Gov. Chris Sununu spent Thursday on a mini-media tour, praising Granite State schools Dartmouth College and the University of New Hampshire for their level-headed handling of anti-Israel protests Wednesday night.
“There were classes yesterday, protests and a few arrests last night — not a single window was broken — and all the students were back in class first thing this morning,” Sununu told Fox News’s Neil Cavuto. “We didn’t miss a beat.”
But ask Sununu about the protesters’ message and their behavior, and it’s clear that, like many of his fellow Americans, what he’s seen on elite campuses the past two weeks has made him angry.
“How can you not be angry when what you’re seeing isn’t a disagreement on policy or political beliefs? It is really founded, I believe very strongly, in antisemitism. The abolishing of the Jewish people, that’s what this is about,” Sununu told NHJournal. “So, yeah, I get a little bit angry, because there’s such a lack of information out there.”
Sununu believes the students don’t understand the issues regarding Israel, Gaza or the meaning of their slogans, and he blames educators.
“A lot of the universities aren’t allowing quality, constructive educational conversations to happen in the classroom, and that leaves a vacuum for social media and propaganda. That’s a failure of the system.”
Sununu hasn’t hesitated to label the “From the River to the Sea” and “Globalize the Intifada” messaging as antisemitic.
“One hundred percent, this is pure antisemitism,” Sununu told reporters on Wednesday. “This is pure hatred. I mean, who isn’t shocked by the level of antisemitism we’re seeing in this country right now?”
If the Democrats hoping to replace the retiring Sununu in November are shocked, they haven’t mentioned it. President Joe Biden may have broken his silence on the campus chaos across the country, but both former Mayor Joyce Craig and Executive Councilor Joyce Craig are a ‘no comment’ on the anti-Israel protests.
“For me, politics is driven by leadership, and neither of those two [candidates] have shown an ability to lead, an ability to have a backbone and do what’s right,” Sununu told NHJournal. “They’re afraid of their own party, they’re afraid of their own shadow. They should be embarrassed.”
Still, Sununu said, he’s not giving up hope.
“Biden spoke out today. Ten days have gone by and he finally made a statement. So maybe within ten days, we’ll hear something from the people who want to lead this state.”
Craig and Warmington have received repeated requests to comment on the protests, particularly those at New Hampshire universities they will play a role in overseeing if elected governor. They have declined all requests.
Craig’s silence is particularly notable given that, according to her campaign, she was in Hanover Wednesday night, even as more than 90 protesters were being arrested on the Dartmouth campus.
Both GOP candidates for governor, Kelly Ayotte and Chuck Morse., have denounced the antisemitic and anti-Israel rhetoric of the protesters. Morse told radio host Jack Heath Thursday morning that he supported the right to protest, “but when you’re talking about eliminating the Jewish people, you’ve gone a step too far.”
Asked about Craig and Warmington’s refusal to speak out about the protestors’ message, Morse replied, “Jack, they should be speaking out right now. It’s important that they condemn [the antisemitism] right now. We cannot run away from Israel.”
In a letter to the UNH community Thursday, University of New Hampshire President James Dean described events of the night before. He said the protesters refused to work with the administration on holding a peaceful protest, and police had to be called.
“Despite clear communication with organizers regarding the university’s expectations for conduct when exercising their free speech rights, those guidelines, as well as repeated requests and warnings from university staff and police, were blatantly ignored. Protesters erected tents in a stated attempt to create an encampment on UNH property,” Dean wrote.
Police clashed with protesters as they cleared the encampment, arresting 12 people. Two protesters allegedly assaulted police during the face-off. Graduate student Sebastian Rowan, 29, allegedly hit two officers, and student Aidan Turner, 21, allegedly grabbed UNH Police Chief Paul Dean.
“Officers were assaulted. Things were thrown at them,” Dean told The Boston Globe. “There was a lot of violence towards police tonight.”
Both Rowan and Turner were arraigned Thursday and they face a host of misdemeanor charges, including assault. Dean said UNH will always strive to be a place where students and faculty are free to exercise their First Amendment rights, but the school won’t tolerate groups looking to create conflict and violence as happened on Wednesday.
“We will not allow our campus to be co-opted by a small group of protesters, including those from outside the university community whose agenda is antithetical to student success and well-being,” Dean said.
Sununu, an MIT grad, compared the direct action Dartmouth and UNH took to the weak response of other colleges, particularly the Ivy League schools. While schools like Brown University literally negotiated a settlement with protesters that involved giving them influence over administrative policy, Sununu said it was Dartmouth that “has been the gold standard.”
“What you’re seeing across the country is that, if you capitulate, if you have this ‘woke’ mentality of appeasement, it doesn’t work,” he told Cavuto. “That model has failed time and time again.”
“It’s very simple,” Sununu added. “You lay out the communication: ‘If you violate school rules, if you violate policy, there will be clear consequences.’ And you execute those consequences. That’s how you handle these situations.”
