Governor Kathy Hochul issued a letter to the presidents of colleges and universities across the State of New York saying calls for genocide made on college campuses are a violation of New York State Human Rights Law as well as Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This letter follows the Congressional Hearing on Antisemitism where several university presidents failed to clearly and unequivocally denounce antisemitism and calls for genocide on college campuses.
The Governor assured New York State will enforce violations of the State Human Rights Law and will refer violations of Title VI to federal officials. Calling for genocide would be considered a direct violation of the State University of New York and the City University of New York’s Code of Conduct, and Governor Hochul made clear that all colleges and universities in the state are expected to apply the same standard and to have a clearly defined and well-publicized mechanism for individuals to report complaints.
On December 8, Governor Hochul announced the letter at Shabbat Services at Temple Israel, the site of a gun incident and subsequent arrest earlier this week. The Governor also visited Temple Beth Emeth in Albany to share a message of solidarity and made clear that New York State has no tolerance for hate and violence on college campuses.
Following a surge in hate and bias incidents in the weeks following the October 7 Hamas terror attacks, Governor Hochul deployed all available New York State resources to protect New Yorkers in at-risk communities and on college campuses. The Governor also announced that Judge Jonathan Lippman will conduct an independent third-party review of the City University of New York’s policies and procedures related to antisemitism and discrimination, and produce recommendations for how all colleges can better protect the safety of their students.
The full text of Governor Hochul’s letter is below:
