Horne cites ASU, UArizona response to protests as template for K-12 schools

For immediate release: April 29, 2024
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Horne cites ASU, UArizona response to protests as template for K-12 schools

Urges K-12 schools to be vigilant

PHOENIX – State schools superintendent Tom Horne is praising University of Arizona president Robert Robbins and Arizona State University president Michael Crow for their handling of student protests and says K-12 schools that may be confronted with similar unrest should follow those universities’ model.

Horne stated, “Robert Robbins and Michael Crow deserve exceptional praise for standing up to antisemitism on their campuses. This stands in stark contrast to how many colleges, universities and ideological faculty members have kowtowed to disruptive pro-Hamas demonstrations. It is also an excellent template for K-12 schools in Arizona to follow should any attempt be made by students to copy the type of protests that have shut down portions of college campuses and caused Jewish students to feel unsafe.”

He added, “We already saw some examples of antisemitic behavior at some high school club events shortly after the October 7 attack on Israel where students and faculty piled on to attack the victims of October 7. Therefore, I urge schools to ensure students are using valuable classroom time for academic instruction and not for protests that can promote a climate of fear or intimidation.”

Horne notes Jewish students at Columbia University report having rocks thrown at them, and a Jewish student at Yale was stabbed in the eye with a pole holding a Palestinian flag.

Horne stated, “Our DNA is no different from the DNA of Germans in the 1930s, and Nazis started with young thugs attacking people on the street. We need to be vigilant.”

He concluded, “President Robbins wrote an eloquent letter in which he encourages students ‘to embrace your First Amendment rights and make your voices heard, but please do so peacefully, safely, and civilly.’ His words were bizarrely described as ‘inflammatory’ by leaders of the planned protest. Notwithstanding that kind of response, a protest this past weekend was peaceful. ASU experienced more disturbing behavior that required multiple arrests, but President Crow’s decisive action made sure that calm was restored. Their courage and conviction in the face of potentially disruptive protestors should be applauded and emulated.”

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