On Feb. 28, the Berkeley Beacon published a “Letter to the Editor” from Anna Feder, Emerson’s head of Film Exhibition and Festival Programs, in which she asks: “Why is it so hard to talk about Palestine?” Feder’s question has been on the minds of many of us—students, staff, and faculty—and echoes an ongoing concern with freedom of speech and academic freedom at university campuses nationwide.
In the months before the publication of Feder’s article, Emerson College imposed limits on the use of classroom space by students associated with the group Students for Justice in Palestine, allegedly because SJP is an “unaffiliated organization,” according to an undisclosed source. Was it a coincidence that pro-Palestine speech was also at the center of that episode?
We write in support of Feder’s courageous letter to the Beacon, and in solidarity with our students at SJP. We are a democratic, multi-ethnic, and multi-racial collective of Muslims, Christians, Jews, and atheists at Emerson College. We are faculty, staff, and graduate students. We want to raise awareness about settler colonialism, ethnic cleansing, genocidal policies and actions, and everyday violence against Palestinians.
Like Feder, we are alarmed by ongoing efforts to silence pro-Palestine voices at university campuses throughout the country. In particular, we are concerned about potential risks to academic freedom and freedom of speech at Emerson. Several of us are directly involved in efforts to promote justice and inclusivity at the college. We engage in discussions about racial, ethnic, gender, and sexual diversity, inside and outside the classroom; we teach courses on postcolonial studies, critical race theory, and media of the Global South; we organize cultural and educational events that honor Emerson’s values.
We also believe in open, respectful, and candid conversations about Palestine. We expect the events and activities we organize to receive the same respect and consideration as any other academic and cultural event on campus. And we expect the students who are willing to organize around their common belief in justice in Palestine to be able to do so without impediments or intimidation.
We are deeply troubled by the suggestion that our voices represent a threat to a safe learning environment—or a potential incitement to violence. As Feder mentions in her letter, at the beginning of this semester, Emerson Today published a “Presidential Statement on Campus Speech and Rhetoric,” affirming that “calls for physical violence against people or groups based on their religious, national, or other protected identities are not consistent with our values or community standards.”
All of this is commendable, and none of it is new. We should all be familiar with Emerson’s policies. Why, then, release a statement at the beginning of the semester? That statement must be read in the context of a growing nationwide movement against what the International Court of Justice has found to be a plausible genocide in Gaza. Could this movement grow on our campus, too?
The college also explicitly dissociated itself from the screening of the film “Israelism”—a documentary made by young American Jews about young American Jews, which is critical of Israel’s policies and actions. The screening took place on campus on Feb. 1. On that occasion, Emerson Today announced “the screening of films in [the Bright Lights] series does not connote endorsement or support of the film’s content by Emerson College or the Visual and Media Arts Department,” adding that “Emerson prides itself on … protecting our community from bias, threats, and intimidation.”
The screening of “Israelism” was not just “a resounding success,” as Feder notes in her article; it was also an inspiring example of how to engage in a civil, mature, and profoundly relevant conversation about issues that can be challenging and uncomfortable. Nothing could be further from “threats and intimidation.”
The aforementioned presidential statement on rhetoric reaffirms the college’s commitment to offering “a safe environment for students and other community members.” Who could disagree with that? The statement, however, stops short of identifying potential risks to our safety. In the absence of such examples, we would like to offer our own. We cannot have a safe environment when students feel intimidated and are denied access to Emerson’s spaces and infrastructure; we cannot have a safe environment when staff are reportedly scared to talk about Palestine; and we cannot have a safe environment when faculty are reluctant to discuss issues that are considered sensitive—relevant and academically pertinent as they may be.
Ultimately, what motivates any effort to silence pro-Palestine voices is not a concern with conduct or etiquette but a fear of knowledge and an anxiety about what it can unleash. Knowledge is powerful. When paired with a call for justice, it can be infectious. And when joined to action, it can be transformative. For all these reasons, knowledge may seem unsettling sometimes. Yet to look away from its transformative potential is to betray our faith in education and forgo our commitment to the betterment of society, neither of which should be an option.
Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine (FSJP) is a democratic, multi-ethnic, and multi-racial collective created at Emerson College in October 2023. It is part of a national coalition at universities and colleges that supports Palestinians’ right to self-determination. It views the Palestinian struggle as part of a global movement that includes Black and indigenous liberations, LGBTQ+ struggles, feminist and environmental movements.
