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Some professors at Brown University are accusing the school’s administration of surveilling and harassing faculty members who attended a pro-Palestinian encampment at the school’s Providence campus.
In a statement put out by Brown’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors, or AAUP, the professors specifically take issue with letters sent to several faculty members last week, five of which were shared with The Public’s Radio.
Some of the correspondences inform professors they are being contacted because they were present on the Main Green, where a pro-Palestinian encampment began last Wednesday. Other letters notify professors the school is aware of their “participation” in the encampment, which began disbanding Tuesday afternoon after an agreement was reached between protesters and administrators.
The letters tell the professors that their contact with the encampment could result in possible future disciplinary action and review if the professors are again found at the encampment.
The statement from Brown AAUP says the letters are part of an “unprecedented campaign of intimidation, threats, and harassment by the senior administration” at the university.
The group accused the school of harassing teachers who held class alongside the encampment as part of “their pedagogical practice, recognizing that the encampment is also an opportunity for scholarship, teaching, and learning.” AAUP is also taking issue with Brown surveilling the encampment area and requesting identification from people in and around the encampment.
Brown University President Christina Paxson said senior administrators plan to hold a meeting with faculty members at 5 p.m. on Tuesday to have a “full and candid discussion” about the school’s response to the encampment, according to an email Paxson sent to faculty on Monday.
In her email, Paxson said, “I acknowledge and apologize for the fact that notices were sent to a few faculty who were determined to have been at the encampment, which I understand has led some to question whether Brown is unfairly accusing faculty or engaging in surveillance.”
Paxson said the school is not currently investigating any faculty members.
On Monday, school spokesperson Brian Clark said most of the accusations in the AAUP statement are “untrue or misrepresentative.” He said the school would respond to professors at the Tuesday evening meeting.
Paxson’s response to faculty members follows an earlier email sent to professors by Provost Frank Doyle on Saturday, notifying them that simply visiting students at the encampment was not a policy violation, as some of the letters stated.
“It also appears that a very few faculty may have been actively involved in the unauthorized activity itself, such as working with the activity organizers and playing roles within the encampment,” said Doyle. “This level of participation is clearly a policy violation since the encampment and associated activities are unsanctioned and against our long-standing rules.”
In his email to faculty, Doyle acknowledged the encampment was being surveilled. “Security cameras are present in the area for the safety of participants and the larger community,” he said.
Students who participated in the encampment on the Main Green either as “encampers” or involved supporters have also received disciplinary notices. The encampment was largely peaceful, with students sleeping in tents on the Main Green and periodically rallying. The main demand from encampment protesters was for the school’s board to vote on a proposal to divest its $6.6 billion endowment from companies they say profit from human rights abuses in the Palestinian territories.
Negotiators for the school said Tuesday the board would vote on a divestment proposal later this year if the encampment disbanded, terms the protesters agreed to.
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