘no home’ on campus appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
