Latest news with #LoganRozos
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
NYU withholds diploma of student who condemned Israel in graduation speech
New York University is withholding a student's diploma after he condemned Israel's deadly war on Gaza during his graduation ceremony speech. On Wednesday, Logan Rozos, an undergraduate student speaker from NYU's Gallatin School of Individualized Study, delivered his commencement speech in which he said: 'The only thing that is appropriate to say in this time and to a group this large is a recognition of the atrocities currently happening in Palestine.' Rozos told the crowd that 'as I search my heart today in addressing you all', it is his 'moral and political commitments [that] guide me' into condemning Israel's onslaught on Gaza, which has killed at least 53,000 Palestinians over the last year and a half. Rozos went on to say: 'The genocide currently occurring is supported politically and militarily by the United States, is paid for by our tax dollars and has been livestreamed to our phones for the past 18 months. And that I do not wish to speak only to my own politics today, but to speak for all people of conscience, and all people who feel the moral injury of this atrocity.' Related: More than 1,000 US students punished over speech since 2020, report finds Rozos's anti-war speech was met with widespread cheers and applause from students across the auditorium. Some attendees booed Rozos, with one person appearing to yell 'bullshit!' from the crowd. Following Rozos's speech, NYU released a statement saying that it 'strongly denounces the choice by a student at the Gallatin School's graduation today … to misuse his role as student speaker to express his personal and one-sided political views'. 'He lied about the speech he was going to deliver and violated the commitment he made to comply with our rules. The university is withholding his diploma while we pursue disciplinary actions. NYU is deeply sorry that the audience was subjected to these remarks and that this moment was stolen by someone who abused a privilege that was conferred upon him,' the university added. As of Thursday morning, Rozos's student profile on NYU Gallatin's website appeared to have been taken down, with a message saying: 'Page or File Not Found (404 Error)'. Rozos and NYU did not immediately return a request for comment. Last August, NYU updated its student conduct guidelines to include 'code words, like 'Zionist'' as examples of discriminatory speech. 'For many Jewish people, Zionism is a part of their Jewish identity. Speech and conduct that would violate the [nondiscrimination and anti-harassment policy] if targeting Jewish or Israeli people can also violate the NDAH if directed toward Zionists,' the university said. The updated guidelines came months after anti-war students at NYU and other college campuses across the country demonstrated in solidarity with Palestine. As a result, NYU administrators called police to campus, leading to widespread arrests of students and faculty members. Last December, two tenured professors who were declared 'personae non gratae' by NYU accused the university of escalating its suppression of anti-war speech under pressure from donors, politicians and pro-Israel organizations. Related: California State students protest aid blockade in Gaza with hunger strike The two professors, Andrew Ross and Sonya Posmentier, were barred from entering certain university buildings. The PNG declarations came after Ross and Posmentier joined a sit-in at the university library in calls for the university to divest from companies profiting off of Israel's war in Gaza. A few months later, the university canceled a talk on USAID cuts after it deemed the lecture as 'anti-governmental'. According to Dr Joanne Liu, a pediatric emergency physician at Sainte-Justine hospital and former international president of Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders), NYU'S vice-chair of the education department called her the evening before her presentation in March. Liu said the vice-chair voiced concerns about the content of some of her slides, including ones that mentioned USAID cuts by the Trump administration, as well as slides that cited Palestinian casualties in Gaza as a result of Israel's war across the strip. Liu said she was told that the slides on Gaza 'could be perceived as antisemitic'.
