Rutgers president takes heat in Congress over handling of Gaza encampments

By Sophie Nieto-Munoz

Three weeks after protestors at Rutgers University in North Brunswick peacefully dismantled their short-lived Gaza solidarity encampment, the university’s president faced intense questioning from Republicans in Washington, D.C., demanding to know why college officials aren’t doing more to combat antisemitism. 

Rutgers President Jonathan Holloway on Thursday again defended the university’s decision to end the protest by negotiating with protestors rather than sending police to break up the encampments. Holloway stressed to lawmakers the importance of building trust with students and promoting curiosity and education. 

“We made a choice. That choice was to engage our students through dialogue as our first option instead of police actions,” he said. “We saw what transpired on other universities and sought a different way.” 

Holloway’s testimony in front of the Republican-led House Committee on Education and the Workforce — where he was joined by Northwestern University President Michael Schill and University of California at Los Angeles Chancellor Gene Block — came as GOP lawmakers continue to grill university presidents over the Gaza encampments that have become flashpoints for growing unease with the war in Gaza.

It was the third time lawmakers have invited university leaders to testify on the Hill about the campus protests. And it was the second time this month Holloway has taken the hot seat to face questioning from lawmakers. Members of the Legislature’s budget committees interrogated him about the encampments on May 9.

The university leaders on Thursday said they agree that attacks on Jewish people are increasing on college campuses and across the country, but they disputed that their colleges are hotbeds for antisemitism. Holloway said every instance of discrimination on campus is investigated and involves law enforcement, from campus police to the FBI when necessary.

Rep. Virginia Foxx, a Republican from North Carolina and chairwoman of the committee, scolded the college officials for their agreements with protestors and for not taking enough disciplinary action against faculty and students involved. Four Rutgers have been suspended, and 19 others are under investigation, Holloway said.

“Each of you should be ashamed of your decisions that allowed antisemitic encampments to endanger Jewish students,” Foxx said. “Mr. Schill and Dr. Holloway, you should be double ashamed for capitulating to the antisemitic rule breakers.”

University leaders, including Holloway, have expressed concerns over balancing students’ free speech rights and public safety. Holloway said when he learned via an Instagram post that student protestors planned a 7 a.m. protest to disrupt finals — which he called a “wild violation” of the agreement they made earlier that week to keep the encampment quiet — he decided to order the encampment to disperse.

Some schools responded to their protests by calling in police to break them up. Holloway stressed the importance of building trust with students.

Rutgers officials gave in to some of the protestors’ 10 demands in exchange for them dismantling their encampment, like accepting 10 displaced Palestinian students to finish their education, creating an Arab cultural center, and reviewing the school’s relationship with Birzeit University in the West Bank.

Much of Thursday’s questioning of Holloway came from Rep. Donald Norcross (D-01), New Jersey’s only representative on the panel. He and Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-05) have criticized Holloway for not doing enough to ensure Jewish students feel safe on campus, and for leaving Jewish students out of negotiations with the protestors.

“There are rules in all types of protests on college campuses, no matter what the reason is. I’ve participated in protests over my lifetime, and when I crossed the line, I paid the consequences. So what I want to dig into today is what are those lines, when were they crossed, and how you reacted,” Norcross said.

Over the summer, Rutgers will partner with the Anti-Defamation League to implement new training for students and staff and address concerns from a Jewish faculty and staff group that asked the university in December to share information on antisemitism on campus and beef up security around Jewish organizations on campus. Holloway said those requests are “being acted on post haste.”

Holloway also took heat from Republicans who targeted the Center for Security, Race, and Rights, which is based out of Rutgers’ Newark campus. The center has hosted controversial figures, including a speaker who was convicted on federal charges for conspiring to provide material to terrorist organizations and was invited to speak on the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

Holloway said he often doesn’t agree with the center and thinks some of their ideas are “wildly offensive.” But on a campus of 100,000 faculty and students, there are events he’s not always aware of, he admitted. He said he has no plans to close the center.

“If you’re not willing to close and defund this cesspool of hate, the state of New Jersey should,” Foxx said.

This article originally appeared in the New Jersey Monitor on May 24th, 2024.

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Tennessee rep calls Memphis preemption bill worse than “overreach”

By Sam Stockard

Governor signs measure turning back city ordinance despite speaking with mother of slain motorist

A Memphis state representative is calling a preemption bill signed into law by the governor more than a case of “overreach” as it turns back efforts to stop “pretextual” traffic stops such as those that led to the 2023 death of motorist Tyre Nichols.

“The majority once again is more concerned with being patriarchal and telling us poor folks in Memphis and Shelby County how to live and taking the authority that’s been vested by the voters and really making it moot,” Democratic state Rep. G.A. Hardaway said Monday. 

The Republican-controlled General Assembly passed legislation this year prohibiting a Memphis City Council ban on “pretextual” stops, including those for a bad tail light. Only stops for “primary” offenses were to be allowed.

The Legislature’s move came after Nichols’ parents, RowVaughn and Rodney Wells, worked with Memphis officials to end stereotyping that can turn into violent incidents. 

Nichols died in January 2023 after being pulled over for reckless driving, then was beaten by police officers. The death led to local requests for a federal investigation of Memphis police policies. 

The majority once again is more concerned with being patriarchal and telling us poor folks in Memphis and Shelby County how to live and taking the authority that’s been vested by the voters and really making it moot.

– Rep. G.A. Hardaway, D-Memphis

Gov. Bill Lee said last week he spoke with Mrs. Wells during this year’s session as she lobbied against the bill. He noted he appreciated her ability to express her views passionately without being disrespectful and even found her approach “inspirational.”

Yet he signed the bill she opposed anyway, pointing out he disagreed with her views on the legislation.

