The Board of Directors of the Middle East Studies Association (MESA) strongly condemns the recent attacks on faculty and students by non-academic groups such as the David Horowitz Freedom Center and Canary Mission through campaigns of postering and social media harassment. These harassment activities include circulating posters with the names and likenesses of specific students and professors alleging that those depicted are “terrorist supporters.” These activities are clearly intended to intimidate and coerce those identified and have a chilling effect on the academic community as a whole.
We urge academic administrations to repudiate and condemn in no uncertain terms these efforts to defame, intimidate, and silence members of their communities. We also call upon administrators to reaffirm unequivocal support for the principles of academic freedom and free speech, and to take prompt action to fulfill their responsibility for establishing and maintaining a safe, inclusive, and diverse campus environment.