Indiana University Bloomington Faculty wrote a letter to The Indiana University Board of Trustees, Indiana University Alumni and Concerned Citizens of the State of Indiana and formed a petition demanding the immediate resignation or termination of President Whitten and Provost Shrivastav.
“As faculty members of Indiana University Bloomington, we are appalled and ashamed by the militarized response to the peaceful campus protests against Israel’s war in Gaza,” the beginning of the letter reads.
“Many of us have been direct witnesses as Indiana State Police brutalized and arrested unarmed students and fellow faculty colleagues holding an entirely peaceful rally on Dunn Meadow.”
“The Ad Hoc Committee” decided Wednesday night, the night before the protests began, to rule against temporary or permanent structures on campus without advanced approval, overturning a 1969 decision to allow the use of temporary structures in Dunn Meadow without prior approval, forbidding them from 11 pm to 6 am
An ad hoc committee is a temporary committee designed for a specific purpose.
The faculty wrote that the policy change “was clearly done to disadvantage and discriminate against a group based on their viewpoint, violating well-established First Amendment law.”
This show of faculty dissonance from President Whitten and Provost Shrivastav’ decisions is the latest in a string of “shameful display” of their “ineptitude and lack of moral compass” and follows the 93% no confidence vote from 900 voting faculty members.
As of 10:56 am, the petition has 119 signatures.
8:40 am via email
The Media School Dean, David Tolchinsky, and Associate Dean Radhika Parameswaran sent an email to faculty, staff and graduate students, expressing gratitude for student media and The Arnolt Center for Investigative Journalists. They also wrote to support “scholars of media and creators of media.”
“We are actively engaging in discussions with central administration to ensure that our values of free expression and peaceful demonstration are not only upheld but also respected,” the email reads.
Due to the emotional toll the past few days of protests have taken on students, they requested faculty be flexible with assignments and exams during the end of this semester.
