To Dean Michael A. Lindsey and the Silver Senior Leadership Team,

We are students and learners in the social work community: high school students interested in studying social work, undergraduate students interested in pursuing a master's degree, and post-graduate learners and researchers interested in pursuing research, scholarship, and fellowship opportunities. We are appalled by your recent decision to withdraw the acceptance of an NYU undergraduate student to your Master's in Social Work program due to their involvement in activism for Palestine on campus. We will not apply to, enroll in, or matriculate in NYU Silver until you reinstate the student's acceptance.

In accordance with the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Code of Ethics, we recognize that "The primary mission of the social work profession is to enhance human well-being and help meet the basic human needs of all people, with particular attention to the needs and empowerment of people who are vulnerable, oppressed, and living in poverty."

NYU Silver claims within its mission statement to embody a "belief in the dignity and worth of all individuals” and a “commitment to social and economic justice that includes freedom from all forms of oppression and access to social goods.“ You cannot claim to adhere to these values while punishing your students for engaging in protest against the ongoing Israeli apartheid in Palestine and genocide in Gaza. As future leaders of the social work field, we must remain committed at all times to our pursuit of social change and progress, "particularly with and on behalf of vulnerable and oppressed individuals and groups of people," as the NASW Code of Ethics states.

Your action is contradictory to the very values of social justice that our field is rooted in. We commit to boycott NYU Silver completely until you reinstate the student's acceptance and issue a formal public apology to the student.

In Peace and Power,

The Undersigned Social Work Students and Learners