Rep. Burgess Owens calls on Northwestern University president to resign: 'We don't need cowardice.'
The Anti-Defamation League reiterated also called for Schill to resign, saying his testimony was 'rife with hypocrisy and platitudes.'
Rep. Burgess Owens (R-UT) called on Northwestern University President Michael Schill to resign after he testified in front of Congress on Thursday.
”I think he proved that the day when you cannot, first of all, explain how you negotiate it that much power to a bunch of very entitled, very hateful people,” Owens told Campus Reform on Thursday when asked if Schill needs to resign or be take out of his position.
Owens criticized Schill for failing to consult with the Jewish community regarding the agreement with pro-Palestinian protesters who operated the encampment.
”Why did he not bring the Jewish community into this process?” Owens asked. “We don’t need cowardice. We need strength. We need vision. We need fairness. And that’s what these cards are all these guys did not show that when the moment they had the chance to show it.”
[RELATED: Northwestern, Rutgers, and UCLA leaders all claim they don’t know who started encampments]
Schill faced a litany of questions from Republican lawmakers during the Thursday hearing hosted by the House Committee on Education & the Workforce regarding his actions since the October 7 terrorist attack, most of which he failed to answer substantively.
Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI), in one instance, criticized Schill for appointing Mahdi Haseeb, leader of the university’s Middle Eastern and North African Student Association, to the task force to combat anti-Semitism.
Shortly after the Oct. 7 terrorist attack, the Middle Eastern and North African Student Association released a statement “resoundingly” supporting “Palestinian resistance to over 75 years of Israeli state-sanctioned violence.”
Schill told Walberg he wouldn’t comment on speech made by students.
In another case, Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) questioned Schill regarding Northwestern’s lack of action against students accused of anti-Semitic violence.
Stefanik reiterated allegations that a Jewish student was assaulted, a student wearing a yarmulke was spat on, and a Jewish student was harassed and stalked while trying to go to Hillel.
Schill said they’re all allegations and the university is investigating them and declined to comment further.
Northwestern’s president admitted during the hearing that Jewish and Israeli students weren’t consulted regarding the agreement made with pro-Palestinian protesters, even saying it would have been “impractical” to do so.
While Schill defended his decision to strike a deal with the anti-Israel encampment protesters, he still described the campus occupation as anti-Semitic and said reports of harassment and intimidation were increasing every day it remained up.
“We got rid of the major antisemitic event on our campus with no violence,” Schill said.“The danger posed grew every day it stayed up...every day brought new reports of intimidation and harassment.”
Towards the end of the hearing, Schill– along with the leaders of UCLA and Rutgers University– were asked by Rep. Brandon Williams what groups were behind the encampment, and he failed to provide an answer.
”I don’t know,” Schill said.
After the hearing, the Anti-Defamation League reiterated its call for Schill to resign, saying his testimony was “rife with hypocrisy and platitudes.”
”President Schill’s testimony today clarified his leadership imperils Jewish students and that he has failed at virtually every turn to take antisemitism on Northwestern University’s campus seriously. ADL Midwest renews its call for his immediate resignation,” said ADL Midwest Regional Director David Goldenberg.
