Current:Home > NewsWhat would Lisa Simpson do? NYU student protesters asked to ponder ethical issues -Aspire Financial Strategies
What would Lisa Simpson do? NYU student protesters asked to ponder ethical issues
View
Date:2025-04-11 22:42:38
NEW YORK (AP) — Would Lisa Simpson set up a tent at New York University to protest the war in Gaza? How would Principal Skinner respond if she did?
Hard to say, but some NYU students facing discipline for their actions during this spring’s pro-Palestinian protests have been assigned a 49-page workbook that includes a “Simpsons”-based module on ethical decision-making. Some have been asked to write an apologetic “reflection paper” and submit it “in 12-point Times New Roman or similar font.”
Like colleges across the U.S., NYU was the scene of protests over Israel’s response to the Oct. 7 Hamas attack during the last weeks of the spring semester.
More than 100 NYU students were arrested when police cleared an encampment at the university’s Manhattan campus on April 22, and about a dozen more were arrested at a smaller encampment on May 3.
NYU’s school year has ended, but the university is requiring some student protesters to go through a disciplinary process that includes answering questions like “What are your values? Did the decision you made align with your personal values?” in a double-spaced reflection paper.
Others must complete a 49-page “Ethos Integrity Series” that asks students to rank their values from 1 to 42 and complete assignments like “write about how your values affect your daily life and the decisions you make.”
One section is based on an episode of “The Simpsons” in which Lisa uncharacteristically cheats on a test and is wracked by guilt. Principal Skinner, meanwhile, wants to keep the cheating under wraps so the school can get a grant. Questions in the ethics workbook include “What, if anything, could Lisa have done or thought about to make better decisions?” and “What are the potential and actual consequences of Principal Skinner’s decisions?”
An NYU group called Faculty & Staff for Justice in Palestine criticized the assignments in a news release.
Sara Pursley, an associate professor of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies, noted that students completing the reflection paper are told they must not try to justify their actions or “challenge a conduct regulation.”
“Since they can’t write anything justifying their action, students seem to be banned from writing about personal values that might be relevant here, such as a belief in freedom of expression, the responsibility to oppose genocide, or the duty of nonviolent civil disobedience under certain circumstances,” Pursley said. “This seems rather ironic in an essay on integrity.”
NYU spokesperson John Beckman said the disciplinary process is meant to be educational.
“The point of these essays is to reflect upon how a student’s way of expressing their values might be having an impact on other members of the NYU community,” Beckman said. “We think that’s a worthwhile goal.”
He added, “Which is not to say that the specific assignments couldn’t be improved.”
Faculty members and staff from NYU’s Office of Student Conduct will meet in the fall, Beckman said, to consider “what might be done to improve the quality of the prompts for the reflection papers as well as the other educational assignments.”
veryGood! (174)
Related
- Kylie Jenner Shows Off Sweet Notes From Nieces Dream Kardashian & Chicago West
- New Jersey county uses innovative program to treat and prevent drug overdoses
- Here's How Tom Brady Intercepts the Noise and Rumors Surrounding His Life
- Florida police say they broke up drug ring selling fentanyl and xylazine
- House passes bill to add 66 new federal judgeships, but prospects murky after Biden veto threat
- The Idol Makeup Artist Kirsten Coleman Reveals Euphoria Easter Eggs in the New Series
- Trump’s Pick for the Supreme Court Could Deepen the Risk for Its Most Crucial Climate Change Ruling
- How Much Global Warming Is Fossil Fuel Infrastructure Locking In?
- IRS recovers $4.7 billion in back taxes and braces for cuts with Trump and GOP in power
- Rumer Willis Recalls Breaking Her Own Water While Giving Birth to Baby Girl
Ranking
- Macy's says employee who allegedly hid $150 million in expenses had no major 'impact'
- Sparring Over a ‘Tiny Little Fish,’ a Legendary Biologist Calls President Trump ‘an Ignorant Bully’
- 19 Father's Day Gift Ideas for Your Husband That He'll Actually Love
- Energy Production Pushing Water Supply to Choke Point
- Paige Bueckers vs. Hannah Hidalgo highlights women's basketball games to watch
- Drew Barrymore Slams Sick Reports Claiming She Wants Her Mom Dead
- I've Tried Over a Hundred Mascaras—This Is My New Go-To for the Quickest Faux-Looking Lashes
- Kim Cattrall Talked About Moving On Before Confirming She'll Appear on And Just Like That...
Recommendation
Small twin
Supreme Court takes up case over gun ban for those under domestic violence restraining orders
Geothermal: Tax Breaks and the Google Startup Bringing Earth’s Heat into Homes
California library uses robots to help kids with autism learn and connect with the world around them
Friday the 13th luck? 13 past Mega Millions jackpot wins in December. See top 10 lottery prizes
Interactive: Superfund Sites Vulnerable to Climate Change
4 States Get Over 30 Percent of Power from Wind — and All Lean Republican
In the San Joaquin Valley, Nothing is More Valuable than Water (Part 2)