On May 14, Logan Rozos, a student at New York University (NYU), gave a brief but powerful speech during the graduation ceremony of Gallatin, a liberal arts school within NYU. In his remarks (transcribed by World-Outlook from the video of Rozos’ speech, and published in this post), the student condemned the U.S.-backed Israeli war on the Palestinian people in Gaza. NYU immediately announced it is withholding the student’s diploma as it pursues disciplinary actions against him, in the latest flashpoint between free speech principles and punishment for pro-Palestinian advocacy on U.S. college campuses.
All throughout history it’s our young people who are brave enough to stand up to fascism, authoritarianism and oppression.
I ride a motorcycle, an old BMW and I named her Sophie. I don’t plaster it all over the bike, it’s just a silly thing I do for myself to remind me of the past. The name is after Sophie Scholl, a young 21 year old university student who stood up and protested against the Nazi regime in her country in 1943.
Even in the face of severe punishment she kept protesting until they arrested her and put her to death.
This young man is giving up so much, maybe giving up their future, to fight for all of us … there is no greater bravery than that.