Governor Hochul Updates New Yorkers on College Campus Safety

Governor Hochul: “Students have a First Amendment right to speak their mind, protest, whether or not we agree with their political views. But when that protest evolves into violence, vandalism, destruction of property, even harassment, a line has been crossed.

Before I talk about the topic of the day, which is retail theft, I also want to talk about something that is very much on everyone's mind, and that is what happened last night on our college campuses here in the City of New York.

Yesterday, I also addressed New Yorkers about what has been unfolding on our college campuses over the last couple of weeks. I reiterated that students have a First Amendment right to speak their mind, protest, whether or not we agree with their political views. But when that protest evolves into violence, vandalism, destruction of property, even harassment, a line has been crossed.

And in public and in private, we have been urging the protesters to de-escalate the tensions, follow the rules set by their universities, allow a sense of normalcy to return to their campuses. And as I called for de-escalation of their activity, they decided to take a different approach. They escalated the violence and vandalism yesterday – continuing to occupy a building at Columbia, barricading the doors, refusing entry of others who were lawfully entitled to go there, attempting to break into other buildings, causing massive destruction on that campus as well as the City College campus – smashing windows, again vandalizing property.

Let me be clear: there is no circumstance where violence or vandalism is tolerated or acceptable, whether you're on a college campus or walking the streets of New York. Targeting Jewish students for harassment or abuse because of the actions of the Israeli government is also anti-Semitic and wrong, glorifying the acts of Hamas on October 7th is reprehensible, as well as any under any circumstances, racist or Islamophobic rhetoric towards your political opponents is not acceptable.

Universities have always been a place of robust debate. I know, I was once a university student, but free expression has its limits when individuals have a right to be free from harassment – the rest of the campus. They should not be living in fear because you're claiming an exercise of your rights. They should not be afraid of harassment or violence. But that's what was starting to happen on our campuses over the last couple of weeks.

So, we must protect the safety of the entire campus community, including the thousands of students who simply want to finish up, conclude their studies, take their exams, and in some cases, the privilege of walking across the stage to accept their diploma. That's the vast majority of students on college campuses, and their rights are being disrupted, and that is wrong.

That is one of the reasons why university administrators made the difficult decision to call in the NYPD for additional support. I will say this, the NYPD had a plan. They arrived on campus and acted professionally and fairly. It could have been far worse. They managed it in an extremely professional way.\

As I said yesterday, the State of New York has also offered assistance to universities and the City of New York as they address these issues and particularly the universities throughout the state as they prepare for their commencements, which as I said, everyone is entitled to participate in a live commencement ceremony. We'll continue being there to support the students, the faculty, the staff, and support all New Yorkers who deserve to live in safety.