NYU Students Urge Action on Eviction Notices

NYU’s pro-Israel student group, TorchPAC, has launched an online petition calling on University President John Sexton to hold the school’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine accountable for “incitement on campus” after the organization delivered mock eviction notices to 2,000 students. The flyers were meant to resemble eviction notices delivered to Palestinian homes in parts of Israel.

An NYU spokesperson released a statement, saying, “NYU encourages free speech and the free exchange of ideas, but our hope is that the discourse – including debate on controversial issues – will be conducted in a fashion that is mature and that is meant to elicit thoughtful discussion rather than simply provoke.” Sexton has not yet commented on the incident.

The flyers are not a new tactic for the student group. The Northeastern University chapter of SJP was temporarily suspended earlier this year for distributing similar flyers, and there are reports of similar activity occurring as early as 2011 at Yale.

We’ll let you know whether the petition, which currently has 250 signatures, inspires a response from Sexton.

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