Dec 12, 2024

Dear Linda and Gigi,

As you know, two faculty members were arrested and an unknown number of others have been declared personae non-grata. We demand an immediate explanation of the PNG declarations, and an immediate halt to your defamation of us and our colleagues.

The PNG declarations appear to be based on faculty members’ presumed attendance at the protests on December 11 and/or December 12. Distressingly, and in the absence of any actual explanation, it also appears that you are associating faculty with “threatening graffiti in the library that has triggered an investigation by law enforcement.” The word “relatedly” in Fountain Walker’s email to the NYU community directly connects the graffiti to the protests, with no explanation. Furthermore, Gigi told one of the faculty members declared PNG that the decision was prompted by a “security issue.” No further information has been disclosed.

We await your response, as we are unable to imagine what could possibly justify banning faculty from all University buildings.

Sincerely,

NYU-AAUP Executive Committee

Cc:  Una Chaudhuri
Charlton McIlwain
Antonio Merlo
Fountain Walker