Editor's note: This letter remains in the condition in which it was sent. The list of 197 signatures is as of May 6, 1:05 p.m.
Editor's note: This letter was updated to include additional signatures on May 7 at 11 a.m. The list stands at 223.
May 3, 2024.
Dear President Tripathi:
As faculty at UB, we are deeply disturbed by the University’s decision to violently escalate the peaceful protest that students organized on May 1st. Around fifty protestors assembled to protest the war in Gaza and support divestment on the lawn outside Hochstetter Hall on UB’s North campus. The gathering was entirely peaceful and students were well organized. When told that erecting tents for an encampment would lead to their arrest, students reorganized the gathering immediately to comply with the policy. Furthermore, the order that students disperse after sundown – cited as 8:22 pm by law enforcement officers at the protest – was ad hoc, dangerous and discriminatory. The official university policy barring overnight picketing and assembly does not mention sundown. The sundown deadline for arrest coincided with Maghrib, Muslim evening prayer, which police seemed unaware of until informed by the protestors. The rules about student protests were being updated in real time on the day of the protest, appearing discriminatory and making it difficult for even the most informed students to comply.
For a small crowd of fifty protestors, the University called in law enforcement from State, County, and multiple local jurisdictions. Police cars lined the Flint loop and officers nearly outnumbered protestors. In making this decision, the University demonstrated its intolerance towards free expression and flagrant disregard for student safety. A non-UPD officer pushed and insulted an editor of the Spectrum. A male police officer forcibly restrained a hijab-wearing female student, resulting in the unraveling of her hijab. Touching or dislodging a woman’s hijab is a deep violation of privacy, and exhibits an absolute lack of cultural understanding in contradiction to UB’s DEI principles. The University used Stampede shuttle buses to remove arrested protestors. And as police confronted the small crowd, they continually pushed students across a road and towards the parking lot, where cars were circulating, putting these protestors in danger. Hyper surveillance, fear, and physical and psychological harm caused by violent policing is a well-documented structural determinant of health inequity, and on May 1st our University's decision undermined our own students' health and wellbeing.
On May 2nd, in a letter to the University community, you wrote, “We are an educational institution that believes in challenging convention. We cherish civil discourse. We embrace multiple perspectives and multiple worldviews.” The University sent precisely the opposite message on May 1st: far from cherished, civil discourse was met with intimidation. Multiple perspectives and worldviews were met with violent escalation. This disproportionate response made our campus community not safer, but rather more threatening and alienating. The American Civil Liberties Union has recently provided guidance to College and University Presidents on student protests. The ACLU emphasizes that “Schools must recognize that armed police on campus can endanger students and are a measure of last resort,” particularly given “the history of law enforcement using inappropriate and excessive force on communities of color, including Black, Brown, and immigrant students.” Our students were unnecessarily put in danger.
UB has a cherished history of students and faculty mobilizing for social change. We teach our students these values, and to act on them using critical thinking, evidence and integrity. Our campus – inside and outside of classrooms – is a learning space. The severe police response to the May 1st protest sets a dangerous precedent and negates this history. We call on the University to drop all charges against the demonstrators. We strongly urge a public review of the policies and protocols of UB police, including the protocol for calling in outside law enforcement to campus, and to investigate the ad hoc changes to the campus picketing and assembly policy. The University’s response is detrimental to the campus climate, the health and safety of students, and their ability to engage in peaceful protest.
If you would like to add your name to list of signatories please complete the information below. If you have difficulty with the form, please email ubfacultyresponse@gmail.com.