Newsweek
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Newsweek
The Right-Wing Culture War Scam Comes Full Circle
Last week, a New York University (NYU) student named Logan Rozos delivered a short commencement address condemning Israel's brutalization of Gaza. The beliefs expressed in the address—which (quelle horror!) apparently departed from university guidelines—were unremarkable and at this point widely shared among younger Americans. Instead of quietly moving along from a speech that was received quite well by its audience, NYU has taken the unprecedented (and cowardly) step of withholding the student's diploma altogether. The imbroglio is a perfect encapsulation of where the GOP's "cancel culture" scam has been headed all along, which is not to the mythical "viewpoint diversity" disingenuously demanded by the kinds of people who have spent the past decade bizarrely obsessing over minor dining hall controversies at Oberlin College or parsing silly Halloween emails from Yale administrators but rather to a different, more open and unapologetic censorship regime, one designed and policed by the far right rather than the far left. A group of faculty, staff, and students of George Washington University meet in the yard where there was a pro-Palestine encampment last year, on May 8, 2025, in Washington D.C. A group of faculty, staff, and students of George Washington University meet in the yard where there was a pro-Palestine encampment last year, on May 8, 2025, in Washington D.C. AANDREW THOMAS/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images Left-wing ideological excesses at American colleges and universities were always massively overblown. College campuses, after all, cannot and should not be anarchic free speech zones where any maniacal provocateur like Milo Yiannopoulos can come and deliver an outrageous address designed to do nothing other than generate controversy without any pushback. You don't actually have a constitutional right not to be protested, and when you visit a college, you are also setting foot in a place where other human beings live and work. You should not always expect your opinions to be received calmly or warmly. But yes, occasionally the anti-speaker fervor of left-wing student groups went overboard and in general some academics and writers on the left should have been more outspoken about maintaining climates of open discourse on campus. I'm thinking in particular of former International Monetary Fund (IMF) honcho Christine Lagarde pulling out of her Smith College commencement address in 2014 because of protests. At the same time, conservatives in the 21st century have consistently claimed speech rights for incendiary campus speakers that they do not believe should be enjoyed by professors with unfashionable views about Israel and Palestine. And it's worth noting that according to the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, since 2023 "students and student groups were mostly targeted by administrators, for expression about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict" and that "government officials and politicians led more attempts to punish student speech than in any other period" that the organization has studied. So, to the extent that cancel culture is running amok on college campuses today, it is almost entirely perpetrated by those on the political right. It's also telling that nearly all of the prominent public figures who made their careers warning about the dangers of woke "cancel culture" on college campuses have been completely silent as students are not just attacked but in some cases disappeared into America's immigration gulag for the crime of leading protests or writing op-eds. With a few prominent exceptions like The Atlantic's Connor Friedersdorf, who to his credit has condemned the new witch hunts against Palestinian activists, their commitment to campus free speech has turned out to be nothing but empty clout-chasing and bad faith. And it should be no surprise that Israel is the leading edge of the new right-wing censorship regime. For more than 20 years, apologists for Israel have sought to shame, blackball, and fire professors who criticize Israeli policy. Today's incarnation of silencing Palestinian voices is called "Project Esther" but 20 years ago it was called Campus Watch, which still hosts a web page that re-runs in its entirety an utterly innocuous 14-year-old article from my university's student newspaper about students studying the Arab Spring. It's all the same thing. Something—in this case it is the accusation that Israel is committing war crimes or genocide in Gaza—is declared beyond the scope of criticism and free speech and then a million little busybodies start sifting through syllabi, social media, and research to find thoughtcrimes. Academics who study the Middle East are more than accustomed to dealing with this kind of blowback, and many have paid for their views with their careers, without any support from the Free Press crowd. But what's new is both the effort to silence and harm the career prospects of student dissidents as well as the coordinated effort to force universities to shutter entire programs of study for fear that criticism of Israel's policies—and America's complicity with them—might escape containment. What's also new is the effort to strip entire institutions of completely unrelated funding if they do not do the bidding of people whose fragile outlooks cannot bear a moment's criticism of Israel. Administrators must either resist this new, MAGA-led witch hunt, or watch the independence and freedom of universities disappear along with their integrity. David Faris is an associate professor of political science at Roosevelt University and the author of It's Time to Fight Dirty: How Democrats Can Build a Lasting Majority in American Politics. His writing has appeared in Slate, The Week, The Washington Post, The New Republic, Washington Monthly and more. You can find him on Twitter @davidmfaris. The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
