NYU anti-Israel protesters are disciplined, made to finish ethics assignments to improve ‘moral reasoning’
NYU required students to answer questions like ‘What have you done or need still to do to make things right?' and '[W]ho was affected by the incident [?]’
‘The point of these essays is to reflect upon how a student’s way of expressing their values might be having an impact on other members of the NYU community,’ said a spokesman for the school.
New York University instituted mandatory ethics assignments for students involved in recent anti-Israel protests on campus who went against school regulations, warning them they could be blocked from the campus if they refused.
One of the assignments is a “Reflection Paper” that asks students to examine the consequences of their actions and what they need to do to make amends.
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The paper’s prompts reportedly include: “What have you done or need still to do to make things right?” and “who was affected by the incident [?]”
Offending students also must complete an assignment called the “Ethos Integrity Series,” which asks students to complete modules with titles such as “Ethical Decision-Making” and “Values in Action.”
The document for the Ethos Integrity Series states that it will help students “[m]ake gains in moral reasoning,” “understand how you made the decision that resulted in the sanctioned act,” “understand how your actions, in general, affect the campus community,” and “demonstrate the ethical decision-making process.”
The NYU chapter of Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine (FSJP) condemned the mandatory assignments, saying: “You know that it’s a serious assignment created by serious people when one of the cited ethical examples is Lisa Simpson cheating on a test,” referencing one of the assignments in the Ethos Integrity Series.
One NYU faculty member who is also a member of the school’s FSJP said that NYU “didn’t think that calling the police on them really served to actually discipline them on a moral and ethical level, so this is how they are responding.”
Another faculty member also criticized the disciplinary measures for the disruptive protesters, saying: “Since they can’t write anything justifying their action, students seem to be banned from writing about personal values that might be relevant here, such as a belief in freedom of expression, the responsibility to oppose genocide, or the duty of nonviolent civil disobedience under certain circumstances.”
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An NYU spokesperson, however, defended the measures, stating: “The point of these essays is to reflect upon how a student’s way of expressing their values might be having an impact on other members of the NYU community. We think that’s a worthwhile goal.”
Campus Reform has contacted New York University for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
