President's Statement on SBU's Code of Conduct
December 11, 2023
Dear Stony Brook Community,
In light of the numerous questions we have received regarding the congressional testimony last week by three university presidents, I believe it is important to make abundantly clear where we stand: to call for the genocide of the Jewish people, or of any group, is intrinsically evil. Calls for genocide would be a violation of Stony Brook University’s code of conduct and our community values of respect, diversity, and inclusion. Moreover, such acts would be considered harassing or discriminatory behavior and would invoke the disciplinary process.
In addition to our own university policies, in her message of December 9, Governor Hochul made clear that calls for genocide violate New York State and federal law. We appreciate the Governor’s clear direction, and share her concern for the safety and security of our entire campus community.
Stony Brook’s code of conduct calls for treating people with respect and acting in a manner that supports the safety, freedom, and well-being of others. It prohibits harassment that is discriminatory on the basis of an individual’s status such as religion, gender, or race. It also prohibits endangering or threatening to endanger the health or safety of another person.
In October I communicated my deep concern about the rise of antisemitism and Islamophobia nationally, on Long Island, and on college campuses, and reiterated that violence, intimidation, and harassment are completely unacceptable on our campus.
These are times that challenge – and sometimes bring into conflict – our core values as a caring community of scholars and a place of open discussion with a robust commitment to the principles of free speech. I have no doubt that, together, we will meet that challenge and emerge even stronger.
Sincerely,
Maurie McInnis
President
Please also remember that we have additional resources available for the community:
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Individuals can report a bias incident by emailing Reportit@stonybrook.edu.
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More information can be found at www.stonybrook.edu/reportit.
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Stony Brook Medicine employees can access a list of services available to them on the homepage of ThePulse (which is only accessible by Stony Brook Medicine employees).
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Members of the campus community should feel free to reach out for support:
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Stony Brook’s Student Support Team is available to assist all students.
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EAP is available for faculty, staff and healthcare employees.
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