Signatories
1. Marion Werner, Professor, Department of Geography
2. Samina Raja, Professor, Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Founder and Principal
Investigator, Food Systems Planning and Healthy Communities Lab, School of Architecture
and Planning
3. Henry Taylor, Professor, Department of Urban and Regional Planning, School of Architecture
and Planning
4. Carrie Breman, Professor, Department of English
5. David Herzberg, Professor, Department of History
6. Anthony O Rourke, Joseph W. Belluck and Laura L. Aswad Professor of Civil Justice UB
School of Law
7. Matteo Taussig-Rubbo, Professor, School of Law
8. Kristin Stapleton, Professor, Department of History
9. Erin Hatton, Professor, Sociology
10. David Alff, Associate Professor, English
11. Christina Milletti, Associate Professor of English, Executive Director, Humanities Institute
12. Dimitrios Anastasopoulos, Associate Professor, English
13. David Schmid, Associate Professor, English
14. Trina Hamilton, Associate Professor, Departments of Geography and Environment &
Sustainability
15. Tara J. Melish, Professor, School of Law
16. Victoria Wolcott, Professor, Department of History, Director, Gender Institute
17. Katja Praznik, Associate Professor, Arts Management Program and Department of Global Gender
and Sexuality Studies
18. Daniela Sandler, Associate Professor, Department of Architecture
19. Abigail Cooke, Associate Professor, Department of Geography
20. Kari Winter, Professor, Global Gender & Sexuality Studies
21. Dr. Elizabeth Otto, Professor, Modern and Contemporary Art History
22. Samuel P. Catlin, Irving M. and Marilyn C. Shuman Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of
Jewish Thought
23. Irus Braverman, Professor, School of Law
24. Matthew Dimick, Professor, School of Law
25. Dr. Paige Sarlin, Associate Professor, Director of Graduate Studies, Department of Media
Study, College of Arts and Sciences
26. Melinda Lemke, Associate Professor, Educational Leadership and Policy; Affiliated, Global
Gender and Sexuality Studies
27. Katie McClain-Meeder, Clinical Associate Professor, Social Work
28. Shaanta Murshid, Associate Professor, School of Social Work
29. Matthew C Kenyon, Associate Professor, Dept of Art
30. Rinaldo Walcott, Professor, Africana and American Studies
31. Nancy Smyth, Professor, School of Social Work
32. Beth Carpenter, Senior Assistant Librarian, UB Libraries
33. Elisabeth Paquette, Associate Professor, Comparative Literature
34. Jocelyn Swick-Jemison, Sr Assistant Librarian, University Libraries
35. Sara Metcalf, Professor, Department of Geography
36. Kelsey Lewis, Assistant Professor, Global Gender and Sexuality Studies
37. Jim Holstun, Professor of English
38. Alissa Ujie Diamond, Assistant Professor, Urban and Regional Planning, SAP
39. Meredith Alberta Palmer, Assistant Professor, Geography and Indigenous Studies Departments
40. Loren Pilcher, Assistant Professor, Global Gender and Sexuality Studies
41. Paul Zarembka, Research Professor, Economics
42. Athena D. Mutua, Professor of Law, Floyd H. & Hilda L. Hurst Faculty Scholar, School of Law
43. Rebecca R French, Professor, UB Law
44. Maureen Milligan, Staff Assistant, Institute of Myelin and Glia Exploration
45. Elizabeth Bowen, Associate Professor, School of Social Work
46. Gwynn Thomas, Associate Professor , Global Gender and Sexuality Studies
47. Annahita Ball, Associate Professor, School of Social Work
48. Andrea Pitts, Associate Professor, Comparative Literature
49. Michael Boucai, Professor, School of Law
50. Joyce Hwang, FAIA, NOMA, Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies,
Department of Architecture
51. Miriam Thaggert, Professor, English
52. Alexandra Schindel, Associate Professor, Learning and Instruction, Graduate School of
Education
53. Emmanuel Frimpong Boamah, Associate Professor, School of Architecture and Planning
54. Tia Palermo, Associate Professor, Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health,
School of Public Health
55. Tim Monreal, Assistant Professor, Department of Learning and Instruction, Graduate School of
Education
56. Jasmina Tumbas, Associate Professor, Global Gender and Sexuality Studies
57. Lucinda Finley, Raichle Professor of Law
58. Erkin Özay, Associate Professor, School of Architecture and Planning
