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Letters to the Editor — June 1, 2023

The Issue: CUNY deans who applauded after an anti-America, anti-police commencement speech.

Like many others, I read with dismay and a heavy heart the vitriol that was spoken by CUNY Law’s class representative, Fatima Mousa Mohammed (“Can you believe this clap?” May 31).

These words were all the more vile coming on the cusp of Memorial Day.

It is easy to cast aspersions, but what great society did the speaker hold up as a shining beacon for us? What country or culture did she promote as better than ours? The answer is none.

By her own vile words, she proved the greatness of this country. Her evil stands in stark contrast to the sacrifices Americans make to uphold the founding principles of this country. Shame on her, shame on CUNY and shame on the weak-kneed politicians who allow this divisiveness to continue.

Bruce Young

Boynton Beach, Fla.

Celebrating free speech does not mean celebrating hatred or racist language. I wonder if the school can rescind Mohammed’s degree and remove the dean who applauded her.

If she passes the bar and starts charging legal fees, doesn’t it make her a capitalist? It’s incred­ible how she condemns capitalism but wants to be a practicing attorney.

I have the same suggestion for all types of people such as her who harbor such hatred: Go to a country that supports your beliefs, and after living abroad, tell me how much you want to return.

Greg Raleigh

Washington, DC

Thank you for having the bravery to make this headline news.

Mohammed, as well as the deans and administrators at CUNY law school, should feel shame, all being complicit in disseminating hate and vitriol at a commencement speech.

As a CUNY professor, I was privileged to attend an honor ceremony for our graduates. Most memorable were the messages of inspiration and courage by several of our students, who, because of grit and determination, were able to succeed.

In my speech to the students, I quoted Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: “Keep feeling the need to be first. But, I want you to be first in love. I want you to be first in moral excellence. I want you to be first in generosity.”

Martin Garfinkle

Staten Island

I am a graduate of City University of New York Law School — class of 1988, the third class of a law school that began with much hope and vision.

But with few exceptions, the faculty and law students were selected not based on academic merit but on their degree of extremism.

I refused to attend my own graduation to avoid the clown show that year. It included playing the “Internationale” — the theme song of various anarchists, communists, socialists and so-called democratic socialists.

The CUNY Law motto “Law in the service of human needs” is admirable but no longer applicable — if it ever was. May I suggest a replacement: “American law supports white supremacy, so let’s abolish it in favor of anarchy.” Better yet, let’s abolish CUNY law school.

Michael Brautigam

Tallinn, Estonia

Why doesn’t Mohammed go to Yemen, the country her parents immigrated from, and stand up against real oppression there?

The answer is obvious: Yemen was rated by Amnesty International as one of the worst places to be a woman. Speak up against real oppression there, and you might never be heard from again.

Gamaliel Isaac

Manhattan

Mohammed’s speech comes off to me as incredibly tone-deaf.

I can’t wrap my head around a future lawyer (assuming she passes the bar exam) giving a commencement speech, in New York City no less, talking about how she’s being oppressed when there are women and girls in many parts of the world who have to struggle to gain a basic education or even basic rights. 

My grandfather and five great-uncles fought in World War II — quite literally against fascism — and while the United States is far from a perfect nation, I’ll take it over Nazi Germany any day of the week, 365 days a year.

R.J. Calamito

Staten Island

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This story originally appeared on NYPost

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