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The dean of a New York law department who applauded a ‘hate-filled’ commencement speech earlier this month by a graduate, attacking the ‘fascist NYPD’ and condemning Israel, previously created a series of ‘anti-racist’ courses at another university, it has emerged.
Sudha Setty, the dean of law at the City University of New York (CUNY), sat on stage and applauded on May 12 while Fatima Mousa Mohammed delivered her speech.
Mohammed, a Yemen-born law student, accused Israelis of ‘settler colonialism’ and called for ‘rage’ to tackle the ‘fascist NYPD’.
Eric Adams, the mayor of New York, condemned Mohammed for her ‘negativity and divisiveness’.
Mohammed said she chose CUNY because it was one of the ‘few legal institutions… to recognize that the law is a manifestation of white supremacy that continues to oppress and suppress people in this nation and around the world.’
Fatima Mousa Mohammed was chosen by her classmates as the 2023 commencement speaker at CUNY Law’s graduation ceremony on May 12. Her remarks about Israel, Palestine, the NYPD and the Armed Forces sparked uproar
Sudha Setty, the dean of CUNY law school since 2022, applauded Mohammed’s speech
Setty is seen sitting on the stage on May 12, as Mohammed takes a bow
Mohammed continued: ‘The joy and excitement that fills the auditorium: may it be the fuel for the fight against capitalism, racism, imperialism and Zionism around the world.
‘Systems of oppression created to feed an empire with a ravenous appetite for destruction and violence.
‘Institutions created to intimidate, bully and censor and stifle the voices of those who resist.’
Setty was seen applauding Mohammed’s remarks – which were condemned by the CUNY board of trustees as ‘hate speech’, and ‘hurtful to the entire CUNY community’.
It now emerges that Setty launched a series of ‘anti-racism’ courses at her previous university, in Massachusetts.
Setty worked for 12 years as a faculty member at the Western New England University’s legal faculty, then led the department as dean for four additional years.
She championed the introduction of the ‘Antiracism and Cultural Competency’ graduating requirement for the university’s students, according to The New York Post.
The graduating requirement, which was adopted by the law school in April 2021, included courses that were titled ‘Race, Racism & the Law’ and ‘Business Law from an Antiracist Perspective.’
Setty, who took up the role of CUNY dean in the fall of 2022, told the student newspaper she wanted to promote ‘more leaders who are doing important social justice work in the law.’
Setty said: ‘At CUNY, that mission is social justice lawyering and tackling the structural barriers to justice that exist in so many contexts.
‘Being part of those endeavors is a gift, and I come to this work with gratitude.’
Mohammed’s speech marked the second year in a row the school – one of the largest in New York City, which receives more than half its funding from government – allowed such pro-Palestine, anti-Israel remarks at the graduation ceremony.
The 2022 speaker was activist Nerdeen Kiswani, who made similarly fired-up comments.
CUNY’s Board of Trustees finally denounced the speech in a statement after growing calls for the school to lose its funding.
Mohammed, born in Yemen, used her speech to rail against the NYPD, capitalism and Israel
The CUNY Board of Trustees today denounced the remarks as hate speech after furious backlash
It is yet to explain why the remarks were approved in the first place.
‘Free speech is precious, but often messy, and is vital to the foundation of higher education,’ the trustees said.
‘Hate speech, however, should not be confused with free speech and has no place on our campuses or in our city, our state or our nation.’
‘The remarks by a student-selected speaker at the CUNY Law School graduation, unfortunately, fall into the category of hate speech as they were a public expression of hate 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 diversity of graduates, and hurtful to the entire CUNY community, which was founded on the principle of equal access and opportunity.’
Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk
