(TargetLiberty.org) – On Friday, the College of Staten Island suspended a security officer following the emergence of a video in which he had been threatening pro-Palestinian demonstrators during the college’s graduation ceremony.
The college’s president Timothy Lynch put out a statement responding to the incident in which he spoke up against the “offensive” language. In his statement, he pointed out how the New York college’s graduation ceremony had been in celebration of more than 2,000 graduates. However, as he argued during Commencement there had been an incident between a CUNY Public Safety Officer and some of the students.
In his statement, he argued that the officer’s offensive language was not a reflection of the College’s values or views and stated that they were dedicated to the Public Safety Staff in the school. He added that they regretted the incident which had occurred on a day that was monumental for their families and graduates.
CSI’s Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) took to Instagram to argue that during the graduation there had been a walkout in order to protect against the CUNY’s complicity in the Palestinian genocides. CUNY Officer Sgt. Donald Girard 281 had addressed the protesters during the incident arguing that he was a supporter of not only the genocide but also of killing all of the protesters.
The Associated Press in a post featuring the video, pointed out that it seemed like the officer was making threats against the protesters. However, the officer has refused to so far make any further comments about their statement.
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