I read Jonathan Tobin’s article regarding CUNY Law School’s graduation ceremony and the vitriolic speech given by Fatima Mousa Mohammed. Tobin’s solution to deal with this problem is very appropriate. Cut the funding.
There may be an issue in Tobin’s portrayal of what happened. He claims that the school reviewed the speech before it was delivered and approved its contents; however, the school claims that the speech was not read nor reviewed in advance.
As far as I am concerned, whether Tobin is correct or not, the school and administration are still culpable. Mohammed’s sentiments and ideologies were well-known throughout law school. She liberally shared her beliefs with faculty and students during her entire law-school career.
Despite her being voted by the students to give this speech, the school was, no doubt, put on notice of the possibility and probability that her speech would be full of hate and antisemitic remarks.
The bottom line is the same. CUNY is responsible for allowing Mohammed to deliver her ugly remarks, under their banner and umbrella and, accordingly, their city, state and federal funding needs to be appropriately cut.
