this week my alma mater, bard college, decided that it would not renew the contract of one of my mentors, professor joel kovel. this is undoubtedly a result of the college's unfortunate allegiance with the state of israel and joel's outspoken, principled critique of zionism and the escalating oppression of palestinians in the occupied territories. read his statement about the situation here.
the following is a letter of protest that i wrote to the president and vice president of bard:
Dear Leon and Dmitri,
As a Bard alum, I am writing to express my shock and disapproval of the college's recent decision to terminate one it's finest professors, Joel Kovel. Not only did I learn a great deal from Joel's classes, I considered him a mentor and a friend. He was an amazing resource for his students and was extremely supportive of those of us committed to political organizing on and off campus.
It is outrageous to me that Professor Kovel never received tenure during his 20 plus years teaching at Bard. Your decision to not renew his contract is an insult to those of us that gained so much from him. Furthmore, this unfortunate action undermines the values of academic freedom that the college was founded on and that both of you have claimed a committment to during your time there.
As similar letters pour in from around the world in support of Professor Kovel it should become uncomfortably clear what an egregious mistake you have made. I urge you to reinstate him immediately or to at least issue a public apology.
Sincerely,
Matt Dineen, Class of 2003
2 comments:
Thanks for posting this. I too have great respect and admiration for Joel and am saddened to hear of his departure from Bard, and the circumstances surrounding it....
Best,
Sarah Schendel
Bard '03
thank you sarah! there is some talk of organizing an alumni petition about this. i'll keep you posted...
take care,
matt
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