The Davis-Putter Scholarship Fund strongly condemns the recent actions by university administrations at schools across the country such as Columbia University, UT Austin, UCLA, Cal Poly Humboldt, Northeastern University, and Washington University, St. Louis.
As an organization founded in 1961 in support of politically repressed student organizers, we are angered at the state, institutional, physical, emotional, and academic violence being leveraged at anti-war and anti-genocide student and faculty protestors by the very institutions that claim to be in support of diversity, curiosity, and most importantly free speech. We believe in the right to an academy free from entanglement and complicity in war profiteering.
We stand unequivocally in support of student demands for financial divestment and transparency, academic boycott, and to publicly denounce the ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people. We are proud of Davis-Putter grantees, past, present, and future, who are exercising their right to free speech on campuses across the US. Universities must join the chorus of those demanding government officials call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire.
The brutality inflicted upon student organizers by both state apparatus and academic institutions stands as a stark reminder of systemic oppression. From the batons wielded during civil rights movements to the tear gas clouds hovering over anti-war protests, the violence remains a haunting legacy. Today, our support transcends the confines of the classroom; it's a resounding call for systemic change and collective liberation for all, echoing refrain from lecture halls to the streets.
In the words of Davis-Putter grantee and political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal:
"Do not let go of this moment. Make it bigger. Make it more massive, make it more powerful. Make it echo up into the stars. “
Like Mumia, we are thrilled by your work. We love you. We admire you. And we are honored to support you as movement leaders.
