CMU investigating 8 students for messages painted on the Fence

Carnegie Mellon University is investigating eight students for their involvement with recent messages painted on the university’s Fence, according to the CMU student-run newspaper, The Tartan.

The university has also placed seven of the students on “interim partial campus access restriction,” the paper reported.

According to the article, the investigation was initiated by the university’s Office for Institutional Equity and Title IX, which the university’s website says is “dedicated to promoting equity” and coordinates “the University’s efforts to prevent and effectively respond to forms of discrimination, bias, and sexual misconduct …”

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Since the beginning of June, six anti-Zionist messages have been painted on the Fence, including screeds with language some found threatening.

A group labeling itself on the CMU Fence Instagram page — which is not affiliated with the university — as “Antifascist Action at CMU” included the phrase “by any means necessary,” in its message in early June. It wasn’t painted over, most likely because of its inclusion on the top of a fence post, and wasn’t brought to the administration’s attention until after the Fence had already been repainted in celebration of the New York Knicks’ NBA championship win.

In a separate incident later in the month, the phrase “death to Zionism,” was painted in Yiddish on the Fence by a group calling itself “A few Jewish students.” In a rare move, the message was painted over by the administration.

President Farnam Jahanian wrote in a June 30 message to the CMU community that a call for death violated a longstanding university policy “against such threats of violence, including threats based on an individual or a group’s affiliation or identity.”

He also pledged to remove similar threats in the future.

At the time of both messages, Jahanian wrote that the university was investigating the messages — the latter including local and federal law enforcement.

Following CMU’s actions, a group calling itself “Concerned Students” on the CMU Fence Instagram page has attempted to use anti-Zionism as a cudgel to argue against what it sees as censorship by the administration. Almost all the messages painted on the Fence since June 30 have included anti-Zionist rhetoric, as have several of the posts included on Instagram.

One message claimed the university was censoring Jewish voices but offered no proof that any of the students involved in the painting were Jewish.

While not confirming the investigation of the students, claims of censorship were pushed back on by the university, who through a spokesperson wrote to the Chronicle that “Carnegie Mellon must balance our longstanding commitment to free expression with our responsibility to uphold our community norms and standards and adhere to the law.”

The statement added that the university has an obligation under federal law to review “concerns about experiencing an unsafe or hostile environment” brought to it by members of protected groups.

CMU said it couldn’t comment on any active investigation or any individual student’s interim access restriction.

“The goal,” the university noted, “is always to safeguard the community while preserving, where possible, the opportunity for students to continue academic progress during an ongoing investigation.PJC

David Rullo can be reached at drullo@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org