IUPUI Faculty and Staff Statement of Support for Haneen

As faculty and staff at IUPUI, we write to express our solidarity with and support for IUPUI
student Haneen, the leader of IUPUIs Students for Justice in Palestine. Over the past week
Haneen, an advocate of non-violent social and political change in Israel and Palestine, has been
the victim of harassment, discrimination, and defamation. A series of anonymous blog posts and
posters found on campus have attacked her appearance, including her drawn-in eyebrows and
overdone makeup, and accused her of advocating and coordinating terrorism. One blog
attacking her also claims that Black Lives Matter activists are prone to outbreaks of violence.
In addition, she has received harassing phone calls.
Though we encourage the free exchange of ideas and affirm the right of all university citizens to
make their views known, attacks against women, against Muslims, and against people of African
descent have no place in our community. The verbal assaults belittling Haneens appearance as a
woman not only threaten her; they make the campus unsafe for all women. Remaining silent in
the face of this sexism gives tacit consent to a culture of sexual assault. In a highly charged
political environment, accusations that Haneen supports terrorism are an Islamophobic attack
against all Muslims, used in the same way that false rape accusations against Black males and
blood libel claims against Jews have been used in Western history to dehumanize the Other.
Remaining silent gives tacit communal consent to the acceptability of these comments as a form
of public discourse and creates an unsafe workplace for all.
Thus, we call on IUPUI Chancellor Nasser Paydar (1) to issue a strong public statement
condemning these attacks and (2) to make clear the status of the Universitys investigation of
these heinous acts.
We encourage the Deans of each IUPUI school to educate their communities on sexism,
Islamophobia, racism, and other threats to our sense of communal well-being.
We ask every IUPUI community member to challenge sexism, racism, Islamophobia, and all
other forms of discrimination in their everyday interactions both on and off campus.
Making clear our university communitys values and mission in the face of fear and intimidation
is necessary to creating a welcoming campus for all. Courage, hope, and love can defeat the
hatred that has shown its face among us. We pledge to help in whatever ways we can.
Sincerely,
Margaret E. Adamek, Social Work
Sara Makki Alamdari, Social Work
Sara Kurtz Allaei, International Affairs

Sohel Anwar, Mechanical Engineering

Ropert Aponte, Social Work
Sheila Armstead, Social Work
Jacqueline Bell, Social Work
Marc Bilodeau, Economics
Terri Bourus, English
Shawn Marie Boyne, McKinney School of Law
Karen Bravo, McKinney School of Law
Nathan Byrer, Undergraduate Education
Andr C. Buchenot, English
Craig Campbell, Labor Studies
Charmayne Champion-Shaw, Native American and Indigenous Studies
David Craig, Religious Studies
Edward E. Curtis IV, Religious Studies
Cornelis de Waal, Philosophy
Kate Dobson, International Affairs
Dominic Dorsey II, Adaptive Educational Services
Frank Emmert, McKinney School of Law
Carrie Foote, Sociology
Steve Fox, English
Nancy Goldfarb, English and University College
John R. Gullion, Undergraduate Education
Susann Haase, International Affairs
Patti Hair, Senior Academy
James A. Hall, Social Work
Eric Hamilton, Anthropology
Kelly E. Hayes, Religious Studies
Susan Hyatt, Anthropology
Alice Hoenigman Jones, Intergroup Dialogue
Andrea Jain, Religious Studies
John R. Kaufman-McKivigan, History
Khadija Khaja, Social Work
Karen Kovacik, English
Kim Jangmin, Social Work
Robert Katz, McKinney School of Law
Marea K. Kenney, Social Work
Jason M. Kelly, History
David Kondrat, Social Work
Daniella Kostroun, History
Modupe Labode, History and Museum Studies
I-Hsuan Lin, Social Work
Lindsay Littrell, Social Work
Megan J. L. Lizarme, American Thought
Timothy D. Lyons, Philosophy
Tom Marvin, English
Virginia Majewski, Social Work

John McCormick, Political Science

Ian McIntosh, International Affairs
Edith Millikan, Liberal Arts
Kim Moffett, Social Work
Wendy Morrison, Economics
Khaula Murtadha, Community Engagement
Megan Musgrave, English
Ann OBryan, University Library
Martha Payne, Classics
Emily Potts, International Affairs
Jim Powell, English (Emeritus)
Fran Quigley, McKinney School of Law
Florence Wagman Roisman, McKinney School of Law
Lauren (Chism) Schmidt, Religion and American Culture
Peter Seybold, Sociology
Susan Shepherd, English
Rachel Sipes, Social Work
David Strong, Sociology
Carmen Luca Sugawara, Social Work
Stephen Towne, University Library
Joseph Tucker Edmonds, Religious Studies and Africana Studies
Ben Van Wyke, World Languages and Cultures
Julie Walsh, Social Work
Carlton Waterhouse, McKinney School of Law
Brandalynn White, International Affairs
Robert White, Sociology
Colin Williams, Sociology
Aaron Willis, Social Work
Casey Windhorst, International Affairs
Melvin R. Winninger, English
Larry Zimmerman, Anthropology