Connect with us

Pennsylvania

Penn student says his “heart dropped” after Magill’s comments on antisemitism to Congress

Published

on

Penn student says his “heart dropped” after Magill’s comments on antisemitism to Congress


PHILADELPHIA (CBS/CNN) — The effects of Congressional testimony by University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill on campus antisemitism are still reverberating, with mounting calls for her to step down.

Those calls have come with protests on campus, strong words from Gov. Josh Shapiro and the Wharton Board of Advisors, and threats from donors to withdraw or stop contributing millions of dollars in donations.

Magill, Harvard University President Claudine Gay and MIT President Sally Kornbluth testified before a House committee Tuesday about campus antisemitism.

When New York Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik asked Magill whether calling for the genocide of Jews would violate Penn’s code of conduct, Magill answered “It is a context-dependent decision.”

Advertisement

It sparked new calls for her resignation, including from Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro. However despite its name, the University of Pennsylvania is a private school, not a state-funded school.

In a short video released Wednesday night, Magill said the university would immediately review and clarify its policies on hate speech.

“I was not focused on – but I should have been – the irrefutable fact that a call for genocide of Jewish people is a call for some of the most terrible violence human beings can perpetrate. It’s evil. Plain, and simple,” Magill said in a video posted on X. “I want to be clear: A call for genocide of Jewish people … would be harassment or intimidation.”

Magill noted antisemitic speech is designed to threaten and terrify Jews and remind them of the Holocaust, pogroms and other recent acts of violence against them.

“As president, I’m committed to a safe, secure and supportive environment so all members of our community can thrive,” Magill added. “We can – and we will – get this right.”

Advertisement

But so far, few of her critics believe she has gotten it right, and calls for her ouster have only gotten louder.

RELATEDPenn students react to President Liz Magill’s comments on campus antisemitism

Magill appears to be the university president most imminently at risk of losing her job, because Penn’s campus has been roiled by controversies about the conflicts in the Middle East for longer than other schools – and Magill’s multiple unsuccessful attempts to satisfy critics have resulted in an uproar from donors and tumult on the school’s board.

The University of Pennsylvania Board of Trustees met Thursday to consider her status. But a university spokesperson told CNN on the record that “there is no board plan for imminent leadership change.”

The Daily Pennsylvanian, Penn’s student-run newspaper, reported that another Board meeting is scheduled Sunday.

Advertisement

Penn students react

All of this is happening as students wrap up a turbulent end to the semester. As the fallout continues, some Penn students were disappointed or even disgusted with Magill’s testimony and many joined calls for her resignation.

Freshman Dwight Koyner chose Penn for community, but as he studies for finals, that community is under attack.

“I think as a freshman it’s tough. You don’t have a baseline for what you should expect, so coming in to college, being an adult all of a sudden, you’re basically being attacked. People don’t like you. It’s hard to understand. It’s new and it’s scary,” Koyner said.

Abraham Franchetti, a sophomore, said his “heart dropped” after hearing Magill’s testimony on Tuesday.

“I could not believe what I was hearing from Liz Magill and refusing to say that Jewish genocide constitutes harassment,” he said. “It’s been very difficult to be a Jewish student and seeing peers and university leaders turning their backs on us.”

Advertisement

Friday, a group of House Democrats sent a letter to Penn’s Board of Trustees, asking for more information about antisemitism on campus. Magill’s office did not respond to requests for comment to CBS News Philadelphia as of Friday night.

For Koyner and others, they think it’s time for a change of leadership and a shared understanding of humanity on campus.

“I would like if she would resign,” Koyner said.

“What really needs to be achieved on this campus is a sense of humanity and empathy on both sides,” freshman Leah Weinberger said.

An ongoing crisis at Penn

In September, weeks before the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel, the University of Pennsylvania allowed speakers that Penn’s administration acknowledged had a history of making antisemitic remarks to participate in the “Palestine Writes Literature Festival” on campus.

Advertisement

In response to the criticism of the university’s decision to allow the controversial speakers, Magill and other top university administrators issued a statement that tried to satisfy both sides of the controversy but ended up angering both supporters of Israel and Palestinians.

“We unequivocally – and emphatically – condemn antisemitism as antithetical to our institutional values,” said the statement. But it added that “as a university, we also fiercely support the free exchange of ideas as central to our educational mission. This includes the expression of views that are controversial and even those that are incompatible with our institutional values.”

In response, 36 members of faculty at the school, before the festival was held, signed a letter criticizing that statement and Magill.

“It is equally important for us as educators to declare our support for Palestinian artists and writers, making it clear that we condemn antisemitism as well as Islamophobia and the oppression of Palestinians,” said the letter. “We ask that as leaders of the Penn community, you immediately amend your statement so that it is clearly in support of a diversity of views and diversity of religious, racial, and cultural communities on campus.”

Numerous donors also approached Magill and the school about the festival and Penn’s tepid response. Weeks later, when Hamas attacked Israel and killed at least 1,200 people, that simmering resentment turned into a boil of anger.

Advertisement

After some high-profile and deep-pocketed donors announced they would end their support of the school if she remained, Magill soon after issued another statement that attempted to bring the sides together, but that did little to quiet the criticism.

“I categorically condemn hateful speech that denigrates others as contrary to our values,” Magill said. “In this tragic moment, we must respect the pain of our classmates and colleagues and recognize that our speech and actions have the power to both harm and heal our community. We must choose healing, resisting those who would divide us and instead respect and care for one another.”



