25 Responses to “170 Members of NYU’s Faculty Release Statement & Petition Calling for Reinstatement of Suspended Take Back NYU Students”

1. on 25 Feb 2009 at 3:11 pm1Dave

   

   It’s weird that there are zero mathematics or science profs on the list. Did the memo not get around to them or something?

2. on 25 Feb 2009 at 5:59 pm2NYU academics come out in support of the occupation - Occupations

   

   [...] at NYU are still fighting their expulsions. over 170 academics at NYU have written a letter to the university asking them to reinstate the students before giving them a [...]

3. on 25 Feb 2009 at 6:01 pm3Occupations

   

   It’s fantastic to see so many academics coming out in support of the occupation.

4. on 25 Feb 2009 at 7:37 pm4Peter

   

   I’d like to learn more about the ideas and philosophies behind Take Back NYU!

   What should I read? Whose classes should I take?

5. on 25 Feb 2009 at 9:22 pm5Yasser

   

   Keep going till u get what u want

   Greetz from a socialist student .. Egypt

   Viva the Students movement

6. on 25 Feb 2009 at 9:28 pm6L F J

   

   Although I disagree with your protest’s tactics, I support this petition and will sign your petition as well. It is totally unfair that all of you were suspended first without a hearing and that no one at NYU has even addressed the most important of your issues (even nominally), that being financial reform and transparency.

   Good luck to you guys, I hope that you haven’t lost the semester.

7. on 25 Feb 2009 at 9:36 pm7Not a Faculty Member

   

   I’m wondering how many total faculty there are at NYU? 170 sounds like “a lot”, but if my instict is correct, which is that there are well over 2000 total faculty members, 170 is not even 10%.

   I wonder how many faculty would sign a petition of the opposite nature - that the students responsible should be suspended for the remainder of the semester?

8. on 25 Feb 2009 at 10:50 pm8NYU Prof

   

   There are over 6000 faculty and 50,000 students at all of NYU. So you obviously have tremendous support from them…

9. on 25 Feb 2009 at 11:34 pm9Dave

   

   If the figure on the Wikipedia page is correct, 170 is about 2.5% of the NYU faculty. It’s hard to get an idea of how the faculty in general really feels, though; it’s hard to blame non-tenured faculty for not wanting to sign such a document, and there are any number of other reasons a person might not want to sign even if they agreed with the general sentiment. (For example, they might be in favor of proper hearings and investigating allegations of misconduct, but want to avoid giving the impression that they feel that terribly conceived, planned and executed acts of disruption that make NYU students a laughingstock are a good way to go about it.)

10. on 26 Feb 2009 at 12:08 am10Mikey G.

    

    @Dave: There aren’t any mathematics or hard science faculty on that list because those faculty (and I’m making some generalizations here, which are supported by the list above) don’t easily get carried away with things like this. Most of the professors who signed this petition are in fields like History, Politics, Social and Cultural Analysis, and other humanities. These are the same sorts of people who supported the TA strike a few years ago. And half of them are just excited to see their students go out and protest something (no matter how poorly organized it was).

11. on 26 Feb 2009 at 1:43 am11170 Members of NYU’s Faculty Release Statement & Petition Calling for Reinstatement of Suspended Take Back NYU Students « U.S. Campaign for the Academic & Cultural Boycott of Israel

    

    [...] February 25, 2009 170 Members of NYU’s Faculty Release Statement & Petition Calling for Reinstatement of Suspended Take Back NYU Students Posted by marcy/????? newman/?????? under Boycott Campaigns, Divestment, Student Organizing, U.S. Academica   Feb 25th, 2009 by Take Back NYU! [...]

12. on 26 Feb 2009 at 2:29 am12fed up

    

    “There aren’t any mathematics or hard science faculty on that list because those faculty (and I’m making some generalizations here, which are supported by the list above) don’t easily get carried away with things like this”

    most? ALL. there is not a single biology/physics/math/chem prof. on that list

13. on 26 Feb 2009 at 4:22 am13Brent

    

    This is idiocy! Students agree to abide by the rules set by the administration when they are granted admission to any university - in essence, they agree to be governed by the administration. If they want to change things, there are avenues set up for doing so. Attendance at any university is a privilege, not a right. These students had no right to do what they did, and deserve whatever punishment they receive.

