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The chancellor of Rutgers University said the Ivy League institution is committed to academic freedom and will be launching a safety review and “academic freedom” task force amid the ongoing controversy surrounding Antifa-aligned professor Mark Bray.
“I write today to reaffirm Rutgers University’s unwavering commitment to academic freedom and freedom of expression—values that define a great research university and underpin our mission of discovery, dialogue, and public engagement,” Rutgers Chancellor Francine Conway wrote in a statement obtained by Fox News Digital.
“Incidents involving ‘doxing’ and harassment of faculty members understandably raise deep concerns across our community,” Conway wrote. “I want to express my support for any member of our community who has been targeted for their scholarship.”
Earlier this month, members of Rutgers’ Turning Point USA chapter launched a petition to remove assistant teaching professor Mark Bray, citing concerns over his past statements supporting Antifa.
Bray, who recently announced he was moving his family to Europe “for safety reasons,” and said that he had been doxxed and “received multiple death threats” has expressed strong support for “antifacism” in previous online posts.
He is the author of “Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook,” which openly calls for “militant anti-fascism.” That book says that “at the very least 50 percent of author proceeds will go to the International Anti-Fascist Defense Fund, which is administered by more than three hundred antifa from eighteen countries.”
On its website, the International Anti-Fascist Defense Fund says that it has “provided over $250,000 USD to more than 800 anti-fascists in 26 different countries.”
In her statement, Conway said she has directed Rutgers’ chief of police and chief information technology officer to review protocols for both physical and digital safety on campus.
“I therefore want to express, in the strongest possible terms, not only my personal abhorrence of the practice of doxing and threatening our faculty and students, but also the university’s commitment to protecting the security of our faculty, students, and staff from the consequences of having their personal information publicly disseminated.”
Conway said the officials will assess existing systems and “report any additional recommendations” to strengthen protections.
She also asked Rutgers’ faculty council to conduct a review of academic freedom “given the current challenges.”
“Free speech and academic freedom do not shield any of us from disagreement or critique,” Conway wrote. “At Rutgers, we encourage open and robust debate—even on the most controversial topics. Yet, the appropriate response to speech we oppose is more speech, not actions that seek to intimidate or threaten the personal safety of others.”
Megyn Doyle, a student at Rutgers and the treasurer for the Turning Point USA chapter, told Fox News Digital in an interview that Conway’s statement “is in clear defense of Mark Bray and his affiliation with Antifa. While the statement aims to uphold academic freedom, freedom of speech, and open debate, Mark Bray’s continuous record shows otherwise. Through his book, ‘Antifa: The Antifascist Handbook,’ calls for political violence and affiliation with Antifa, he has repeatedly shown hostility towards conservatives.”
Doyle added that “If Rutgers truly aims to protect academic freedom, freedom of speech and open debate, it must hold Mark Bray to that same standard.”
“Defending a professor who aims to silence conservatives undermines Chancellor Conway’s statement altogether,” Doyle said. “Therefore, we call on Rutgers to take immediate action and end their professional relationship with Mark Bray.”
Ava Kwan, the outreach coordinator for the Turning Point USA chapter, told Fox News Digital that Rutgers “is whitewashing Bray’s call for ‘preemptive violence’ against conservatives as ‘scholarship.’”
“His financial support for terrorists and Turning Point’s protected right to petition are not the same,” Kwan added. “They are running cover for the radical left and burying any mention of the doxxing campaign against my family!”
Kwan has said that she has been doxxed on platforms like Reddit.
Fox News Digital reached out to Rutgers for comment.
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