Dear University President Sunil Kumar,
We are a group of 55 Tufts alumni who were deeply involved in campus journalism in our years on the Hill (some of us as far back as the 1950s). Many of us met you in October 2024 when you spoke at the Jumbo Journalism Reunion.
Like millions of Americans, we were alarmed to learn about — and to see the frightening video of — the Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrest of Tufts graduate student Rümeysa Öztürk. She was seemingly targeted because she was one of four coauthors of an op-ed published in the Daily last year.
Many issues are embedded in this episode, including the Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel, Israel’s response, Palestinian rights, antisemitism, President Donald Trump’s administration’s aggressive actions on immigration, due process for alleged violations of immigration and visa law, university governance and the role of a university in global events. As former — and some current — journalists, the issue we focus on here is freedom of the press for campus media and freedom of expression more broadly. Many of us who have signed this letter strongly disagree with the views expressed by Öztürk and her coauthors, but all of us (including those who endorse her views) have come together to support her right to express them and the right of the Daily to publish them. No one should be arrested or deported for writing an op-ed.
It is now several days following the arrest, and the statements received from the university to date concern its lack of “pre-knowledge” of ICE’s actions, its support for Muslim students and campus resources for international students. What we have not heard — and what we hope to hear — is an unequivocal public statement by Tufts leadership affirming its absolute commitment to protecting academic freedom, a free press and the First Amendment.
To be sure, these are challenging times for universities, especially as the Trump administration has made clear that it will threaten to withdraw federal funding for universities and other means to punish those individuals and institutions it deems enemies of its agenda. Tufts must be willing to take these risks and stand for freedom of expression.
President Kumar, we are reminded of the brave words from broadcaster Edward R. Murrow, whose papers and letters are housed at Tufts and whose legacy and principles are memorialized at The Edward R. Murrow Center for Global Diplomacy at the Fletcher School. His message from the McCarthy era resonates loudly today:
“We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty. We must remember always that accusation is not proof, and that conviction depends upon evidence and due process of law. We will not walk in fear, one of another. We will not be driven by fear into an age of unreason, if we dig deep in our history and our doctrine and remember that we are not descended from fearful men — not from men who feared to write, to speak, to associate and to defend causes that were, for the moment, unpopular.”
President Kumar, in the spotlight of this traumatic event, we hope you will make it clear that Tufts University stands unwaveringly for the core American value of freedom of expression — not just on the Tufts campus but nationwide.
Sincerely,
Bill Abrams (A’75)
Julie Salamon (J’75)
Steve Wermiel (A’72)
Steven Koltai (A’76, F’78, E’12P)
Marsha Berkowitz (J’74, AG’74)
Wayne Kabak (A’72)
Bill Shein (LA’90)
John Granatino (A’75)
David Sloan (A’74, F’75)
Jeff Kindler (A’77)
Adam P Conn (LA’91)
Laurie Jakobsen (LA’92)
Tony Coles (A’77)
Phil Primack (A’70)
Jennifer (Fox) Fee (LA’94, LA’26P)
Jacob Indursky (LA’15)
Ken Sonenclar (A’76, F’79)
Larry Azer (LA’93)
Beth Winsten-Orenstein (J’78)
Tim Lindon (A’76)
Stephen Davis (A’77, F’82)
Karyn Colombo (LA’85)
Mara Vatz (E’03)
Bill Sanderson (LA’81)
Brad Hamilton (LA’86)
Jonathan P Cramer (A’77)
Nadine (Ullmann) Brozan (J’58, LA’94P)
Elana Varon (LA’87)
Steve Wilson (A’79)
Dan Weiller (LA’81)
Michael S. Goldberg (LA’85)
Christopher Hoffman (E’85)
Matty Karas (LA’83)
Victoria J. White (LA’85)
Jon Baer (A’76, E’76)
Basma (Bezirgan) Winston (LA’87)
Scott Thurm (LA‘80)
Neal Shapiro (LA’80)
Bob Unterberger (LA’84)
William (Bill) Zuill (LA’86)
William Hamilton (A‘71)
Walter Wright (A’79, AG’80)
Daniel Paisner (LA’82, LA’13P, LA’18P)
Rob Sweren (LA’83)
Robert Cohen (LA’83)
Ted Schachter (A’76)
Michelle Frayman (LA’92)
David L. Smith (A’74)
Mark Lowenstein (LA’86, F’89, A’22P)
Amy Rosen (J’77)
Pam Silberstein (J’80)
Josh Weiner (A’14)
Steve Clay (LA’90)
David Beckerman (A’81)
Laura (Walker) Meyer (J’91)