14. on 26 Feb 2009 at 4:56 am14Dave

    

    Anonymous - While I can’t speak about all professors everywhere, I’m a grad student in an engineering field at a school with similar demographics to NYU, and actual in-class teaching really is a tiny portion of what a faculty member is expected to do. My grad adviser does only spend a small amount of each week in the classroom, but spends many times that much time on research, preparing for classes, bringing in funding, and in research and administrative meetings, working WAY more than the standard 40/week. (Research is the vast majority of his responsibilities.) While there are probably valid criticisms that can be made about tenure, the idea that tenured faculty don’t work very hard is completely invalid.

15. on 26 Feb 2009 at 9:52 am15nyu alum

    

    No econ either.

    Oh look, all the numbers oriented/hard sciences seem to have more important things to do than worry about 18 troublemakers being expelled.

16. on 26 Feb 2009 at 12:07 pm16Michael

    

    Do we live in a democracy, or should the opinions from the minute minority be what we base our decisions on?

    I guess Take Back NYU are fascists or communists who intend to “help everyone” by making their decisions for them.

    I’m sorry, but I don’t need you to “fight my battles” for me, and I’m a liberal.

17. on 26 Feb 2009 at 1:15 pm17LM

    

    What is interesting is not the percentage of faculty who support the protest- but the disciplines within which they are positioned. It is not at all surprising to me that the majority of professors are largely, but not exclusively, from disciplines within humanities and sciences, for those are the most under-funded and marginalized programs within the corporate university. Maybe the “hard sciences” as NYU ALUM points out, aren’t concerned with financial transparency because they have multiple computer labs, endless resources and funds. Furthermore, for ANONYMOUS who claims that the above cited profs work six hour a week and earn 100k a year; you simply have absolutely not freaking idea what you are talking about. A great majority of these professors are my professors and they work their asses off. If you feel the need to comment try with all your might to make it substantial.
    This is obviously not a discussion that can be fully exhausted on a forum such as this. Regardless of the appropriateness of the protest, the supporting faculty is 100% right in that issues raised, particularly around fiscal responsibility, demand immediate attention.

18. on 26 Feb 2009 at 4:00 pm18Yujiro Tsuneno

    

    It’s Day 4 in Kyoto:
    http://extasy07.exblog.jp/

19. on 27 Feb 2009 at 1:38 am19hopeful

    

    I seriously hope you at TBNYU are taking a critical look at all these criticisms, both constructive and non-constructive. If you are serious about your demands and your goals, it will only be advantageous for you to listen to the public, acknowledge your wrongdoings and failures and use them as learning devices for the future.

    THAT would be the greatest apology you could offer.

20. on 27 Feb 2009 at 2:42 am20Boycott Israel

    

    Never give up.

    Another university occupation has just started, demanding boycott against Israeli products on campus:

    http://stoprapingpalestine.blogspot.com/

    _________________________________

21. on 27 Feb 2009 at 3:59 am21Disappointed

    

    I could swear that we used to have protesters with balls. Getting arrested and spending a little time in jail was a source of pride - a way of showing how commited you were to the cause. But now, suspension from a university is whine-worthy?

    Then again, we were fighting for things a little more serious than: “student groups have priority when reserving space in the buildings owned or leased by New York University, including, and especially, the Kimmel Center.”

    Especially the Kimmel Center!!!

22. on 27 Feb 2009 at 9:29 am22Victor

    

    The students don’t deserve to be reinstated. I don’t see any logical reason for reinstating them. The fact of the matter is, NYU is not suspending them for protesting peacefully. They are being suspended for occupancy of private property. If the students protested in WSP I would be supporting reinstatement as well, but they did cause a huge mess and put the safety of many students at risk.

23. on 28 Feb 2009 at 10:59 pm23Way to go, faculty!

    

    Educating your ungrateful undergraduates yet again! Way to show them how you can accomplish more in 10 minutes than they can in 2 days. Maybe TBNYU could get more of their “demands” met if they crafted an email petition too.

24. on 02 Mar 2009 at 8:41 pm24enrobPuffence

    

    Thank you!

25. on 11 Apr 2009 at 2:33 am25JazzDiva

    

    Way to go faculty! I am disappointed that I don’t see many prominent names on this list. I’m very disappointed that no one from my department is on this list, they teach social justice left and right. Hmm. At any rate, NYU is the school it is because of the faculty and the students. It’s a school about social justice, but mirrors a little “America” in how it gobbles up other schools and oppresses its students of no means.

    God Bless You Faculty.

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