Joseph Oten
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Joseph Oten
@josephoten.bsky.social
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Reposted by Joseph Oten
uchicagolaw.bsky.social
“It’s a basic principle of a rule of law system that when you change a very significant legal right or status, you tell someone what you're doing, and you explain why you are doing it. As far as we can tell, there's very little of that happening,” Prof @genevievelakier.bsky.social told @cbsnews.com.
7 University of Chicago students' visas revoked
University of Chicago officials confirmed that the federal government had terminated the F-1 visa status of three current students and four recent graduates.
buff.ly
April 14, 2025 at 5:26 PM
Reposted by Joseph Oten
premthakker.bsky.social
The Trump admin has just detained Mohsen Mahdawi, who:
–has green card
–was Columbia Buddhist club president
–saw his best friend shot & killed by Israeli soldier
–said "we are against antisemitism because antisemitism is a form of injustice, and injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere"
In addition to violating Mr. Mahdawi’s First Amendment rights, the Rubio Determination and Mr. Mahdawi’s unlawful detention also violates Mr. Mahdawi’s statutory rights and due process rights. PARTIES 8. Petitioner Mohsen Mahdawi is a Palestinian who was born and raised in a refugee camp in the West Bank. He is a lawful permanent resident of the United States and has been for the last ten years. He is a recent student of Columbia University, with an expected graduation date of May 2025. He has been admitted to a Master’s program at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs (“SIPA”), to begin in the fall of 2025. After growing up in a refugee camp, Mr. Mahdawi felt compelled to advocate for Palestinian human rights upon moving to the United States. 22. Mr. Mahdawi is also a committed Buddhist and believes in non-violence and empathy as a central tenet of his religion. In fall of 2021, he became the president of the Columbia University Buddhist Association and led it for two years. 23. In fall of 2023, Mr. Mahdawi co-founded the Palestinian Student Union (“Dar”) at Columbia University which “serves to engage with and celebrate Palestinian culture, history, and identity.” Mr. Mahdawi co-founded this organization with Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian lawful permanent resident who was also recently detained by ICE for his expressive conduct related to Palestine. Mr. Mahdawi appeared in numerous televised interviews and print news articles regarding the military campaign in Gaza and related protests. In December of 2023, Mr. Mahdawi appeared on 60 Minutes where he shared that, as a child, he watched an Israeli soldier shoot and kill his best friend in the West Bank. 27. Throughout his time as a student and a leader of Dar and the Columbia University Buddhist Association, Mr. Mahdawi was always willing to engage in dialogue with people whose views and beliefs differed from his own. Mr. Mahdawi believed, and continues to believe, that more speech is the solution to disagreement, rather than less, and that empathy and understanding through communication are a way to resolve conflicts peacefully. …and a peaceful political solution. Mr. Mahdawi gave speeches at several of these protests. In his speeches, Mr. Mahdawi advocated for Palestinian human rights, a permanent ceasefire, and a peaceful resolution that affirmed the human dignity of all. 25. During one protest, Mr. Mahdawi vocally denounced an unaffiliated passerby who made an antisemitic comment, chanting “shame on him”. Mr. Mahdawi stated that “we are against 2:25-cv-00389 Document 1 Filed 04/14/25 Page 6 of 19 7 antisemitism because antisemitism is a form of injustice, and injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” The confrontation was documented by the Columbia Spectator
April 14, 2025 at 6:08 PM
Reposted by Joseph Oten
nikobowie.bsky.social
BREAKING: On Friday, the federal government issued new demands of Harvard University. The university's lawyers just responded: back off.
