The law dean who supported a student’s “hateful” inaugural speech instituted anti-racist classes

The dean of a New York law school who earlier this month applauded a graduate’s “hateful” inaugural speech in which he attacked the “fascist NYPD” and condemned Israel, had earlier launched a series of “anti-racist” courses at another university. it arose.

Sudha Setty, Dean of Law at City University of New York (CUNY), sat on the stage on May 12 and applauded as Fatima Mousa Mohammed delivered her speech.

Mohammed, a Yemen-born law student, accused Israelis of “settler colonialism” and called for “anger” to crack down on the “fascist NYPD.”

New York Mayor Eric Adams condemned Mohammed for her “negativity and divisiveness.”

Mohammed said she chose CUNY because it is one of the “few legal institutions that recognize the law is a manifestation of white supremacy that continues to oppress and oppress people in this country and around the world.”

Fatima Mousa Mohammed was voted the 2023 Graduate Speaker of the Year by her classmates at CUNY Law’s graduation ceremony on May 12. Her comments about Israel, Palestine, the NYPD and the armed forces caused an uproar

Sudha Setty, Dean of CUNY Law School since 2022, praised Muhammad’s speech

Setty sits on the stage on May 12 while Mohammed bows

Mohammed continued: “The joy and excitement that fills the hall: may it be the fuel for the struggle against capitalism, racism, imperialism and Zionism around the world.”

“Systems of oppression designed to feed an empire with a hunger for destruction and violence.”

“Institutions created to intimidate, bully and censor and stifle the voices of those who resist.”

Setty applauded Mohammed’s remarks, which the CUNY Board of Trustees condemned as “hate speech” and “hurtful to the entire CUNY community.”

Now it turns out that Setty started a series of “anti-racism” courses at her previous university in Massachusetts.

Setty served as a faculty member at Western New England University Law School for 12 years and then served as dean for four more years.

She campaigned for the introduction of the “anti-racism and cultural competence” degree requirement for university students The New York Post.

The degree requirement, accepted by law school in April 2021, included courses titled “Race, Racism and Law” and “Business Law from an Anti-Racist Perspective”.

Setty, who assumed the role of CUNY dean in the fall of 2022, narrated the student newspaper She wanted to “promote more leaders who do important social justice work in the law.”

Setty said, “At CUNY, the mission is to advocate for social justice and to remove the structural barriers to justice that exist in so many contexts.”

“Being part of this effort is a gift, and I go into this work with gratitude.”

Mohammed’s speech marked the second straight year that the school — one of the largest in New York City, which receives more than half of its funding from the government — allowed such pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel remarks at the graduation ceremony.

The speaker in 2022 was activist Nerdeen Kiswani, who made similarly heated comments.

CUNY’s Board of Trustees eventually issued a statement condemning the speech after mounting calls that the school would lose its funding.

Yemen-born Mohammed used her speech to rail against the New York police, capitalism and Israel

The CUNY board of trustees today described the comments as hate speech after strong backlash

It has yet to be explained why the comments were approved in the first place.

“Freedom of expression is valuable but often messy and vital to the foundation of higher education,” the trustees said.

“However, hate speech should not be confused with free speech and has no place on our campus or in our city, state or nation.”

“The remarks made by a student-selected speaker at the CUNY Law School graduation ceremony unfortunately fall into the category of hate speech because they were a public expression of hatred toward people and communities based on their religion, race, or political affiliation.”

“The Board of Trustees of the City University of New York condemns such hate speech.”

“This speech is particularly unacceptable at a ceremony celebrating the achievements of a wide variety of graduates and hurtful to the entire CUNY community, which was founded on the principle of equal access and opportunity.”