(NewsWorthy.news) – Sonoma State University President Mike Lee has announced his abrupt retirement after the university placed him on administrative leave over an agreement he made with Pro-Palestine protesters.
Lee was placed on leave for “insubordination” after he sent out a campus-wide memo announcing that, following demands from the student activists, the university would include protesters in its decision making and work towards divestment from Israel. According to SSU Chancellor Mildred García, Lee had failed to obtain “appropriate approvals” before he sent the memo. Garcia investigated the matter with the SSU system’s board, which covers 23 campuses.
Lee made the agreement with the activist group Students for Justice in Palestine. The protesters had set up an encampment which they agreed to dismantle following Lee’s concessions, which included an announcement that the SSU would not partner with Israel’s universities. The disciplinary measures taken against Lee highlight the reluctance of the SSU and the linked University of California system to cut ties with weapons manufacturers and Israeli partners. The move would have been the first of its kind at a U.S. university had it gone ahead.
Lee’s sudden retirement comes shortly after President Joe Biden’s administration introduced new measures meant to curb antisemitic language and hate crime on campuses. Biden announced the measures despite facing mounting pressure from more progressive Democrats and student voters to do more to arrange a cease-fire and stop supporting alleged genocide in Gaza. The proposed bill raised concerns that First Amendment rights could be violated on campuses, and the Council on American-Islamic Relations branded the bill racist towards Palestinians.
The Anti-Defamation League praised the bill, however; ADL chief executive Jonathan Greenblatt claimed that there was no difference between antisemitism and anti-Zionism and that this was reflected in the behavior at recent campus protests. The ADL has recently increased its attempts to broaden the definition of antisemitism.
Following Lee’s announcement, the SSU encouraged students to focus on the upcoming graduation ceremony. Garcia said she would continue working with the Acting President Nathan Evans along with the Board of Trustees during the transitional period. She added that as a community they would create places and spaces to process Lee’s departure from the university.
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