Rutgers Urged To Take 'Direct, Decisive' Action!

New Jersey State Senator Declan O’Scanlon, Assemblywoman Victoria Flynn and Assemblyman Gerry Scharfenberger (Monmouth – R’s) are demanding action from the Rutgers University administration pertaining to anti-Israel extremist agitators that remain on campus causing the postponement of final exams on the College Avenue campus “out of an abundance of caution:”:

“Within the last twenty-four hours, we engaged with officials at Rutgers University due to the lack of communication occurring with parents and students who are concerned about the current state of affairs at Rutgers. Students are reporting examples of antisemitism being expressed by anti-Israel extremist agitators in conjunction with protests on campus. Those reports are consistent with hateful messages being shared and seen on social media. We remain at a loss as to why protestors have been allowed to take control of campus common areas and create makeshift ‘protest villages’ without any repercussion during this critical time of the university’s schedule – exam week. In response to our questions to about contingency protocols, Rutgers assured us that student life would not be disrupted by these protests and that the protest is peaceful. We were also advised students would not be precluded in taking finals. Those assurances did not hold more than 24 hours.

"Just hours before exams this morning, the exam schedule for students who were scheduled to take exams on College Ave were cancelled, impacting 1,000 students. Why was this necessary if the protests are peaceful? Was it because the ‘call to action’ this morning by the ‘peaceful’ protest was to ‘F*ck Finals’ by joining in at the protest at College Ave to ‘shut it down’? The taxpayers of the State of New Jersey expect the safety and well-being of all students at our state university is paramount, alongside their academic success, regardless of their background or beliefs. Rutgers should have intervened long before today.

"While Rutgers’ President Halloway just issued a statement advising that they remain “committed to the student protestors,” it is time that they move along so that students may finish their school year in a safe learning environment. It is still a lukewarm response considering stories from we have heard from students who feel uncomfortable on campus. We also learned these ‘peaceful protesters’ are harassing media who are on site trying to cover this story. We demand Rutgers stand by the statement it just issued and prevent any further disruption to the academic schedule of students or interference with their civil rights. We also demand that the press be protected in fulfilling their role to report on the news from campus.

"We call upon Rutgers University leadership to take direct and decisive action to address the root causes of campus disruptions and ensure the protection of students. It is incumbent upon Rutgers University to uphold its commitment to ‘equity for all students’ and not just a select few.

"We will continue to closely monitor the situation at Rutgers University and advocate for the rights of all students to pursue their academic goals without fear or intimidation. We have been voicing our concerns all week what happened today would happen and just wish that decisive action was taken earlier before the lives of 1,000 students were upended.”