Stanford “unequivocally” condemned “calls for the genocide of Jews or any peoples,” in a statement released through social media posts on Instagram and X (formerly Twitter) Thursday night.
The University wrote that such statements “would clearly violate Stanford’s Fundamental Standard, the code of conduct for all students of the University.”
The statement opened with acknowledgment of “the context of national discourse,” amid national controversy over a Wednesday congressional hearing where the presidents of Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Pennsylvania appeared to evade questions on disciplining students who called for the genocide of Jewish people.
Pointing to chants for an “intifada” by protesters on their campus, New York representative Elise Stefanik asked the university presidents whether calling for the genocide of Jews would constitute bullying or harassment under their codes of conduct.
“It depends on the context,” said Harvard President Claudine Gay ’92.
Since the hearing, all three presidents — MIT President Sally Kornbluth and Penn President Elizabeth Magill having also said disciplinary action depended on the context — have faced calls to resign. On Thursday, a Congressional committee opened an investigation into the three universities for failing to address “rampant antisemitism.” Alumni of the three universities have also threatened to withdraw donations.
Yale president Peter Salovey ’80 M.A. ’80 issued a statement earlier on Thursday “forcefully” rejecting discrimination and prejudice on its campus.
Stanford administration previously faced criticism for University statements and responses to antisemitism on campus. President Richard Saller met with Jewish alumni on Nov. 16, following an Oct. 24 letter with 2,600 signatures that threatened to withdraw donations if Stanford did not immediately condemn Hamas and antisemitism on campus.
To provide support for communities on campus affected by the Israel-Hamas war, Saller and Provost Jenny Martinez introduced two campus initiatives on Nov. 13: an Antisemitism, Bias and Communication Subcommittee and a new Muslim, Arab and Palestinian Communities Committee.
Jewish Voices for Peace (JVP) criticized Stanford’s social media post: “For an institution to dare issue a condemnation of genocide without explicitly including Palestinians in that statement is a deliberate erasure of the ongoing suffering in Gaza,” they wrote.
The Daily has reached out to the University for comment.