59. James G. Milles, Professor, School of Law
60. Elizabeth Bartelt, Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Community Health and Health
Behavior, School of Public Health and Health Professions
61. Akua Gyamerah, Assistant Professor, Department of Community Health and Health Behavior,
School of Public Health and Health Professions
62. Doga Yucalan, Assistant Professor of Teaching, Department of Engineering Education, School
of Engineering and Applied Sciences
63. Filomena Critelli Associate Professor, Interim Associate Dean for Diversity Equity and
Inclusion, Director of Undergraduate Studies, Social Work
64. Stacy Carson Hubbard, Associate Professor, English
65. James A. Wooten, Professor, School of Law
66. Khalid J. Qazi, Clinical Professor of Medicine, Jacobs School of Medicine & Biomedical
Sciences
67. Jasmine Alvarado, Assistant Professor, Educational Leadership and Policy, Graduate School of
Education
68. Alexandra Judelsohn, Assistant Professor, Department of Urban and Regional Planning
69. Tasha Austin, Assistant Professor, Department of Learning and Instruction
70. Nicole Lowman, Assistant Professor of Teaching, Department of Engineering Education
71. Robin Mitchell, College of Art & Sciences Endowed Professor, Associate Professor,
Department of History
72. Christine Varnado, Associate Professor, Global Gender & Sexuality Studies
73. Lourdes Vera, Assistant Professor, Departments of Sociology and Environment & Sustainability
74. Patricia Logan-Greene, Associate Professor and Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, School of
Social Work
75. Jenifer Barclay, Associate Professor, Department of History
76. Jaume Franquesa, Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology
77. Marla Segol, Professor, Global Gender and Sexuality Studiies
78. Shawn Lewis, Adjunct Instructor, Department of Architecture
79. Michael Rembis, Associate Professor, Department of History
80. Gwendolyn Baxley, Assistant Professor, Graduate School of Education
81. Brittany Jones, Assistant Professor, Department of Learning and Instruction
82. Randy Fernando, Adjunct Faculty, School of Architect & Planning
83. Laura Terrance, Assistant Professor, Indigenous Studies Department
84. Julia Hunt, Clinical Faculty and Director of Digital Fabrication for the School of Architecture
and Planning
85. Miriam Paeslack, Associate Professor, Arts Management Program
86. Laura Schmitz Lubniewski, Clinical Assistant Professor, School of Architecture and Planning
87. Jawad Vaid, MD FACP, Clinical Assistant Professor, Jacobs School of Medicine and
Biomedical Sciences
88. Nicholas Rajkovich, Associate Professor, Architecture
89. Jeff Higginbotham, Professor, Department of Communicative Disorders and Sciences
90. Hadas Steiner, Associate Professor, Architecture
91. Mary Nell Trautner, Associate Professor, Sociology
92. Eero Laine, Associate Professor, Theatre and Dance
93. Ariel Nereson, Associate Professor, Theatre and Dance
94. Laura A. Lewis, Clinical Associate Professor, School of Social Work
95. Amjad Aref, Professor, Department of Civil Structural and Env. Engineering
96. Nicholas Eichelberger, Adjunct Instructor, School of Architecture and Planning
97. Jeff Good, Professor, Department of Linguistics
98. S. Husain, Former Associate Professor of Clinical Nuclear Medicine
99. Albert Chao, Adjunct Instructor, School of Architecture and Planning
100. Shahid Ahmad, Professor, Dept. of CSEE
101. Brendan Fitzgerald, Clinical Assistant Professor, Communicative Disorders and Sciences
102. Erik Seeman, Professor, History
103. Mark Bartholomew, Professor, School of Law
104. Amanda Winkelsas, Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Learning and Instruction
105. Heidi L Forman, Teaching Faculty, School of Law
106. Christine Human, Teaching Professor, Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering
107. Lindsay Brandon Hunter, Associate Professor, Department of Theatre and Dance
108. Brian C. Moseley, Associate Professor, Music
109. Rosy Simas, Distinguished Visiting Scholar, Indigenous Studies
110. Carlos M. Amador Associate Professor of Spanish, Department of Romance Languages and
Literature
111. Nicole Sarmiento, Adjunct Instructor, School of Architecture and Planning
