Ironically, Murphy’s own presidency is tainted by the extent to which UCLA has become a battleground waged with statements, op-ed submissions, and hate speech. Many believe that Murphy was, in part, elected because of a conflict of interest case brought by SJP against former USAC presidential candidate Sunny Singh, who sat on the council as General Representative 2 during the 2013-14 academic year; and Lauren Rogers, who was Financial Supports Commissioner at the same time.
SJP claimed that Singh and Rogers should not have been allowed to vote on the divestment meeting on February 25, since their participation in free educational trips to Israel constituted a conflict of interest. Murphy, who attended the same Project Interchange trip as Rogers, was not under scrutiny, since SJP claimed that his trip came before his presidential term, while Rogers and Singh attended trips after their elections.
SJP’s strategic attack was certainly effective. Election season was rife with back and forth speculation on the nature of Singh’s qualifications, and The Daily Bruin even cited the conflict of interest case as a reason why they would not endorse Singh for USAC president. In the end, Murphy won the USAC presidential race by 31 votes.
While justice ultimately prevailed, it was delayed for too long: The Judicial Board cleared Rogers and Singh of any conflict of interest on May 21, with a 4-0-2 vote and the conclusion that Singh and Rogers’ votes on the divestment issue were “valid and legitimate.”
“I was surprised that it reached that point. I had done nothing wrong and felt like I was being questioned simply because I had a differing opinion,” Singh said afterwards. “The trial was stressful—not because I thought the Judicial Board would rule against Rogers and me, but because this would overshadow and invalidate the incredible work that my office had done throughout this year.”
When asked about the impact of the trial, Rogers was more critical. “For the past three months, there have been constant hateful, vindictive, and frightening attacks almost on a daily basis on those who disagreed or were perceived to disagree with the divestment resolution,” she said.
The Judicial Board trial was the pinnacle of attacks as it specifically targeted me and my fellow co-council member Sunny Singh. The ongoing attacks on social media, the ethics pledge, and the Judicial Board complaint clearly demonstrate part of the campaign of hate by SJP and others against anybody they disagree with….
Despite the fact that Sunny and I have been cleared unanimously by the Judicial Board, I am still truly scared to walk around my own campus. The campus climate of fear created by SJP and their allies is still very present and should not be tolerated.
On May 27, Ian Cocroft and Katie Takakjian, Roger and Singh’s respective counsels in the Judicial Board case, published a statement in The Daily Bruin expressing their dissatisfaction with the case in general. “Free speech rights,” they wrote, “do not permit the use of harassment to intimidate students into surrendering their freedom of association and the educational prerogative they have as elected officials and as students.”
With that, we arrive at the current state of affairs at UCLA. We are making local, national, and international news—something that is usually a cause for celebration. But in this case, it is a cause for self-evaluation and peacemaking between campus communities. The current situation is, quite simply, intolerable. UCLA has turned into a microcosm of world politics, with all sides speaking past each other in an attempt to be heard, confusing and exasperating unaffiliated onlookers.
For myself and other Jewish and pro-Israel students, the atmosphere is poisonous. We feel attacked, ostracized, and threatened. Our identities are being rejected and our right to express our beliefs endangered. Our academic performance is being harmed unjustly; and our supporters are now targets of hate campaigns, baseless accusations, and unfair political and social retaliation.