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On The Level
UVM cancels in-person event with Palestinian poet
An event featuring an award-winning Palestinian poet, writer, and journalist has been moved off of the University of Vermont’s campus.
www.wcax.com
BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) - An event featuring an award-winning Palestinian poet, writer, and journalist has been moved off of the University of Vermont’s campus because of what officials call security concerns.
Mohammed El-Kurd was invited as part of the Will Miller Social Justice Lecture Series on Thursday evening at UVM’s Davis Center. In a statement, UVM says, “The event was planned many months ago, prior to this month’s escalation of conflicts in Israel and Gaza that have had profound impacts around the world and within our community... holding the event on campus this week raises safety and security concerns that cannot be sufficiently mitigated.”
“I’m just disappointed with the university,” said Fred Magdoff, a retired UVM faculty member and on the board of the Will Miller Social Justice Lecture Series. Magdoff says the group worked for over a year to book El-Kurd. “No one made threats to us, and the university didn’t share with us any threats that they heard about,” Magdoff said.
UVM Hillel says they were also not aware of any protests or threats planned at the speech and had no involvement in UVM’s decision to cancel the in-person event. “If the university isn’t able to guarantee safety for an event... I believe every student has a right to study and live and work in a safe environment,” said the group’s Matt Vogel.
