CV NEWS FEED // The University of Pennsylvania lost a $100 million grant after a contentious Congressional hearing focused on anti-semitism on campus, during which Penn president Liz Magill failed to state that individuals who call for the genocide of Jewish people violate Penn’s policies or code of conduct.
In 2017 Founder and CEO of Stone Ridge Asset Management and Penn undergrad alum Ross Stevens gifted Penn $100 million, in the form of a limited partner agreement with his company, to help establish a center for innovation in finance, according to Axios.
But on December 7, a day after the hearing, his lawyers sent a letter to the university expressing disapproval of the words of the president’s congressional testimony and of the university’s response to antisemitism.
In a letter from his lawyers to the university, Stevens wrote that the university’s
permissive approach to hate speech calling for violence against Jews and laissez faire attitude toward harassment and discrimination against Jewish students would violate any policies or rules that prohibit harassment and discrimination based on religion, including those of Stone Ridge.
The letter alleged that the university violated the terms of the limited partnership, especially through a violation of the agreement’s anti-discrimination and anti-harassment policies.
“In light of the foregoing, Stone Ridge has reason to believe that the University’s actions (or lack thereof) constitute “Limited Partner Cause” under Section 10.12 of the LP Agreement, which gives Stone Ridge the ability, in its sole discretion, to retire the University’s Units,” the letter read. The “units” are worth $100 million, the letter notes.
The presidents of three Ivy league universities, including Penn, attended a House Committee Hearing on December 5 to discuss the universities’ plan to combat anti-semitism on their campuses.
The exchange that drew significant criticism happened when Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) asked Magill during the hearing if “individuals who call for the genocide of Jewish people violate Penn’s policies or code of conduct,” according to the Daily Pennsylvanian:
“If the speech turns into conduct, it can be harassment,” Magill told Stefanik, later adding, “It is a context-dependent decision.”
This response prompted Stefanik to continue probing.
“This is the easiest question to answer, ‘yes,’ Ms. Magill,” Stefanik said. “Conduct meaning committing the act of genocide? ….This is unacceptable, Ms. Magill.”
Magill ultimately reiterated that calling for the genocide of Jews “can be harassment.”
Magill’s response to Stefanik was met with criticism from students, donors and Democrat Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro. PA State Senator Steve Santarsiero issued a statement calling for Magill to resign for her response at the hearing.
“Frankly, I thought her comments were absolutely shameful,” Shapiro told reporters. “It should not be hard to condemn genocide.”
In a video posted on December 6 by the University of Penn Office of the President, Magill addressed the words of her testimony that brought so much criticism. Penn’s account on X (formerly known as Twitter) also published Magill’s message.
“There was a moment during yesterday’s congressional hearing on antisemitism when I was asked if a call for the genocide of Jewish people on our campus would violate our policies,” she said:
In that moment, I was focused on our University’s long standing policies aligned with the U.S. Constitution, which say that speech alone is not punishable. I was not focused on, but I should have been, the irrefutable fact that a call for genocide of Jewish people is a call for some of the most terrible violence human beings can perpetrate. It’s evil—plain and simple.
I want to be clear, a call for genocide of Jewish people is threatening—deeply so. It is intentionally meant to terrify a people who have been subjected to pogroms and hatred for centuries and were the victims of mass genocide in the Holocaust. In my view, it would be harassment or intimidation.
She added that for decades,
Penn’s policies have been guided by the Constitution and the law. In today’s world, where we are seeing signs of hate proliferating across our campus and our world in a way not seen in years, these policies need to be clarified and evaluated. Penn must initiate a serious and careful look at our policies, and Provost Jackson and I will immediately convene a process to do so.
In the letter from his lawyers, Stevens criticized Magill’s post on X that “belatedly acknowledged—only after her Congressional testimony went viral and demands for her termination amplified—that calls for genocide of the Jewish people constitute harassment and discrimination.”
The letter concluded,
Mr. Stevens and Stone Ridge would welcome the opportunity to discuss the matter further and give the University a chance to remedy what Stone Ridge believes are likely violations of the LP Agreement if, and when, there is a new University President in place. Until then, there can be no meaningful discussion about remedying the University’s ongoing failure to honor its obligations.
