Interim President Donna E. Shalala borrowed words from Sting’s song “Fragile,” to address “the fragility of life on this planet,” amid ongoing tensions between student groups regarding the Israel-Hamas war.
On Monday morning Shalala sent a message by email, addressed to The New School community, about “the sadness that we all feel,” with song lyrics apparently referred to her by an unnamed “fellow university president.”
“We are one community with the responsibility to ensure the safety and well being of all…Our Muslim, Jewish, and SWANA students, staff, and faculty are feeling particularly vulnerable, and it is on us—every one of us—to reach out to them, no matter our anguish or political views,” she said.
However, some students challenged Shalala’s reference choice.“There are so many resources at her disposal that don’t seem to be engaged with at all,” said Innana Lorette-Watson, a third year student at Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts. “There are so many smart, wonderful people, especially alumni and staff who have real scholarship about this whole situation, and Sting is not one of them,” they said.
The email follows the recent criticism Shalala faced from the student organization Students for Justice in Palestine and the New Student Workers Union for her “insensitive statement on the occupation of Palestine.” A representative from the President’s Office did not confirm or deny whether Shalala’s most recent email was a response to the controversy sparked by student groups on campus.
A statement from the President’s Office claims that “President Shalala’s message was meant to help our community come together in support of each other,” – going hand in hand with the subject line of her email, “Standing Together as a Community.”