Time of India
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
NYU student blasts Gaza war as 'genocide' in graduation speech, gets diploma withheld: 'He lied'
NYU's Logan Rozos deviated from his pre-approved speech and called Gaza war 'genocide' in graduation speech. The New York University decided to withhold the diploma of Logan Rozos , a student who chose to condemn Israel's war in Gaza as 'genocide' at the graduation speech, keeping the administration in dark. His speech drew loud cheers from the audience while the administration said NYU was deeply sorry that the audience had to listen to these remarks. NYU spokesperson John Beckman said Logan's speech was approved previously but on the stage, he deviated from his speech and now the university will take disciplinary action against him. "He lied about the speech he was going to deliver and violated the commitment he made to comply with our rules," Beckman said. "NYU is deeply sorry that the audience was subjected to these remarks and that this moment was stolen by someone who abused a privilege that was conferred upon him." 'The only thing that is appropriate to say in this time, and to a group this large, is a recognition of the atrocities currently happening in Palestine,' Rozos said to an applauding crowd at the Beacon Theatre. 'I want to say that the genocide currently occurring is supported politically and militarily by the United States, is paid for by our tax dollars,' he said. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 'Swing is King': Mr. Hemant's Strategy Finally Explained in Free Session TradeWise Learn More Undo 'I just want to say I condemn this genocide and complicity in this genocide,' Rozos concluded. Rozos, who is an actor and a member of the Gallatin Theatre Troupe, was chosen to deliver the address. Anti-Defamation Leauge condemned the speech and said no student, especially no Jewish students should have to sit through politicised rhetoric that "promotes harmful lies about Israel during such a personal milestone". Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D.-Fla.) said the university has every right to withhold the diploma because he lied to the university. 'He lied to the university. Second of all, he lied to everyone listening. There's no genocide going on in Israel. There is a war, it's unfortunate,' Moskowitz said 'You know, in fact, they can give him his diploma, it's not going to matter. Good luck getting a job. That was a stupid, selfish thing — ruined the ceremony for a lot of families,' Moskowitz added.
India Today
17-05-2025
- Politics
- India Today
NYU student denied diploma over graduation speech condemning Israel
New York University said it would deny a diploma to a student who used a graduation speech to condemn Israel's attacks on Palestinians and what he described as US 'complicity in this genocide.'Logan Rozos's speech Wednesday for graduating students of NYU's Gallatin School sparked waves of condemnation from pro-Israel groups, who demanded the university take aggressive disciplinary action against a statement, NYU spokesperson John Beckman apologised for the speech and accused the student of misusing his platform 'to express his personal and one-sided political views.' 'He lied about the speech he was going to deliver and violated the commitment he made to comply with our rules,' Beckman added. 'The University is withholding his diploma while we pursue disciplinary actions.'Universities across the country have faced tremendous pressure to crack down on pro-Palestinian speech or risk funding cuts from President Donald Trump's administration, which has equated criticism of Israel with NYU, which is attended by Trump's son, Barron, has largely avoided the president's ire so an actor and member of the Gallatin Theater Troupe, was selected by fellow students to give the liberal art program's address. He said he felt a moral and political obligation to speak to the audience about what he called the atrocities in genocide currently occurring is supported politically and militarily by the United States, is paid for by our tax dollars and has been livestreamed to our phones for the past 18 months,' he speech drew loud cheers from the crowd, along with a standing ovation from some graduating as video of the speech spread online, it was roundly denounced by pro-Israel groups, who accused NYU of creating an unsafe environment for Jewish students.'No student — especially Jewish students — should have to sit through politicised rhetoric that promotes harmful lies about Israel during such a personal milestone,' the Anti-Defamation League said in a group #EndJewHatred suggested the speech — which did not mention Jewish people — would meet the university's newly-expanded definition of antisemitism, which includes certain criticism of emailed inquiry to Rozos was not pro-Palestinian rallies roiled campuses across the country last spring, the 2024 commencement season was was marked by tensions and cancellations, and strict limits on what students could billions of dollars of funding at risk from the Trump administration, the stakes for universities are even higher this year, some faculty said.'They are bending over backward to crack down on speech that runs counter to what the current administration in Washington espouses,' said Andrew Ross, a professor of social and cultural analysis at and many of my colleagues are frankly appalled at the decision that's being made to deny a student speaker his diploma,' Ross added. 'This is a very good example of an administration falling down on the job.'
