Northwestern University’s president condemned anti-Semitic protesters who swarmed his residence in the name of police abolition.
University president Morton Schapiro issued a statement condemning students and outside agitators who vandalized and burned school property and surrounded his home after six consecutive nights of anti-police protests. Protesters gathered in front of Schapiro’s home and chanted “Piggy Morty,” a slur that Schapiro wrote came “dangerously close to a longstanding trope against observant Jews like myself.”
“What started as peaceful protests have recently grown into expressions that have been anything but peaceful or productive,” Schapiro said. “I refuse to engage with individuals who continue to use the tactics of intimidation and violence.”
“Whether it was done out of ignorance or out of anti-Semitism, it is completely unacceptable,” he noted.
The protests were led by the activist group “NU Community Not Cops,” which calls for the abolition of the Northwestern University police department. Calls for police department abolition have become commonplace on campuses across the nation, including at the University of Pennsylvania and Johns Hopkins University.
Schapiro said Northwestern will continue to improve the university’s police department but has no intention of abolishing it. He also promised to punish students who break the law.
“An essential aspect of education is the discernment of actions and consequences,” his statement reads. “If you, as a member of the Northwestern community, violate rules and laws, I am making it abundantly clear that you will be held accountable.”
