Standing Firm Against Threats And Upholding Our Community Standards

Friday, July 3, 2026

Dear Members of the Carnegie Mellon Community:

I regret to write to you during this national holiday with another update on the Fence.

Early this morning, the Fence was painted with another message that repeated the phrase "Death to Zionism" — the same phrase that prompted university action earlier this week. Here is what I wish to share with you about this incident:

• Gina Casalegno, Vice President for Student Affairs, immediately reached out to leaders of Student Government in accordance with their longstanding role in the stewardship of the Fence. They shared perspectives on the Fence’s role as an important space for student speech and the harm experienced by community members due to the language on the Fence. They requested that any university response be narrow and attentive to community safety and the expressive traditions of the Fence. Student leaders also emphasized the importance of using the Fence Working Group Report frameworks to guide future conversations involving the Fence.We remain grateful for their engagement.
• In consultation with CMU Police, university leadership has concluded that the repainted message "Death to Zionism" once again meets the standard the university articulated earlier this week for language that incites or implies violence or reasonably can be viewed as threatening to members of our community.
• At my direction, FMS has painted over the word "Zionism" (the rest of the painted language was not deemed a threat) and the university is expanding its investigation into these ongoing incidents. This is another rare and troubling circumstance in which the university has determined that it must exercise its legal right to paint over the Fence, consistent with the recommendations of the Fence Working Group Report.

We recognize that the Jewish people are not a monolith; however, we remain deeply concerned about this troubling phrase and we continue to hear from many Jewish members of our community, including students, faculty and staff, that “Death to Zionism” has a historic and current context that instills fear regardless of their political views.

Let there be no ambiguity on the university’s position with respect to this issue: this is not a matter of freedom of expression or even about the rules of engagement at the Fence specifically; this is a community standards issue. Carnegie Mellon will not tolerate messages on university property — attributed or, in this case, anonymous — that incite or imply violence, which can reasonably be viewed as threatening to members of our community.

As I have said previously, words have power and as part of a community, we each have a responsibility to uphold our shared values and consider the impact of our words on those around us.

Sincerely,

Farnam Jahanian
President
Henry L. Hillman President's Chair