Cease-Fire Now
Preview:
I have been a college president for more than 20 years, and during that time I have occasionally spoken out about world events that intersect with a commitment to education. When Boko Haram terrorists kidnapped hundreds of school girls in Nigeria, I wrote about the ways in which education threatens authoritarian movements. A few years later, I wrote about threats to academic freedom, notably the Hungarian government’s campaign to expel the Central European University. And I have commented on terrorism both here in the United States and around the world. On Oct. 7, 2023, I wrote about the “sickening violence” of the Hamas attacks on Israelis, and since then I have worked with all constituencies on my campus to try to come to grips with the ensuing war in the Middle East. Faculty and staff, students and alumni, have rightly expressed horror and anger as the civilian death toll in Gaza has increased. Israeli bombardments and continued battling by Hamas from inside hospitals, schools and tunnels are decimating the entire infrastructure for creating basic living conditions. It is a catastrophe.
Originally published: March 25, 2024
Author: Michael S. Roth
Position: President
Institution: Wesleyan University
Published by: Inside Higher Ed