Campus Protests; Antisemitism Definition; NIAID BTO
BU IN DC
Deans Sandro Galea of the School of Public Health and Scott Taylor of the Pardee School of Global Studies led a conversation on public health and global affairs for Washington-area BU alumni on May 2nd.
Keith Hylton of the School of Law participated in an Information Technology & Innovation Foundation webinar on the antitrust lawsuit against Apple on May 1st.
Jonathan Zaff of the Wheelock College of Education & Human Development addressed a Brookings Institution webinar on key trends among adolescents and young adults on April 29th.
Daniel Kleinman of Graduate Affairs attended the Board of Directors meeting for the Council of Graduate Schools on April 25th and 26th.
Ayse Coskun and Can Hankendi of the College of Engineering attended the National Science Foundation Sustainable Computing for Sustainability Workshop on April 16th and 17th.
LAWMAKERS ADDRESS STUDENT PROTESTS
On Tuesday, Republican leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives announced that several House committees would expand their investigations into antisemitism on college campuses following an increasing number of pro-Palestinian campus protests. The leaders of the House Energy & Commerce and Science, Space, & Technology Committees pledged to review whether institutions receiving funds from the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation are complying with federal rules prohibiting discrimination. The Education and the Workforce Committee announced that the presidents of UCLA, the University of Michigan, and Yale would be the next university leaders to testify before the committee about their response to antisemitism. President Joe Biden also weighed in, telling reporters on Thursday that “Dissent is essential to democracy. But dissent must never lead to disorder or to denying the rights of others so students can finish the semester and their college education.”
HOUSE PASSES ANTISEMITISM BILL
The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Antisemitism Awareness Act (HR 6090) on Wednesday by a 320 – 91 vote. The bill would require the U.S. Department of Education to “take into consideration” the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) definition of antisemitism when it enforces federal anti-discrimination statutes. The Biden Administration currently considers the IHRA definition, which was first included in an executive order issued by the Trump Administration, and references it in its 2023 National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism. However, some believe the definition is overly broad because it includes criticism of Israel and its policies. Massachusetts Representatives Jake Auchincloss, Jim McGovern, and Ayanna Pressley voted against the measure, while the remaining six members of the Commonwealth’s House delegation supported it. Senate leaders have not yet determined whether that body will vote on the measure.
NIAID SEEKS FEEDBACK ON STRATEGIC PLAN
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) at the National Institutes of Health is requesting feedback on the proposed research priorities and cross-cutting themes for its next strategic plan. The research themes include advancing knowledge about the immune system, host-pathogen interactions, and pathogen biology; understanding interactions between microbes and the immune system to develop countermeasures against infectious diseases; reducing HIV incidence; developing intervention strategies for asthma and immune-mediated diseases; and responding to significant biological incidents affecting public health. Feedback on the five-year plan is requested by May 27th.