Many protesters wore green feathers, calling back to IU's Green Feather Movement against McCarthyism in the 1950s.
(Devan Ridgway, WTIU)
About 30 people peacefully protested Monday morning against Indiana University leadership and conservative influence.
In a loosely organized event, protesters mentioned multiple issues — the cancellation of Palestinian artist Samia Halaby’s exhibit, the unusual suspension of Professor Abdulkader Sinno, the potential severing of the Kinsey Institute from the university and the lack of respect for shared governance. Speakers also referenced Senate Bill 202, which would change the tenure review process and determine whether faculty meet criteria related to “intellectual diversity.”
Protestors met at the Fine Arts Plaza, giving attendees the chance to speak and lead chants. The event was monitored by IU police and theDemonstration and Safety Response Team.
Deborah Cohn, professor of Spanish and Portuguese, said she attended the protest because it's an important part of protecting students’ ability to learn and professors’ ability to teach.
“I've been here since 2001. And I've seen issues where there have been faculty protests against administration, and there have been major disagreements,” Cohn said. “I have not seen anything like this before.”
Protesters spoke out against recent attempts from state legislators to make conservative students more comfortable on college campuses. (Devan Ridgway, WTIU)
“Samia Halaby: Centers of Energy” was set to show Feb. 10 at the Eskenazi Museum of Art after three years of preparation but was canceled in December. It would have been the first American retrospective of Halaby’s work. IU has declined multiple requests for interviews. An IU spokesperson has maintained that the event was canceled due to security concerns from campus officials and academic leaders. Free speech organizations and some in the IU community have continued to protest this decision.
Several protests have suggested political pressure caused the cancellation. U.S. Rep. Jim Banks (R, IN-03) wrote in a Nov. 16 letter to President Pamela Whitten that the university is failing to combat antisemitism. Banks threatened that IU could lose federal funding and took aim at student activists. He called pro-Palestinian demonstrations "pro-terrorist.” After the letter, Palestine Solidarity Committee advisor Abdulkader Sinno was suspended for two semesters and Halaby’s exhibit was canceled.
IU also cited security concerns in its reasoning for suspending Sinno.
In IU leadership’s only public statement regarding Sinno and Halaby, Provost Rahul Shrivastav said at a Bloomington Faculty Council meeting the university is being cautious. He said if he had to choose between keeping a project going when there’s a risk of violence, he would “err on the side of caution.”
Cohn said she was at that faculty council meeting.
“That is opening a door,” she said about Shrivastav’s comments. “The more that doors open, the more that I feel that we have to speak.”
Student Ali Fletcher spoke at the event, saying it’s not the university’s job to shield people from beneficial events like Halaby’s exhibit because it might be upsetting. The university’s rhetoric is “false protection,” Fletcher said, and people need to encounter difficult situations to develop critical thinking skills and become better advocates.
Fletcher created a sign with Palestinian and Irish flags. She said her family is from Ireland and they had to leave their home because of civil unrest. She said the displacement of Palestinians means a lot to her because of her family's history. (Devan Ridgway, WTIU)
“Through encountering these difficult ideas, and through observing the emotional responses we may have to them — however unpleasant they may be — that's how we can enhance our understanding of ourselves of the world that we live in,” Fletcher said. “It's how we are more well equipped to make choices moving forward in life.”Fletcher encourages people who are holding back from engaging with these issues to dive in and learn as much as they can.
“Develop your own thoughts about everything that's going on, and just to make sure that wherever you land, it's somewhere that you feel as authentic to your beliefs, because standing nowhere doesn't help anybody,” Fletcher said.
This story was updated at 5:50 p.m. to clarify Provost Rahul Shrivastav's address is the only public statement from university leadership regarding Samia Halaby and Abdulkader Sinno.
Aubrey is our higher education reporter and a Report For America corps member. Contact her at aubmwrig@iu.eduor follow her on Twitter at @aubreymwright.
