Campus Statement on Anti-Semitism:
We condemn anti-Semitism in all its forms. As Chancellor King wrote in a recent public letter: “antisemitism is antisemitism whatever ‘code words’ are used, including if ‘Zionist’ is intended to mean the same thing as ‘Jewish,’” and when anti-Zionism reflects antisemitism. We recognize that Zionism is a key component of the shared ancestral and ethnic identity of many students on our campus. Efforts to stigmatize Zionism and make SUNY New Paltz students feel unsafe or unwelcome expressing this aspect of their Jewish identity is contrary to our university’s basic values of mutual respect and inclusion. Our university must be a place for the free and open exchange of ideas. It is never acceptable to harass, intimidate, marginalize, exclude, or demonize any part of our university community on the basis of identity; and the university will safeguard the right of all students to access university services and educational opportunities free from harassment and discrimination.
Campus Title VI Policies and Resources:
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination and harassment based on a student’s race, color, or national origin. This extends to students who experience discrimination or harassment based on actual or perceived shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics, and citizenship or residency in a country with a dominant religion or distinct religious identity and their association with this national origin/ancestry. For example, students of Arab, Hindu, Israeli, Jewish, Latine, Muslim, Palestinian, Sikh, and/or South Asian descent, or any other faith or ancestry, are protected under Title VI.
SUNY New Paltz stands firm in its responsibilities to this law and to the principles that hate, and bigotry has no place on our campus and that exclusion of any student from any aspect of the educational experience, including recognized clubs and organizations, is prohibited. Such harassment, discrimination or exclusion is taken seriously and those found responsible for such conduct are held accountable under applicable laws and policies.
SUNY New Paltz has several policies that you should be aware of, which are collectively referred to as “SUNY New Paltz Policies”:
- SUNY New Paltz’s Non-Discrimination and Anti-Harassment Policy
- Reporting Title IX Complaints
- Bias Response Reporting and Support
Some examples of activities that may violate SUNY New Paltz’s Policies include:
- Refusing to work with an individual or group, or the application of any type of “litmus test” for participation in academic activity, based on identity.
- Targeting someone for harassment or intimidation on the basis of their identity, their religious attire, their name, their spoken language, their accent, or their association with a religious organization or identity-related student club.
- Ostracism based on identity, such as refusing entry to an open event.
- Use or dissemination of tropes about protected groups.
- Calls for genocide of an entire people or group.
- Actions taken against someone based on their field of study, course enrollment, or study abroad participation could provide evidence of discriminatory motive for SUNY New Paltz Policies—for example, vandalizing the office doors of a particular department tied to the study of a country or region.
- Using a particular code word to refer to a group that means the identity of that particular group to exclude such group on the basis of their identity from inclusion in any part of the educational experience.
