Senate Republican Leader Ortt & Members Of The Republican Conference Urge Governor Hochul To Withhold CUNY Law Funding

Albany, NY – Senate Republican Leader Rob Ortt and Members of the Senate Republican Conference today sent a letter to Governor Kathy Hochul asking her to condemn the incendiary anti-police, anti-military and anti-semitic commencement speech given at CUNY Law by Fatima Mousa Mohammed.

They also requested the Governor immediately withhold taxpayer funding from any taxpayer-funded SUNY or CUNY campus that in any way supports, condones or allows hateful, anti-semitic and intolerant speech to take place at school-sponsored events.

“The freedom of thought, inquiry and expression at our institutions of higher education is a value that most Americans hold dear.  However, we are deeply troubled by what appears to be a misguided and potentially destructive shift toward enabling, embracing and even celebrating radical, intolerant and hate-filled political viewpoints on our CUNY and SUNY campuses. In particular, there have been repeated episodes that promote anti-Israel, anti-cop, anti-law and order, and anti-US viewpoints and philosophies that are clearly inappropriate for any credible institution of higher learning — and particularly ones that are funded with the taxpayer dollars of hardworking New Yorkers,” the Senators wrote. 

A copy of the full letter is attached.