The University of Florida has banned a graduate student teaching assistant from its campus in Gainesville for three years after he allegedly vandalized a pro-Israel sign at a Jewish fraternity late last month.
Simon Nicolas Lowry, 24, faces two misdemeanor charges for cutting out the word “Israel” from a banner reading “AEπ stands with Israel” hanging in front of Alpha Epsilon Pi.
Lowry, a graduate teaching assistant in the school’s Astronomy Department, was reportedly caught in the act on surveillance cameras outside the fraternity house.
Campus police said Lowry confessed to the vandalism late last month.
“The actions of these students were intentional and unacceptable and will not be tolerated at the University of Florida,” campus Police Chief Linda Stump-Kurnick said in a statement. “Freedom of speech is protected. Vandalism is not. And we will do our best to ensure that the University of Florida is a welcoming place for all.”
The school hit Lowry with a trespassing order following the allegations.
He declined to comment on the case when contacted by the student newspaper, Fresh Take Florida.
Lowry was charged with vandalizing a sign outside a Jewish fraternity.
Meanwhile, two Florida Republican lawmakers introduced two bills that would punish students for expressing support for Hamas.
Sponsored by Senator Blaise Ingoglia and Rep. John Temple, the law would target any student who “promotes a foreign terrorist organization.”
Lowry has been banned from campus.University Of Florida Police Department, /, Fresh Take Florida
Violators will be forced to pay higher out-of-state tuition rates and become ineligible for government grants and financial aid.
The bill, which will be considered for passage in January, lists both Hamas and Islamic Jihad as groups students would be barred from supporting.
“Florida taxpayers should not be in the business of subsidizing education for terrorist sympathizers who seek to harm us, and others,” the state’s Ingoglia said in a statement.
Democrats are expected to oppose the legislation.
“Instead of addressing issues like property insurance, the Florida Legislature will target students they say promote violence,” Rep. Anna Eskamani state (D-Orlando) posted on social media.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