Five police officers were charged in connection with Nichols’ death, and one pleaded guilty in November 2023 to federal and state charges.

A U.S. Department of Justice investigation into Memphis Police practices continues, according to Hardaway, who sought the federal probe of police policy after helping lead a local group that put together police statistics.

The Wells family could not be reached for comment on the governor’s decision to sign the bill into law. But during the 2023 session, Mrs. Wells said she felt police were “harassing the Black citizens of Memphis.” Her husband contended police are “discriminating” against people of color, and, as a result, “too many parents are going through what we’re going through — senselessly.”

The legislation reversing Memphis’ traffic stop ordinance was sponsored by Republican Sen. Brent Taylor of Memphis and Republican Rep. John Gillespie of Memphis.

 Rep. John Gillespie called for a vote on a measure limiting local officials’ ability to monitor police traffic stops. (Photo: John Partipilo)

Gillespie also spoke with the Wells family during this year’s session but moved ahead with his bill when they weren’t present and said those who oppose state traffic laws should change them instead of “enacting local ordinances that are in conflict with state law.” Gillespie came under criticism for bringing the bill up for a House vote several days after the Wells family visited the State Capitol to lobby against the measure.

Taylor also was adamantly opposed to the Memphis ordinance and backed several law-and-order measures in hopes of curbing crime in urban Shelby County.

Hardaway argues that most Shelby County residents supported the local ordinance and added he is “suspicious” that the bill’s passage had more to do with political contributions than good law enforcement policy.

He was unaware the governor had spoken with the Wells family but said, “They’re very gracious in the way they accommodate individuals who think like they think and those who don’t. They know that there’s a certain level of sensitivity that some people are gonna express but it won’t be followed up by any real serious work to prevent the circumstances that caused Tyre Nichols’ death.”

Local research presented to the U.S. Department of Justice verified there was enough evidence to show patterns of discriminatory police work, Hardaway said. He was uncertain when the federal report would be finished.

This article originally appeared in the Tennessee Lookout on May 24th, 2024.

  

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Memorial Day Weekend Could See Mass Evictions - Oklahoma County Has 387 Cases on Thursday’s Docket

By Heather Warlick

Memorial Day weekend could see more people than usual packing up their homes in a hurry after being evicted. Thursday, Judge Trent Pipes will handle more than 380 eviction cases in small claims court, more than double the usual number of cases heard in a single day.

Oklahoma County Court Clerk Rick Warren said the holiday weekend is to blame for the overload.

Normally, Warren said, eviction court dockets contain no more than 180 cases. Thursday’s docket contains 387; Wednesday’s docket has 222. Pipes consented to the extra caseload. 

If all 387 defendants on Thursday’s docket attend their hearings, which usually take place during a two-hour time period, the judge will have less than 19 seconds per case to ascertain the facts and render decisions. That’s without any pauses between cases. 

However, a whopping 78% of Oklahoma evictions that resulted in judgments against tenants in 2023 were due to tenants not appearing to defend themselves at their hearings, said Amy Coldren, CEO at Shelterwell. Since 48% of cases result in judgments, that means 35% of all eviction cases resulted in losses by default. 

For those who do show up, Legal Aid Services Oklahoma will have its entire team of housing attorneys offering free representation for tenants. Some may not know to seek out Legal Aid Services, Executive Director Michael Figgins said. 

“For those who do know to seek Legal Aid, the docket size will put efficiency as the paramount goal and increase pressure to hurry and afford little time to get facts and prepare,” Figgins said. 

Factors other than the holiday weekend contribute to what eviction attorney Robert Goldman called a perfect storm for Thursday’s docket. 

Eviction cases are often filed after that month’s rent is late, resulting in more late-month hearings. 

Eviction hearings must take place at least five days after a summons is issued, but no more than 10 days after. That requirement can force a lot of cases onto a docket. Since Oklahoma County District Court holds eviction proceedings Mondays through Thursdays, with Fridays dark, a missed day on Monday means cases have to be crunched into the former week.

Attorney Richard Klinge said that because many people don’t show up for hearings and, oftentimes, agreements or settlements are made outside the courtroom, the remaining parties who wish to go before the judge will all have their chance. 

Klinge is the director of the Pro-Bono Housing Eviction Legal Assistance Program at the Oklahoma City University School of Law. “We have tremendous judges in Oklahoma County, and in six years, I have never been denied the right to a full hearing,” Klinge said. “Do I wish the dockets were not that big? Sure, but the Legislature’s got to address that.”. 

Statutory details like these can lead to massive overloads once or twice a year, said Legal Services Oklahoma attorney Justin Neal.

“I don’t think any of this is fair, but the law isn’t about being fair,” Neal said. “The law is about enforcing statutes.”

Neal said he doesn’t know how any person can be reasonably expected to look at all of the necessities of a proper eviction filing and confirm that everything is correct in such a short time. 

A similarly overloaded docket hit the courthouse about a year ago, Neal said. Legal Aid Services managed to help everyone who sought it, but it was still a crazy day.

Goldman said he has seen days like this, usually about once or twice a year. He’s been in Oklahoma courthouses since the mid-1970s. 

He said it would be like any other day, only faster-paced, and that Pipes will be able to accurately determine within the parameters of the law the facts of each case and return a judgment or other decision.

Goldman will bring a second lawyer or assistant to court on Thursday to help handle his caseload. 

On Thursday, Tulsa County District Court has only 91 cases on the docket, split into four time slots. May 28, the day after the holiday, has 139.

Kilinge and Warren both said extending the time limit for eviction hearings would help prevent overscheduled dockets.

“This will probably be the biggest docket of the year,” Figgins said. “If this does not sound fair it is because it is not fair.” 

This article originally appeared in Oklahoma Watch on May 24th, 2024.

  

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