NEW YORK — Would Lisa Simpson set up a tent at New York University to protest the war in Gaza? How would Director Skinner react 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 a similar font.”
Like universities across the U.S., NYU was the scene of protests over Israel’s response to the Oct. 7 Hamas attack during the final weeks of the spring semester.
More than a hundred NYU students were arrested when police cleared an encampment on the university’s Manhattan campus on April 22, and another dozen students were arrested in a smaller encampment on May 3.
NYU’s school year has ended, but the university is requiring some student protesters to complete a disciplinary process, including answering questions like “What are your values?” Was the decision you made aligned 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 such as “write about how your values influence your daily life and the decisions you make.”
One section is based on an episode of ‘The Simpsons’ in which Lisa unusually cheats on a test and is wracked with guilt. Meanwhile, Principal Skinner wants to keep the deception hidden so that the school can get a grant. Questions in the ethics workbook include: “What could Lisa have done or thought about to make better decisions?” and “What are the potential and actual consequences of Director Skinner’s decisions?”
An NYU group called Faculty & Staff for Justice in Palestine criticized the assignments in a press release.
Sara Pursley, associate professor of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies, noted that students completing the reflection paper are told not to try to justify their actions or “question a rule of conduct.”
“Because they cannot write anything that justifies their action, students seem prohibited from writing about personal values that might be relevant here, such as the 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 spokesman John Beckman said the disciplinary process is intended to be educational.
“The purpose of these essays is to reflect on how the way a student expresses their values could impact other members of the NYU community,” Beckman said. “We think that is a valuable goal.”
He added: “Which is not to say that the specific assignments could not be improved.”
Faculty members and staff from NYU’s Office of Student Conduct will meet in the fall, Beckman said, to consider “what can be done to improve the quality of the prompts for the reflection papers and the other teaching assignments.”