CUNY Law School Faces Venue Struggles for 2024 Graduation After Eruption in Student Anti-Semitism

Edited by: TJVNews.com

The City University of New York (CUNY) Law School is grappling with venue challenges for its 2024 graduation ceremony following controversies stemming from the previous year’s event. According to information provided in a recently published report in the New York Post, plans to host the ceremony at Hunter College have fallen through due to undisclosed concerns, leading CUNY Law to explore alternative options, including potentially renting private event space at a significantly higher cost.

CUNY Law Dean Sudha Setty revealed the difficulties faced with Hunter College during a meeting with faculty members, citing a “complicated set of concerns” without providing specific details. As was reported by the Post, the objections from Hunter College have left CUNY Law considering private event spaces, which, according to Setty, could be three times more expensive. While exploring alternatives, Setty acknowledged the challenges of finding a suitable venue in a public setting.

CUNY Law’s graduation is planned for May 23, with roughly 160 students in this year’s graduating class, the Post reported,

The current venue struggles appear to be a fallout from the controversial 2023 graduation ceremony. The Post report noted that during that event, speaker Fatima Mousa Mohammed criticized CUNY Law for its collaboration with the New York Police Department (NYPD) and accused the institution of training and cooperating with the “fascist NYPD” and the military. She further condemned the school for allegedly training Israeli soldiers to carry out violence globally, making false claims about Israel’s actions.

The Palestinian activist falsely condemned Israel for “murdering the old, the young, attacking even funerals and graveyards as it encourages lynch mobs to target Palestinian homes and businesses,” the report in the Post said.

The speaker’s remarks, deemed as “hate speech,” led to condemnations from both New York City Mayor Adams and CUNY’s Board of Trustees, as per the report in the Post.  In response, CUNY Law announced the suspension of student speakers from future ceremonies.

The difficulties in securing a graduation venue suggest that CUNY Law is still grappling with blowback from the previous year’s controversial ceremony. The report in the Post said that the fallout extended beyond the campus, with protests in support of Hamas’ October 7th terrorist attacks in Israel which left 1200 people dead, prompting New York Governor Kathy Hochul to order an anti-Semitism review on campus.

Post-attack surveys revealed disturbing sentiments, with 57% of American Muslims justifying the terrorist attacks, and a subsequent poll found a majority of Americans aged 18-24 believing that Israel should “be ended and given to Hamas,” the Post reported.