Dear NYU Student Body:
I am writing to you at a time of great pain for the United States, especially for the Black community. As the The Executive Committee of the Student Government Assembly it is our responsibility to demand justice and equality in our NYU community. Thus far, we’ve engaged the grievances and calls for action made by the NYU community in response to state-sanctioned anti-Black police violence, group texts that exposed anti-Black racism and prejudice in NYU Greek Life, and a culture of sexual violence against Black womxn. We did this by reaching out or responding to students and student leaders of the Black community at NYU, checking in with and listening to our Senators at-Large for Black students, and circulating a Survey for Demands and Change to NYU. This primary round of feedback was consolidated into the following list of initial steps and demands that I emailed verbatim to President Hamilton’s Chief of Staff:
|
|
Updates on the President's Office’s response to these demands were listed in two separate statements released on June 1st, which included next steps for addressing grievances with NYU Greek Life and information we learned about the university’s relationship with the NYPD. The Executive Committee received resounding input from members of the NYU community about our update-statement on police violence. The statement was intended to report to students about information we learned from administrators during our meeting about the details of the ties between NYU and the NYPD. I profoundly apologize for the convoluted way in which this information was presented -- these bullet points in no way reflected our demands, but the information we learned in our discussion with the President. We learned that one of these relationships is a NYPD liaison in the Public Safety Office. In our statement, however, it originally read as though I condoned this relationship. I, Raj Kittusamy, chairperson of SGA, do not condone whatsoever the university increasing its ties to the NYPD and therefore police violence. I will continue to fight and call for the university to cut all ties with the NYPD and boycott venues and vendors that contract the police. We of course do not want the liaising between Public Safety and NYPD to continue, and we will see to it, with all that we have, that the program is eliminated. If we cannot get rid of this program over our one year tenure on the Executive Committee, we will at the very least ensure that student leaders from the Black community are given a permanent presence in that Office and extensive involvement in any activities Public Safety engages the NYPD in.
Again, the liaison program is not ours, but NYU's. We learned about it Monday, and we were appalled. We want to cut the ties between NYU and NYPD completely, and we felt that a crucial step for us was learning and notifying students of the specific instances of that relationship, one of which we found out to be fortified within liaising. We unequivocally reject the university increasing its ties to the NYPD and clarified our intentions in revisions made the following day, June 2. I sincerely apologise for any harm done to members of our community who lost confidence in our resolve due to the original language on that particular update. It is a great shame that in first submitting this revision, we did not properly acknowledge those students whose feedback raised concerns with our initial statement. Each email concerning this revision was considered and responded to. The post on instagram was taken down and reuploaded with the caption properly acknowledging the input of students. The statement was originally uploaded to Twitter only after the revision was made and includes an apology. Facebook will have the caption revised at the time this statement is released.
We would like to reaffirm our commitment to supporting Black members of our community as they describe it. That is why in emails leading up to and after our meeting and in the statements published Monday, we began laying down the steps to connect student leaders of NYU’s Black student organizations with the Public Safety Office and the Student Conduct Office for them to directly voice their demands about NYU’s relationship with the NYPD and NYU Greek Life, respectively. It was our intention to notify the student body of what the current relationship with the NYPD looks like. Instead, we mistakenly made it seem like we were condoning the relationship. I must hold myself accountable for the added pain we’ve caused.
As an Indian-American, I recognise the limitations I have in understanding the struggles Black people face within our community. I will work harder to learn from and connect leaders of the community in discussion and decision making processes and remain an advocate for justice and peace through continuing to consult our Black representatives on the Student Government Assembly, increasing dialogue with student groups, and working to build inclusive spaces for members of our Black community. This is a bleak, disturbing moment in history, one when many are left drained, exhausted, and without hope. However, these bleak times also represent an opportunity for education, meaningful dialogue, and substantial reform to unjust systems. I am both humbled by the opportunity to lead you all this year as the Chair of the Student Government Assembly and excited to bear witness to how the university can grow and transform to be more inclusive of its students. I promise to be resolute in my pursuit of justice, steadfast in defending and pushing your interests forward, and active in engaging members of our community in important discussions both internally and with administrators.
I believe it is of utmost importance that I, Raj Kittusamy, chairperson of SGA, take responsibility for each of the harms listed as reasons to resign in calls for my resignation that we’ve been receiving over the course of the day. I believe in the people who feel that I have harmed them. I want to continue educating myself on issues of anti-Black racism and discrimination. It was utterly wrong of me and anti-Black in impact to wait until Friday, when anti-Black racism revealed itself so blatantly on our own campus, to release a statement. I want to acknowledge any feelings student activists would have in hearing that I alerted administrators of any protests, specifically, on or around November 18, 2019 and thus prompting them to call the NYPD. I do not condone and vehemently disagree with the idea that I would speak to administrators about organizer’s activities and not solely their demands of the institution. It is my desire to learn more about this incident from the relevant parties so that I can hold myself, and be held, properly accountable. I acknowledge that my actions may have prompted the administration to contact the police. I understand that these two grievances alone are enough to validate the third, which is that I’ve poorly communicated and lied to students as a representative. I don’t wish to defend myself against these grievances, and will spend the next day engaging in conversation with those who felt particularly betrayed and harmed by my actions. I must say that I vehemently oppose the presence of police at protests of any kind, and I pushed administration during our conversation on Monday to cease all public and private security contracts and contact moving forward, from Move-In Day and student protests to Commencement at Yankee Stadium.
These complaints and issues raised are all entirely valid and bonafide. I would never seek to discount or disparage them, and hope that any of those feeling animosity towards me or my actions know that I wholeheartedly respect and appreciate what they are feeling. In a time when so many of you are experiencing tremendous anguish, pain, and fear, I am irreparably disappointed that my own actions may have added to your suffering.
In conclusion, I want to acknowledge the urgency of responding to the influx of messages calling for my resignation. I have received a great deal of thoughtful emails detailing grievances, concerns, and justifications for my stepping down. I will be using this next day to heavily consider my place within the student body, and whether or not I am to continue as your Chair, 14 days in. I could only choose to continue this role if I felt capable of properly supporting, facilitating, and addressing the concerns and needs of all of NYU’s communities. In this time, I encourage you to continue sending me your input -- be it calls for my resignation, or the contrary -- so that I can make the soundest decision possible. I value and appreciate all that comes my way. Per the requests’ demands, I promise to issue a decision by tomorrow, June 4th at 5pm EDT.
To those of you facing hardship, I would like to remind you of the resources available to you
To those of you who are able, I encourage you to join me in steps that I’m taking to deepen my solidarity, now and into the rest of my life. Here you can find a comprehensive database of resources for all over the country. Thank you once more for your thoughtfulness, passion, and candor during this time. I am so, so sorry for the additional confusion and pain I have caused you. I am committed to being the very best leader I can be, and now more than ever I am reflecting on how I can do so. Please know that I do not request any forgiveness, but rather, for you to know of my immense regret and apologies. Please do all that you can to take care of yourselves and those you love.
Wishing You All My Best,
Raj Kittusamy
SGA Chairperson