Two student organizations at the University of Connecticut, Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and the Muslim Student Association (MSA), have received threatening messages over the course of the last two weeks. The discriminatory messages, posted on the organizations’ respective Instagram accounts, have received thousands of engagements and hundreds of comments in support of the affected students.
On Nov. 6, UConn SJP posted a voicemail that a member had received on Oct. 31, which included racial slurs, death threats and equated student protesters with terrorists and “baby killers.”
“The message was reported to us by a faculty member and others who learned of it, and the incident has been documented through UConn’s Bias Reporting system,” indicated UConn University Spokesperson Stephanie Reitz in a statement to The Daily Campus. “Our review determined that the call originated from an Oklahoma-based number, and there is no indication at this point of any connection to the UConn community or state of Connecticut.”
On Nov. 8, the UConn MSA posted a transcript of an email sent to their Stamford campus affiliate by a user that called themself “Stiffler Jones.” It contains similar threats and racist remarks while actively celebrating the rising death toll in Gaza.
“It is undeniable that tensions are high, and we ask our community not to resort to any racist, anti-Muslim, or anti-Semitic rhetoric,” wrote the UConn MSA on their Instagram. “We must acknowledge the heightened stream of Islamophobia and hate targeting students at UConn.”
In a statement titled “Statement Regarding Ongoing Islamophobia at UConn,” the MSA drew attention to both of the threatening remarks, writing, “it is disheartening that we have not been approached by the UConn administration to ensure the safety of our Muslim community or to take proactive measures to ensure a safe campus environment.”
Following the publication of the discriminatory email, the MSA indicated to The Daily Campus that “the police department and local authorities have been active and they have reached out,” but stressed that further “prevention of these incidents” remain necessary.
It is undeniable that tensions are high, and we ask our community not to resort to any racist, anti-Muslim, or anti-Semitic rhetoric. We must acknowledge the heightened stream of Islamophobia and hate targeting students at UConn.
The UConn Muslim Student Association in response to the messages sent to them containing hate speech.
The MSA and affiliated groups — including chapters on regional campuses and the SJP — called for a “thorough review of the university’s responses to global events.” They also accused UConn President Radenka Maric of attending a pro-Israel protest while remaining absent at pro-Palestinian events and called for a “public discussion about the 75 years of occupation” with a focus on “Palestinian voices and narratives.”
The calls for violence and subsequent criticism of university responses mark a larger trend of a hostile, polarizing atmosphere on American campuses, following the attacks against Israel by Hamas on Oct. 7 and subsequent ground invasion of Gaza by the Israeli government.
Conflicts between protestors, the administration and student groups have gripped elite universities across the East Coast. At MIT, pro-Palestinian protestors interrupted classes and occupied the main entrance lobby. At Cornell, a student was accused of posting death threats against Jewish students and at Brown University, 20 members of the group “BrownU Jews for Ceasefire” were arrested.
At Columbia University, pro-Palestinian students reported an array of threats, including physical and verbal harassment on campus itself, but also anonymous messages and audio clips like the ones targeting SJP and the MSA at UConn. Prominent student activists across major American universities have had their information added to “doxxing” resources, which aim to expose the personal information of student activists and contain photo records.
“UConn has been made aware that a former student received a voicemail that was reported to have included racist and inflammatory language and a reference to death. We recognize the concern generated by the message, and we join others in condemning its hateful sentiments in the strongest terms,” Reitz reiterated.
Gov. Ned Lamont, in response to the uptick of hate incidents on college campuses, promised to hold a roundtable of security representatives to address the issue.
“We have zero tolerance for acts of antisemitism, Islamophobia, or hatred of any kind in Connecticut, and we will deploy all available public safety resources to keep our residents safe,” Lamont said in a press release. “I am calling on all our higher education institutions to work together and strategize on how we can protect everyone on every campus from harm. We will not allow incidents of hate and intimidation to be normalized.”