Tulane University President Michael Fitts emailed a statement to the student body last Friday that attempted to address the tensions on campus about violence against Palestinians in the Middle East. In this statement, he advocated a position of “principled neutrality” for the university. Both Provost Robin Forman and Chief Operating Officer Patrick Norton signed the email, sending a strong message to the student body: we stand for nothing.  

Fitts writes that over the summer, Tulane has been listening to a “broad cross-section of Tulanians.” Who was the administration consulting? There is a reason they do not tell you. Because we, along with over 1,000 students, signed a letter telling them that Tulanians wanted amnesty for student protestors. When Forman met with signees of that letter, amnesty was refused. We told them we wanted the violence off our conscience and divestment. That was refused. We asked for an acknowledgment of the suffering of Palestinians. In his statement, Fitts does not even reference the word Palestine.  

“Free speech … must be protected and practiced,” said Fitts — but only with certain caveats. The statement described “time, manner, and place” restrictions upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court, but unlike public universities, Tulane does not defer to government policy about free speech. As a private institution, they do not have to. That is why Tulane students cannot seek redress in court if they feel that their speech was censored.  

Tulane writes and interprets its own freedom of expression philosophy. A policy that frankly does not uphold free expression. Tulane requires that all protests be registered in advance. The U.S. Supreme Court puts forth no such restriction. There is no sense in appealing to some sort of middle ground American ideology on freedom of speech when our rules are more restrictive than the First Amendment. 

If the administration will not change university policy, they should at least call their allegiances what they are. And they should not feign neutrality. There is no neutrality in Tulane contributing to the US-Israel Energy Center. True principled neutrality would withdraw affiliation from both Israel and Palestinian territories.  

This lack of neutrality, however, comes as no surprise. Suzanne and Stuart Grant gave the initial $100,000 donation that positioned Tulane to lead the fossil fuel consortium of the U.S.-Israel Energy Center projects. Tulane board member Michelle Diener is the wife of Bob Diener who sits on the board of AIPAC, Israel Bonds and Hasbara Fellowships.  

The university is not neutral. Not in its partnerships, not in its conduct applications nor in their investments. They cannot claim to be neutral when they call NOPD on mounted horses and Louisiana State Police in riot gear to brutalize students who stand against their board’s stakes. You cannot be neutral when you have blood on your hands.  

Editor’s note: a previous version of this letter, published in print, contains different language referring to violence in the Middle East. In line with further information received after publication concerning the intent of the writers, this article has been updated.