April 14, 2025 VIA ELECTRONIC MAIL Josh Gruenbaum Commissioner of the Federal Acquisition Service General Services Administration Sean R. Keveney Acting General Counsel U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Thomas E. Wheeler Acting General Counsel U.S. Department of Education Dear Messrs. Gruenbaum, Keveney, and Wheeler: We represent Harvard University. We are writing in response to your letter dated April 11, 2025, addressed to Dr. Alan Garber, Harvard’s President, and Penny Pritzker, Senior Fellow of the Harvard Corporation. Harvard is committed to fighting antisemitism and other forms of bigotry in its community. Antisemitism and discrimination of any kind not only are abhorrent and antithetical to Harvard’s values but also threaten its academic mission. To that end, Harvard has made, and will continue to make, lasting and robust structural, policy, and programmatic changes to ensure that the university is a welcoming and supportive learning environment for all students and continues to abide in all respects with federal law across its academic programs and operations, while fostering open inquiry in a pluralistic community free from intimidation and open to challenging orthodoxies, whatever their source. Over the past 15 months, Harvard has undertaken substantial policy and programmatic measures. It has made changes to its campus use policies; adopted new accountability procedures; imposed meaningful discipline for those who violate university policies; enhanced programs designed to address bias and promote ideological diversity and civil discourse; hired staff to support these programs and support students; changed partnerships; dedicated resources to combat hate and bias; and enhanced safety and security measures. As a result, Harvard is in a very different place today from where it was a year ago. These efforts, and additional measures the university will be taking against antisemitism, not only are the right thing to do but also are critical to strength… recognized by the Supreme Court. The government’s terms also circumvent Harvard’s statutory rights by requiring unsupported and disruptive remedies for alleged harms that the government has not proven through mandatory processes established by Congress and required by law. No less objectionable is the condition, first made explicit in the letter of March 31, 2025, that Harvard accede to these terms or risk the loss of billions of dollars in federal funding critical to vital research and innovation that has saved and improved lives and allowed Harvard to play a central role in making our country’s scientific, medical, and other research communities the standard-bearers for the world. These demands extend not only to Harvard but to separately incorporated and independently operated medical and research hospitals engaging in life-saving work on behalf of their patients. The university will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights. Neither Harvard nor any other private university can allow itself to be taken over by the federal government. Accordingly, Harvard will not accept the government’s terms as an agreement in principle. Harvard remains open to dialogue about what the university has done, and is planning to do, to improve the experience of every member of its community. But Harvard is not prepared to agree to demands that go beyond the lawful authority of this or any administration. William A. Burck Robert K. Hur Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP 1300 I Street NW Suite 900 Suite 900 Washington, DC 20005 King & Spalding LLP 1700 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20006
April 14, 2025 at 5:16 PM
Reposted by Joseph Oten
bencollins.bsky.social
They are just disappearing people off the street. Having a hard time thinking about literally anything else.
gravelinfluencer.bsky.social Gravel Influencer @gravelinfluencer.bsky.social · Mar 26
Not sure if this has been shared here yet, but this is video of Rumeysa Ozturk's arrest posted by WCVB. It's terrifying.
March 27, 2025 at 5:15 AM
Reposted by Joseph Oten
joshuajfriedman.com
NEW: Tufts graduate student Rumeysa Ozturk had already been transferred out of state before a federal judge ordered that she not be removed from Massachusetts, federal officials told the court today www.bostonglobe.com/2025/03/27/m...
Boston Globe headline: Tufts graduate student already transferred out of state before judge issued order to stay in Mass., prosecutor says. Below the headline is a smiling photo of Rumeysa Ozturk supplied by her attorney.
March 27, 2025 at 4:33 PM
Reposted by Joseph Oten
atrupar.com
Bernie Sanders: "If you do nothing, you sit back and say, 'it's gonna be terrible.' And that's right. A shutdown will be terrible. But our job is to put the onus on the Republican president, the Republican House, the Republican Senate, the people who control the govt"
March 14, 2025 at 12:51 AM
Reposted by Joseph Oten
genevievelakier.bsky.social
This is a battle for the soul of the university. Can universities choose for themselves what they teach, who they admit, and how they will discipline students or not? If Columbia agrees to these demands it admits that it is the fed gov that calls the shots and that academic freedom is meaningless
jameeljaffer.bsky.social Jameel Jaffer @jameeljaffer.bsky.social · Mar 14
I’m told this is a real letter. It basically says, “We’ll destroy Columbia unless you destroy it first.”
March 14, 2025 at 12:34 AM