112. Jiyoung Park, Associate Professor, Urban and Regional Planning
113. Sama Waham, Assistant Professor, Department of Media Study
114. Montgomery Hill, Assistant Professor, Indigenous Studies
115. Claire S. Schen, Associate Professor, History
116. Adam McCullough, Adjunct Instructor, School of Architecture & Planning
117. Dalia Muller, Associate Professor, history
118. Jared Aldstadt, Associate Professor, Department of Geography
119. Cody Mejeur, Assistant Professor, Media Study
120. Cheryl Emerson, Clinical Assistant Professot, Department of Organization and Human
Resources
121. Yan Liu, Associate Professor, Department of History
122. Camilo Trumper, Associate Professor, History
123. Dave Pape, Associate Professor, Department of Media Study
124. Kellen Hoxworth, Assistant Professor, Department of Theatre and Dance
125. Reecca Chaleff, Assistant Professor, Department of Theatre and Dance
126. Katherine Zubovich, Associate Professor, Department of History
127. Ashley Barr, Associate Professor, Department of Sociology
128. John Roberts, Associate Professor, Psychology
129. Jonathan Boualavong, Assistant Professor, Department of Civil, Structural, and Environmental
Engineering
130. Marcella Baiz, Assistant Professor, Department of Biological Sciences
131. Salvador Vidal-Ortiz, Distinguished Visiting Scholar, CAS/Sociology
132. Christopher Mele, Professor, Sociology
133. Claudia J. Ford, Professor, Distinguished Visiting Scholar, Environment & Sustainability,
Indigenous Studies
134. Christine Marie, Assistant Teaching Professor, Department of Media Study
135. Gabrielle Printz, Adjunct Instructor, School of Architecture & Planning
136. Christine Marie, Assistant Teaching Professor, Department of Media Study
137. Hal Langfur, Associate Professor, Department of History
138. Jae W. Lee, Professor, Department of Biological Sciences
139. Isok Kim, Associate Professor, School of Social Work
140. Soo-Kyung Lee, Professor at Biological Sciences
141. Juergen Bohnemeyer, Professor, Department of Linguistics
142. X. Christine Wang, Professor, Graduate School of Education
143. Colter Harper, Assistant Teaching Professor, Department of Music
144. Sara M. Acevedo, Distinguished Visiting Scholar, CAS
145. Vincent Lynch, Associate Professor, Department of Biological Sciences
146. John Maurice Hourihane, Clinical Assistant Professor of Neurology
147. Jared Strohl, Assistant Teaching Professor and Criminology MS Program Director, Dept of
Sociology
148. Walter Nils Hakala, Associate Professor, Department of English and Asian Studies Program
149. Kristen Schultz Lee, Professor, Department of Sociology
150. Ruth Mack, Associate Professor, Department of English
151. Muzamil Rana, Clinical Assistant Prof. of Medicine
152. Jordan Fox, Associate Professor, Sociology
153. Andrea M. Keeler, Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Biological Sciences
154. Melissa McCarron, Clinical Assistant Professor, Dept. of Romance Languages & Literatures
155. Krzysztof Ziarek, Professor, Comparative Literature
156. Husam Ghanim, Research Associate Professor, Department of Medicine, Jacobs School of
Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
157. Stephanie Poindexter, Assistant Professor, Anthropology
158. Laura Roberts, Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Communicative Disorders &
Sciences
159. Harvey Palmer, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science
160. Musa Saeed, MD. Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine, Department of Pulmonary and
Critical Care
161. Katarzyna Kordas, Associate Professor, Epidemiology and Environmental Health
162. Stephen Guerra, Assistant Teaching Professor, Department of Music
163. Paul Cullen, Professor, Biological Sciences
164. Holly Buck, Assistant Professor, Environment and Sustainability
165. Sarah A. Robert, PhD, Associate Professor, Graduate School of Education
166. Gregory Delaney, Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Architecture
167. Ryan Rish, Associate Professor, Graduate School of Education
168. Bruce Acker, Assistant Director, Asia Research Institute
169. Courtney J. Burris, Clinical faculty, School of Management
170. LaGarrett King, Associate Professor, Learning and Instruction, GSE
