‘Reminiscent of McCarthy-era purges’
A quartet of adjunct professors at City University of New York recently were let go from their positions for what many claim is their pro-Palestinian activism.
According to a June 30 letter to CUNY Chancellor Felix Matos Rodríguez, the president of the school’s Professional Staff Congress said he was “profoundly concerned” about the terminations, saying they had “all the appearances of an ideological purge.”
“In no case did the college inform the instructor or the department chair of a misconduct finding that could warrant such an action,” James Davis’ letter reads. “In no case was it the department chair who notified the instructor of the non-reappointment, nor was the chair notified in advance. All of this is highly irregular.
“What the four instructors who lost their CUNY jobs at the same time have in common is their public protest against Israel and advocacy for Palestinian rights.”
Davis demanded the “immediate reinstatement” of the adjuncts, saying when “academic freedom and freedom of speech are not protected […] it sends a chilling message to the campus community.”
He also alleged the terminations and other actions were “reminiscent of McCarthy-era purges.”
Of note, Davis’ letter concedes that “unexplained nonreappointment of teaching adjuncts is not unusual at CUNY.”
One of the adjuncts, Corinna Mullin (pictured), was recorded in early June yelling “Leave!” and “We don’t want you here!” to pro-Israel counter-protesters during a New York City demonstration.
Mullin, whose expertise deals with “US imperialism,” “border imperialism, international fascism, [and] anti/decolonial theory and praxis,” said due to “weak contractual protections, adjuncts are some of the most vulnerable among CUNY workers,” Mondoweiss reports.
Mullin also is an “organizer within CUNY4Palestine,” and her “activism and academic concentration lend to the incorporation of Palestinian history and politics in her university classrooms,” according to the report.
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Mullin told Mondoweiss, “Over the past several years, there has been a pattern of external Zionist, far-right organizations like Camera, Betar, and Canary Mission targeting me and other CUNY workers and students for organizing in solidarity with Palestine.” Instead of protecting Mullin, CUNY has been beside right-wing organizations targeting her and other faculty members.
CUNY has used adjunct professors’ weak contractual protection to justify their termination. “Rather than defend us from harassment and doxxing, the university has consistently contributed to our targeting.” Each faculty member fired by CUNY has been proudly outspoken within their positions in the university against the genocide in Gaza.
In a related matter, CUNY student Hadeeqa Malik, a leader in the CCNY Students for Justice in Palestine chapter, was suspended from the school’s campuses for a year.
The New York Post reported last week that Malik (pictured) earlier this year had “berated a Muslim police officer” at an anti-Israel demonstration, yelling “Let’s read the badges of the pigs […] To the pigs who can call themselves by the name of Islam — put some respect on their names!”
A former intern for current Democratic NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, Malik said she was punished for violating various university rules regarding demonstrations, which she claims were a “reactionary model to suppress student organizing” following protests by black and Puerto Rican students in 1969.
The group CUNY for Palestine demanded CUNY “immediately drop” all discipline-related charges against Malik and rehire Mullin and her fellow adjuncts.
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IMAGE CAPTION & CREDIT: Portion of PSC CUNY press conference announcement; PSC/CUNY/X. INTERIOR IMAGES: NizNellie3/X; CUNY for Palestine email release.