Dear President Mills,

We, the undersigned faculty and staff of the NYU Game Center, Tisch School of the Arts, call upon you and upon all NYU leadership to protect access to education, healthcare, and freedom of expression for all of our students, regardless of those students’ immigration status, gender identity or the political stances they take through legitimate political expression.

We were extremely dismayed this week to read a report from the American Association of University Professors with extensive evidence showing that you and your office may have distorted student disciplinary proceedings and made decisions about campus protests in conjunction with Elizabeth Rand and her organization, “MACA.” Providing special access to a parent donor would be an egregious misstep on its own, but Rand is also the founder of a group that regularly harasses NYU faculty and has called for the deportation of international students who engage in political protest.

The extraordinary level of access you’ve reportedly provided to one parent is especially disturbing, considering your lack of communication on campus protests and student discipline with student activists or with concerned members of faculty (such as NYU’s AAUP chapter). This level of access is also completely inappropriate if, as suggested by Ms. Rand herself, parents who make donations can expect immediate access to the highest echelons of NYU leadership about sensitive decisions that require a fair and rigorous approach.

The record of communications between your office and Ms. Rand not only creates the appearance that the process and outcome of University disciplinary proceedings are potentially for sale, but raises the question of whether students who engage with a divisive political issue, such as advocacy for the Palestinian people, can expect unbiased treatment at NYU. As NYU faculty, we certainly hope that neither is the case and that you will correct this matter by communicating with affected faculty and students and ceasing inappropriate communication with donors who seek political influence over NYU policy and procedures.

We urge you not to give in to one-sided attempts at intimidation, and to prioritize the well-being, safety and education of all students without bias. NYU’s mission to be a top-quality international center of scholarship, teaching and research requires that our community be enriched by the diversity of our students, staff and faculty and open to a wide range of perspectives. To realize this mission, we must not allow our decisions to be dragged down by scare tactics driven by prejudice against parts of our community, rash decisions based on scant evidence, or an anticipatory fear of what could happen if we don’t comply with the dictates of a capricious federal regime. Those who oppose the idea of the academy as a diverse, international bastion of free expression will only use the capitulation of leadership as evidence that they can capture and conquer higher education, and blackmail all of us into subservience.

We furthermore urge you not to comply prematurely with orders from the executive branch of the federal government—orders which could soon be rendered ineffectual or blocked by courts for any number of reasons ranging from unconstitutional overreach to ambiguously broad wording. The current federal administration seeks to overwhelm institutions with fear, doubt, and fiscal threats. More than ever, we must demonstrate true leadership as educators and administrators; we must protect NYU students, especially those who may be illegitimately threatened with deportation for the legitimate exercise of their right to political expression, and students who may be denied life-saving healthcare by executive orders that target them.

We ask that NYU take the same approach to immigration enforcement as the New York City Department of Education does in public schools: do not allow access to students or university buildings, instead referring such inquiries to NYU’s legal counsel. We ask that NYU Student Health Services, with your support, continues to provide gender-affirming care to every student who needs it. We insist that NYU leadership restore open and transparent communication with students and faculty about disciplinary proceedings related to recent protests to fully restore the right of students, faculty and staff to peaceful political expression.

It is critical now more than ever, in these uncertain and destabilizing times, to ensure that all of our students are protected and supported—particularly our students whose identities have been caught in the crosshairs of current political discourse, such as our large body of international students, or our community of trans and non-binary students, whose ongoing right to healthcare has been threatened. As educators, we work daily to ensure that our students are provided with an education that empowers them to be their whole selves: putting into work the values that NYU purports to uphold around kindness, empathy, and building a community of intellectual and creative expression.

We call on NYU leadership to stand against outside influences that threaten the support and care we show to our students and our community.

Yours sincerely,

The undersigned faculty and staff of the NYU Game Center, Tisch School of the Arts.

FULL-TIME FACULTY
Naomi Clark, Associate Arts Professor and Chair
Ramiro Corbetta, Assistant Arts Professor
Clara Fernandez-Vara, Associate Arts Professor
Mitu Khandaker, Associate Arts Professor
Basil Lim, Assistant Arts Professor
Matt Parker, Associate Arts Professor
Shawn Pierre, Assistant Arts Professor
Karina Popp, Visiting Assistant Arts Professor
Charles J. Pratt, Associate Arts Professor
Winnie Song, Assistant Arts Professor
Lawra Suits Clark, Visiting Assistant Arts Professor
Patrick Trinh, Assistant Arts Professor
Eric Zimmerman, Arts Professor

ADMINISTRATION
Logan Clare, Technical Operations Administrator
Karl Hohn, Production Technician
John Hwang, Administrative Aide II
Jason Leahey, Student Services Administrator
Jake Weidner, CoE Administrator & Industry Liaison
Ayanna Wilson, Administrative Director

ADJUNCT FACULTY
Blake Andrews, Adjunct Instructor
Yasmine Bhatniji, Adjunct Instructor
Sharang Biswas, Adjunct Professor
Josh DeBonis, Adjunct Instructor
Flan Falacci, Adjunct Instructor
Jesse Fuchs, Adjunct Instructor
Diego Garcia, Adjunct Instructor
Danny Hawk, Adjunct Instructor
Geneva Heyward, Adjunct Instructor
Oliver Hong, Adjunct Professor
Nyusha Iampolski, Adjunct Professor
Alexander King, Adjunct Professor
Reef Liew, Adjunct Instructor
Chris Makris, Adjunct Instructor
Beau McGhee, Adjunct Professor
Jeff Petriello, Adjunct Professor
Jude Pinto, Adjunct Professor
Laura M Reyes Arias, Adjunct Professor
Ember Rose, Adjunct Instructor
Joey Schutz, Adjunct Professor
Tori Smith, Adjunct Professor
Sam Sorensen, Adjunct Instructor
Burgess Voshell, Adjunct Instructor
Chris Wallace, Adjunct Instructor
Matthew Weise, Adjunct Instructor
Chris Williams, Adjunct Instructor

 

For further reading and reference to the language in this letter, please see the following article from The Intercept: https://theintercept.com/2025/01/31/nyu-gaza-protesters-deport-maca-antisemitism/