As of the writing of this letter, we still don’t know what exactly Rumeysa Ozturk is accused of doing. What we do know is that prior to her detention by ICE officers on March 25, Ozturk’s sparse record of public activism included co-authoring an opinion piece for The Tufts Daily, in which she called on the university to adopt three out of four resolutions passed by the TCU Senate. These resolutions demanded “that the University acknowledge the Palestinian genocide, apologize for University President Sunil Kumar’s statements, disclose its investments and divest from companies with direct or indirect ties to Israel.”
Following her detention, the Department of Homeland Security justified the termination of Ozturk’s F-1 student visa by alleging that she “engaged in activities in support of Hamas.” The same statement from the agency maintained that the visa termination of anyone “glorifying and supporting terrorists who kill Americans” is legitimate and “common sense security.”
Even if we knew all the facts about this case, we would be wholly unqualified to offer any legal analysis. Whether or not Ozturk’s political activism constitutes a violation of her visa is up to a judge to decide. She must have her day in court. We can only wait and see what the investigation uncovers.
And yet we worry. Regardless of the legality of the termination of Ozturk’s visa, the practical effect of her detention and possible deportation will be the chilling of speech at Tufts.
The university prides itself on its international student population: 15.5% of students hail from abroad, representing 124 countries. When individuals of such diverse backgrounds convene in a single place, they will undoubtedly bring varied perspectives. The purpose of a university is to host differing viewpoints, improve the quality of campus discourse, and expose everyone to new ideas.
We’re afraid that the lack of clarity in this case, especially concerning the reasons for Ozturk’s detention, will disconcert international students and dissuade them from voicing their opinions. We want everyone to maximally exercise their speech rights under clear standards about what constitutes protected versus unprotected speech. Should Ozturk’s detention—the opaqueness of which has already guaranteed the chilling of speech, regardless of its legality—become the standard, no student on a visa could possibly feel comfortable participating in campus discourse.
The Tribune was created in order to respond to any and all free speech threats to Tufts students. We firmly believe the best way to respond to speech is through more speech, not less. If international students are indeed being prohibited from participating in crucial campus debates, we wouldn’t need a slippery slope argument to demonstrate that free speech is in danger: We would already be at the bottom.