The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression wrote a letter April 25 to James Hackney, the dean of Northeastern University School of Law, condemning the university for requiring a list of attendees prior to a speaker event titled “Israel’s Attack on Gaza: The Question of Genocide: The Question of Genocide, and the Future of Holocaust and Genocide Studies.”
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, or FIRE, is a nonprofit organization that “defends and promotes the value of free speech for all Americans in our courtrooms” and places particular emphasis on college campuses. The letter was in response to the cancellation of an event organized by Northeastern University School of Law Jewish Law Students Advocating for Justice, or NUSL JLAJ, which invited genocide and Holocaust scholar Dr. Raz Segal to speak March 27. The day before the event, NUSL JLAJ canceled it, stating it would not hand over a list of students who were registered to attend.
“If Northeastern is to live up to its free speech promises, it must commit to no longer require attendance lists for expressive events,” FIRE Campus Advocacy Program Officer Aaron Corpora wrote in the four-page letter. FIRE requested Northeastern provide a “substantive” response committing to not requiring a list of attendees for future events by May 2.
The April 25 letter was also sent to Renata Nyul, Northeastern’s vice president for communications, Kiana Pierre-Louis, NUSL associate dean for belonging and student affairs and Hemanth Gundavaram, associate dean for academic and faculty affairs at NUSL. FIRE also recently wrote letters to several U.S. institutions including Tulane University, the University of Florida and Louisiana State University, regarding free speech.
“A student group in Northeastern’s law school organized an event and invited a speaker without going through the proper university protocols,” Nyul wrote in a statement to The Huntington News. “Student Life staff worked with the group to make the event possible by putting the appropriate registration and safety procedures in place. A couple of days before the event was to take place, the student group canceled the event. It is longstanding practice for Northeastern’s Student Life staff to require pre-event registration.”
Corpora went on to cite the Northeastern Student Handbook’s Statement on Free Expression, which emphasizes the university’s obligation to protect student freedom of expression.
“A foundational principle of Northeastern University is that a global, multicultural, diverse, and inclusive community is vital to learning, discovery, and innovation at the highest levels of human endeavor,” the 2024-25 Student Handbook reads. “As an institution of higher learning, Northeastern has a responsibility to foster a community that protects and supports free expression, welcomes open dialogue on critical issues, and maintains an inclusive educational environment where diverse views can be safely expressed and debated by community members in an atmosphere of civility and mutual respect.”
The same week that Segal was set to speak, Northeastern held its own annual Holocaust and Genocide Awareness Week events, which did not require attendees to register beforehand. In its April 9 statement, NUSL JLAJ said the difference between its speaker event and the university’s was the viewpoint.
“Coupled with Northeastern’s failure to cite specific concerns motivating their request, this uneven treatment reeks of viewpoint discrimination, an unacceptable outcome at an institution with laudable commitments to freedom of expression like Northeastern,” Corpora wrote.
Segal, an Israeli historian and associate professor of Holocaust and genocide studies at Stockton University, has been outspoken about his disapproval of the Israeli government. He has been labeled an “extremist” following his October 2023 article about Israel and Gaza titled “A Textbook Case on Genocide.” Meanwhile, Northeastern’s events included a talk from a Holocaust survivor and a presentation about children who were orphaned after World War II.
Northeastern’s Center for Student Involvement, or CSI, has policies in place for all events held on campus, which may include requiring registration and Northeastern University Police Department presence. Under its “Attendance” policy, CSI says that it “reserves the right to determine if your event is eligible for a guest list.”
“The current, highly polarized political climate illuminates the urge for anonymity in students participating in criticism of Israel, its policies, and its military action,” Corpora wrote. “One need to look no further than nearby Cambridge, where Harvard University has recently filed suit against the Trump administration for cuts to the university’s funding based in no small part on student speech critical of Israel.”
