Committee on Academic Freedom | Middle East Studies Association
Letter to New York University concerning its decision to withhold the degree of graduating senior Logan Rozos and initiate disciplinary proceedings against him
Linda G. Mills
President, New York University
office.president@nyu.edu
Dear President Mills, Provost Dopico and Dean Rosner:
We write on behalf of the Middle East Studies Association of North America (MESA) and its Committee on Academic Freedom to express our grave concern about the decision of New York University to withhold the diploma of graduating senior Logan Rozos and subject him to disciplinary action because of remarks he made about Israel’s war on Gaza during the recent graduation ceremony of NYU’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study. Your administration’s action is an egregious violation of the right to free speech and of academic freedom, and it makes a mockery of NYU’s avowed commitment to foster an environment in which its students, faculty and staff can freely share their opinions on matters of public concern.
Founded in 1966, MESA promotes scholarship and teaching on the Middle East and North Africa. As the preeminent organization in the field, the Association publishes the prestigious International Journal of Middle East Studies and has nearly 2,800 members worldwide. Our organization is committed to ensuring academic freedom and freedom of expression both within the region and in connection with the study of the region in North America and outside of North America.
Logan Rozos was the designated student speaker at Gallatin’s graduation, held on 14 May 2025. Instead of delivering the remarks that NYU had pre-approved, he chose to say the following:
- I’ve been freaking out a lot about this speech, honestly, and as I search my heart today in addressing you, all my moral and political commitments guide me to say that the only thing that is appropriate to say in this time and to a group this large is a recognition of the atrocities currently happening in Palestine. I want to say that the genocide currently occurring is supported politically and militarily by the United States, is paid for by our tax dollars, and has been live streamed to our phones for the past 18 months. And that I do not wish to speak only to my own politics today, but speak for all people of conscience, all people who feel the moral injury of this atrocity. And I want to say that I condemn this genocide and complicity in this genocide.
According to media reports, the audience responded to Rozos’s remarks with enthusiastic applause and cheers. However, apparently at the insistence of President Mills, NYU promptly announced that Rozos’s degree would be withheld and disciplinary action would be initiated against him. A university spokesperson vehemently denounced Rozos’s action and alleged that he had “misuse[d] his role as student speaker to express his personal and one-sided political views.”
We note that it is in fact quite common for commencement speakers at colleges and universities in the United States to share their “personal political views” on issues of current concern, and we must wonder on what basis NYU has determined that Rozos’s views are “one-sided.” It would seem that NYU is unwilling to tolerate the expression of certain views when it comes to Gaza and the broader Israeli-Palestinian conflict. We must also point out that, unfortunately, NYU has in the past year and a half repeatedly acted in a repressive manner toward students and faculty who were expressing t heir opposition to Israel’s war on Gaza; see our past letters here, and here, here here. The university’s punishment of Rozos seems to be a continuation of this policy.
We call on NYU to immediately award Logan Rozos his degree, terminate disciplinary proceedings against him and apologize to him for the distress its actions have caused him. We further call on NYU to desist from the harsh stance it has taken toward members of the university community who have manifested opposition to the ongoing war on Gaza and the complicity in it of the United States government. Finally, we call on NYU to at long last actually respect and uphold the principles of academic freedom and freedom of speech that it claims to embrace.
We look forward to your response.
Sincerely,
Aslı Ü. Bâli
MESA President
Professor, Yale Law School
Laurie A. Brand
Chair, Committee on Academic Freedom
Professor Emerita, University of Southern California
Chair, Committee on Academic Freedom
Professor Emerita, University of Southern California
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