OUTLaw Board's Call for Support Issued to NYU Law Students and Student Groups

Dear fellow students and student groups:

As we are sure you all know, the controversy stirred up by Dr. Thio's impending visit to NYU has spurred intense emotions and reactions in the student body and beyond. Last week, the administration responded with a statement acknowledging some of Dr. Thio's anti-LGBT statements and expressing their disagreement.

In the statement's wake, some things have become clear. Many individuals -- from both within and without our ranks -- view the administration's response as unsatisfactory, and to some, unacceptable. The numerous comments we have received from non-members confirms our belief that Dr. Thio's objectionable remarks are offensive to more than just LGBT students. We also recognize that many groups and individuals may feel differently from OUTLaw's official stance.

We still have questions for the administration, as we are sure many of you share, and the answers to which have implications for the entire NYU Law community: Were Dr. Thio's statements known to those responsible for the decision to hire her? How virulent must homophobic remarks be to disqualify a scholar from employment at NYU Law? Would the administration similarly hire a scholar who, in her capacity as a legislator, advocated for the imprisonment of those who engage in certain religious or cultural practices?

Accordingly, we have asked Dean Revesz to hold a town-hall style meeting, so that more voices can join the discussion and, hopefully, some of the important questions can get answered. Even though we realize it is difficult to schedule a meeting in the summer, we believe this matter is sufficiently pressing (it is getting national and international press coverage) that the discussion needs to happen as soon as possible, before the semester starts.

But for that, we need more support. First, we are asking groups, students, journals, alumni, faculty, staff, etc. to write Dean Revesz (richard.revesz@nyu.edu), urging him to hold such a meeting. Second, if such a meeting is to be successful by any standard, we need all those concerned to attend, to ensure the representativeness of the public.

We thank you all in advance for helping us include as many voices as we can into what has become an increasingly complicated, urgent situation.

NYU OUTLaw Board