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading
Advertisement
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Pennsylvania

Criminal charges for climate pollution? Some argue a Pa. law would apply

Published

on

Criminal charges for climate pollution? Some argue a Pa. law would apply


While Braman agrees it would be difficult to take on as a prosecutor, he said that could change as more young people move into positions of influence.

“As the catastrophes escalate and as young people who face their entire future in an environment dominated by increasing climate harms, [and] start to join the jury pool, start to become prosecutors, start to become judges and start to become shareholders, I think that the writing’s on the wall,” Braman said, “and I hope that everybody, including everyone inside fossil fuel companies, starts to pay attention to that.”

But Weber said prosecutors would still have to convince a judge or jury to convict beyond a reasonable doubt.

Fossil fuel companies have permits to conduct their business, essentially government permission to do what they are doing, another way for the company to defend itself in court.

Advertisement

If the companies are charged and convicted of risking or causing a catastrophe, the fines are in the range of $15,000 to $25,000 per count, Weber said.

“Is that going to deter a multimillion dollar company? Is that going to interfere with the operation of their business and the money that they’re making? I don’t think so,” Weber said. “I mean, did Energy Transfer go out of business by that criminal prosecution?”

“Maybe you put the CEO in jail,” Weber said. “And do you think that the other fossil fuel companies are going to say, ‘That guy went to jail, so we shouldn’t do what we’re doing anymore’? No, they’re going to do what drug dealers do. Drug dealers say, ‘Well, that guy got caught for drug dealing because he’s stupid. We’re not stupid.’”

 ‘Win by losing’

Environmental attorney Rich Raiders said there are a lot of questions with the strategy, but says the article does serve an important purpose.

“The idea behind these articles isn’t necessarily to come to an answer, but to get people to start thinking about how to address a question. And in that respect, it does that and it does it well,” Raiders said.

Advertisement

Raiders represented homeowners who sued Energy Transfer over the Mariner East pipeline construction. He said a case like this would be a battle of the experts, but there are fundamental questions the article does not address about whether the charges would stick.

“What do you have to show responsible for climate change to meet the definition of a catastrophe?” Raiders said. “What is that level of threshold that you have to show before you can write a complaint that actually can survive objections? And how do you prove that it was the fossil fuel emissions caused by the marketing aspects of these companies to get you far enough that you can meet this definition? We don’t know.”

Raiders said the goal of this type of prosecution could be to get a large settlement, similar to what happened with the tobacco companies settlement or a previously proposed Sackler family settlement over opioids.

In that case, it makes sense to bring a case where you “win by losing.”

“And maybe that’s what a case like this does. It’s not necessarily to win the case, but it’s to move the needle,” Raiders said.

Advertisement

For example, he said it could get the legislature to take action. But it also requires someone willing to lose.

“I think this is an interesting discussion in the long term for how to get people to think about the problem,” Raiders said. “And as a thought piece it does have some merit. But will you see something like that filed in the next 12 months? No, not anytime soon.”

Braman, one of the co-authors of the piece, is more optimistic.

“We desperately need some kind of solution that will allow the public to hold these massive corporate criminal actors accountable and have them really address the harms that they’re generating,” he said.

Advertisement



Source link

Continue Reading

Pennsylvania

Cash reward offered for information leading to Pennsylvania cold case homicide resolution

Published

on

Cash reward offered for information leading to Pennsylvania cold case homicide resolution


LEBANON COUNTY, Pa. (WHTM) — A cash reward is being offered for anyone who has information surrounding a 2021 cold case homicide in Lebanon County.

The $2,000 reward is for anyone who has information that can solve the case of the death of 35-year-old Zachary Lauderman, according to State Police.

Lauderman was found dead with two gunshot wounds to his head in his home, located along Ulsh lane in Bethel Township Sept. 10 just before 3 p.m., according to Troopers.

Anyone who knows something is asked to contact PSP Tips at 1-800-4PA-TIPS (8477), or they can go online to submit a tip by clicking here.

Advertisement



Source link

Continue Reading

Pennsylvania

Philadelphia Auto Show begins this weekend at the Pennsylvania Convention Center

Published

on

Philadelphia Auto Show begins this weekend at the Pennsylvania Convention Center


PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — The Philadelphia Auto Show is about to get underway at the Pennsylvania Convention Center.

It kicks off this weekend, but on Thursday Mayor Cherelle Parker and auto show executives gave us a preview of all the fun.

Organizers say this will be one of the largest shows in its 123-year history.

Car enthusiasts will get a chance to see the latest lineup from manufacturers around the globe.

Advertisement

“With more manufacturers, the longest track, Camp Jeep back on display… there truly is something for everyone,” said Jeff Glanzmann of Glanzmann Subaru.

That also includes classic cars and Hollywood rides from favorite films and shows, all of which will be showcased on the 600,000 square foot exhibit floor.

The Auto Show opens to the public on Saturday and runs until Jan. 20.

6abc is a proud sponsor.

Don’t miss our Philadelphia Auto Show special, which airs Saturday at 7 p.m.

Advertisement

For tickets and more information, visit this page on 6abc.com.

Copyright © 2025 WPVI-TV. All Rights Reserved.



Source link

Continue Reading

Trending