171. Greg Simmons, Adjunct Instructor, Graduate School of Education
172. Annette Semanchin Jones, Associate Professor, School of Social Work
173. Susan Clark, Assistant Professor, Environment and Sustainability
174. William Sack, Assistant Teaching Professor, Department of Media Study
175. Danielle Rosvally, Assistant Professor, Department of Theatre and Dance
176. Alison Eisel Hendricks, Assistant Professor, Communicative Disorders and Sciences
177. Jessica Huber, Professor, Department of Communicative Disorders and Sciences
178. Cassandra L. Jacobs, Assistant Professor, Department of Linguistics
179. Andrés Buxó-Lugo, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology
180. Micheal Dent, Professor, Department of Psychology
181. Marisa Manheim, Assistant Professor, Environment and Sustainability
182. Emily Reisman, Assistant Professor, Department of Environment & Sustainability
183. Cari Casteel, Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of History
184. Ercan Sozen, MD, Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine
185. Federica Bulgarelli, Assistant Professor, Psychology; Learning and Instruction
186. Kirk Jalbert, Associate Professor, Department of Environment and Sustainability
187. Tevfik Kosar, Professor, Department of Computer Science and Engineering
188. Katheryne Leigh-Osroosh, Assistant Professor, Department of Counseling, School, and
Educational Psychology
189. Mary McVee, Professor, Department of Learning & Instruction
190. Maureen Boyd, Professor, Department of Learning and Instruction, GSE
191. Sarah Handley-Cousins, Assistant Teaching Professor, Department of History
192. Tangela Roberts, Assistant Professor, Department of Counseling, School, and Educational
Psychology
193. Corrie Stone-Johnson, Professor, Graduate School of Education
194. Margaret Sallee, Professor, Educational Leadership and Policy
195. Alexandra Zirkle, Assistant Professor, Department of Jewish Thought
196. Jinting Wu, Associate Professor, Department of Educational Leadership and Policy, Graduate
School of Education
197. Andreas Stavridis, Associate Professor, Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering
198. Zhen Wang, Assistant Professor, Biological Sciences
199. Adam Drury, Clinical Assistant Professor, English
200. Monica Washington, Coordinator of PhD Studies, Learning and Instruction
201. Judith Goldman, Associate Professor, Department of English
202. Gene Zubovich, Associate Professor, Department of History
203. Heidi Julien, Professor, Department of Information Science
204. Jason Corwin, Clinical Assistant Professor, Indigenous Studies
205. Ruth Meyerowitz, Associate Professor Emerita, Transantional Studies
206. David W. Jackson, Assistant Professor, Department of Learning and Instruction
207. AJ Kim, Distinguished Visiting Scholar, Department of Geography
208. Atri Rudra, Professor, Department of Computer Science and Engineering
209. Stephanie Vander Wel, Associate Professor, Department of Music and Department of Gender, Global, and Sexuality Studies
210. Raechele L. Pope, Professor Graduate School of Education, Department Educational Leadership and Policy
211. Arnaldo Rodriguez-Gonzalez, Adjunct Instructor, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
212. Joseph Hundley, Associate Professor, Department of Mathematics
213. Ryan St. Pierre, Assistant Professor, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
214. Kenneth Joseph, Associate Professor, Computer Science and Engineering
215. Xiufeng Liu, SUNY Distinguished Professor, Department of Learning & Instruction
216. Alfredo Olivero Amaya, Assistant Professor, Biological Sciences
217. Mishuana Goeman, Professor of Indigenous Studies
218. A. Erdem Sariyuce, Associate Professor, Department of Computer Science and Engineering
219. Mostafa Mohammed, Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Science and Engineering
220. Kristen Moore, Associate Professor, Department of Engineering Education
221. David R Castillo, Professor, RLL
222. Amy Baird, Associate Professor of Practice, Department of Engineering Education
223. Jill Martiniuk, Assistant Professor of Teaching, Department of Engineering Education
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Photo: Breadchastick / Wikimedia Commons
