Joint Statement from ASPSU President and President Cudd 

May 24, 2024
4:00 p.m.

Dear PSU Community

As the President of Portland State University and the President of the Associated Students of Portland State University (ASPSU), we are pleased to come together to offer this joint statement.

First, we are heartbroken over the devastating loss of innocent civilian lives in Israel and Gaza, and the horrific, ongoing suffering in Gaza.  We support an end to the violence and to the current humanitarian and hostage crisis in Gaza. We join the calls by the President of the United States, as well as international organizations and leaders, for a ceasefire that will include an end to military operations, the release of all hostages, and humanitarian aid that reaches civilians affected by the violence in Gaza with the goal of achieving a lasting peace.

Second, we are pleased to announce that PSU will be hosting a Palestinian Scholar in the Fall of 2025, and will establish student scholarships to be awarded to students directly impacted by the war in Gaza.  President Cudd will work with ASPSU and others to establish these opportunities and work out the details.  We will share more with our campus community as we move along.  

Third, President Cudd commits to supporting new curricular proposals brought forth by PSU’s faculty that work to dissect Islamophobia, Anti-Jewish, Anti-Palestinian and Anti-Arab rhetoric.

We want to jointly acknowledge the passionate and impactful student activism that has taken place on PSU’s campus.  We honor the tradition of student protest and its power to make positive change in the world, and we are proud of the PSU students who have engaged in non-violent activism and become a part of this important, living history.

Through this challenging time, our campus community has also been impacted by extensive property destruction, hateful rhetoric, psychological harm, and violence. Rather than uplifting the powerful message of our student activists, we believe these actions diminish their voices.  This has also made our campus a space of anxiety and fear for those who live, study and work on this campus. We jointly denounce this violence and the harm that it has caused.

Finally, we’ll continue to work together with open minds and hearts to address the issues raised in ASPSU’s May 13 resolution.
 

Yousif Ibrahim                                                       Ann E. Cudd 
Student Body President                                       President
Portland State University                                    Portland State University