Tuesday, May 7, 2024
Year : 2, Issue : 19
One month away from the scheduled end of the legislative session on June 6, some members of the Democratic-controlled state legislature say they should analyze the responses to pro-Palestinian protests across New York college campuses.
They were trying to close a multi-billion dollar state budget deal when the first of the demonstrations erupted on Columbia University’s campus on April 17.
“I would certainly support the legislature holding oversight hearings and investigating what, the decisions, the Columbia administration had made, I think they made a lot of poor decisions over the last month,” Sen. Julia Salazar, a Brooklyn Democrat, said.
“There should be investigations as to the fact that our mayor sent the police into Columbia’s campus.”
State Senate Republicans formally asked their Democratic counterparts to greenlight a legislative hearing in a May 1 letter.
Lawmakers also said they would like the opportunity to question not just Columbia University’s embattled president Minouche Shafik, but also officials from the state and city-run university system.
They argue it’s the legislature’s responsibility to question institutions that receive taxpayer dollars.
But Queens Democrat Assemblywoman Nily Rozic argues that reports of hate on college campuses are not new in New York.
Former Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman is also leading a panel tasked with investigating discrimination and antisemitism policies on City University of New York campuses.
Gov. Kathy Hochul said she supports the Biden administration’s response to the Middle East conflict and backed the NYPD’s clearing of campus encampments last week.
Speaking at the annual Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California on Monday, Hochul said she was surprised to witness the divide between students.
“I never saw the level of hatred in some cases, from one student to the other because of which side of the issue with Israel and Gaza they’re on, these are people who should be developing collaborative skills now so they can go into a workplace and understand, that’s how we innovate new ideas,” she said.
Source: Spectrum