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
NYU may have ignored its own protocols to allow anti-Israel grad speech: insider
New York University may have ignored its own protocols for commencement speakers, allowing a student speaker to complete a divisive anti-Israel speech at its Gallatin School graduation — as some faculty members applauded, a school insider told The Post. 'As I search my my heart . . . the only thing that is appropriate to say in this time and to a group this large is a recognition of the atrocities currently happening in Palestine,' student Logan Rozos said Wednesday in the opening of his three-minute speech laced with a one-sided narrative about the Israel-Gaza war. 'I want to say that I condemn this genocide and condemn the complicity in this genocide,' he said claiming the US was 'militarily and politically' complicit, as faculty on the dais were seen applauding and nodding emphatically. An NYU insider who's been at the school decades told The Post Rozos should have never been allowed to finish his speech. Students have to 'submit a copy of the speech and agree to read that speech and none other,' the insider said. 'There's definitely a breakdown in protocol. When someone goes off script, the mic is supposed to be cut. These events are produced to the syllable because they need to be. 'It's supposed to be zero surprises – 100 percent by design.' The insider added that 'the real question is if there were faculty on the inside who put him up to this.' 'My mind, seeing all the faculty on the stage clapping, caused me to question whether they were in some way involved or not,' said the source, noting their robust record of anti-Israel sentiment according to the Canary Mission, which tracks antisemitism. Fellow grads were aghast NYU allowed Rozos to finish the 'inflammatory' and 'incredibly narcissistic' diatribe at the Beacon Theatre ceremony. 'They absolutely should have cut it off and not applauded him,' fumed Sabrina Maslavi, a Gallatin grad who settled a federal antimsemitism lawsuit with NYU last year. Maslavi told the Post that the 'inappropriate' speech 'definitely ruined my graduation for me and my family,' estimating about half of faculty on the dais openly supported the screed. 'They applauded him and let him finish. And after he sat down, the faculty still applauded him.' She claimed she was shunned when she didn't follow fellow grads in giving him a standing ovation. 'I got the death stare.' Another grad groused about the 'horrible' and 'embarrassing' spectacle for the institution. 'It took any prestige they had and squashed it,' the grad said, adding that Rozos 'should have been pulled off the stage.' Gallatin dean Victoria Rosner took the stage directly after Rozos, ignoring the divisive rant. Hours after the speech, an NYU spokesperson announced it would be withholding Rozos's diploma while it 'pursues disciplinary actions.' The school said Rozos 'abused' his 'privilege,' 'denounc[ing]' Rozos's speech and accusing him of 'misus[ing] his role as student speaker to express his personal and one-sided political views.' The rep did not address any breach in protocol but said the student 'lied about the speech he was going to deliver and violated the commitment he made to comply with our rules.' The 24-year-old Rozos, who wrote in a student online platform that he was raised in Washington Heights and the Bronx, was honored in 2020 for his 'groundbreaking' role in the series 'David Makes Men' on the Oprah Winfrey Network. 'At the time, Rozos was one of very few trans men on television,' read the 2024 Glaad writeup. The Post reached out to Rozos multiple times for comment. Students think that the punishment will only boost Rozos's notoriety, transforming him into a hero. 'There's nothing that NYU could do to make him regret what he said,' said a Jewish male grad who was appalled at the ceremony. 'I wouldn't be surprised if Logan turns into a victim from this— a victim of Israel and the Jewish people. People are going to feel bad for him.' Jeff Rabhan, father of a Gallatin grad, ripped NYU, where he was chair of the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music for 11 years. 'You can't tell me they didn't discuss the possibility of this happening,' he said. 'There was plenty of opportunity to right the wrong,' seethed the dad about not cutting off the student. 'It's offensive for families who spend $250,000' for the NYU degree. Watchdog groups condemned the message sent by NYU's slap in the wrist. 'We fail to see how New York University has made any positive changes to deter – or impose consequences on – Jew-hatred when this is the speech given at commencement to rounding applause but no condemnation,' said Michelle Ahdoot of End Jewish Hatred, which first published the graduation video.
