Letter to the Chair of Women’s Studies at Brooklyn College

The Advo­cate has drafted a let­ter that can be sent to the chair of the women’s studies program at Brook­lyn Col­lege in defense of Kristofer Petersen-Overton. Please take a moment and email Pro­fes­sor Namita Manohar, demand­ing that she sup­port Petersen-Overton and aca­d­e­mic free­dom at CUNY this com­ing week as Brook­lyn College’s var­i­ous depart­ments hold emer­gency meet­ings to decide how to proceed. Specifically, it is imper­a­tive that Petersen-Overton be hired to teach the course as orig­i­nally agreed. She can be con­tacted via email at [email protected].

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Dear Pro­fes­sor Manohar,

I am writ­ing to encour­age you to demon­strate lead­er­ship this com­ing week when the var­i­ous depart­ments of Brook­lyn Col­lege meet to dis­cuss the vio­la­tion of aca­d­e­mic free­dom being per­pe­trated by the admin­is­tra­tion in the case of Kristofer Petersen-Overton.

As you know, Mr. Petersen-Overton was dis­missed by Provost William Tra­mon­tano at the urg­ing of State Assem­bly­man Dov Hikind. As a num­ber of promi­nent aca­d­e­mics and pub­lic intel­lec­tu­als from around the world have noted, this brand of neo-McCarthyism has no place at Brook­lyn Col­lege and must not be tolerated.

I ask that you lead your depart­ment in stand­ing up to this polit­i­cal bul­ly­ing and help ensure that the integrity of the col­lege — built in no small mea­sure upon the foun­da­tions of the prin­ci­ple of aca­d­e­mic free­dom — remains intact. Specifically, it is imper­a­tive that Mr. Petersen-Overton be rein­stated to teach the course on Mid­dle East Pol­i­tics as orig­i­nally agreed.

I’ll be keep­ing informed of the events as they unfold at Brook­lyn Col­lege, and look for­ward to hear­ing about your efforts in sup­port of Kristofer Petersen-Overton and the rights of all fac­ulty in the CUNY system.

Yours,

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