by Matthew Holloway | Nov 4, 2025 | Education, News
By Matthew Holloway |
A year-long Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) battle has revealed over 1,000 pages of emails from the University of Arizona (U of A), exposing coordinated efforts between faculty and pro-Palestine groups to undermine condemnations of the Oct. 7th Hamas attacks on Israel. The documents, obtained through legal threats after an initial denial, detail attempts to soften U of A statements on terrorism and revise an anti-Semitism resolution to prioritize criticism of police responses to pro-Palestine protests.
Brian Anderson, founder of the Saguaro Group and Arizona Capitol Oversight, filed the FOIA request in May 2024 targeting communications post-Oct 7th when Hamas terrorists killed 1,200 Israelis, mostly civilians, and many children. U of A initially refused, forcing Anderson to retain attorneys and threaten litigation, costing thousands of dollars before the June 2025 release. He detailed the ordeal in an X post on November 1, 2025, linking to a 12-page report.
Former U of A President Robert C. Robbins condemned the “antisemitic hatred, murder, and atrocity” officially on Oct. 11, 2023, specifically criticizing Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) for endorsing the attacks. Faculty backlash was swift. On Oct. 12th, an associate emailed Faculty Senate Chair Leila Hudson, accusing Robbins of “smears” against SJP and coordinating with Jewish Voice for Peace on protests, threatening a Palestine Legal report. Hudson, an associate professor in Middle Eastern and North African Studies, replied supportively and issued a statement on Oct. 13th condemning “illegal violent collective punishment” on Gaza civilians, equating it to Hamas terrorism.
Faculty emails poured in praising Hudson. One cited distress among Saudi, UAE, and Yemeni students. Another called her “courageous,” noting that “Kochs Off Campus” planned to attend a faculty meeting. Hudson privately noted shortening her draft to avoid “comparisons to ISIS tactics,” instead favoring words that would “bring people into dialogue.”
Pro-Palestine activity intensified on campus. On Oct. 26, 2023, the Coalition of Black Students and Allies emailed faculty, calling Oct. 7th a “powerful emblem of Palestinian resistance” against Israeli “apartheid.” Hudson spoke at a Nov. 6 Faculty Senate meeting on the “genocide” in Palestine, sympathizing with protesters against “occupation” and U.S. policy. An interim provost announced a Nov. 9 “Walkout for Palestine,” and United Campus Workers of Arizona issued a Nov. 20 open letter accusing pro-Palestine critics of “retaliation.”
Vandalism incidents included an Oct. 19, 2023, incident in which a swastika and “dirty Jew” graffiti were found on a student’s door, classified as bias-based. Professor Jean-Marc Fellous emailed on Jan. 14, 2024, about a prior swastika in his lab dismissed as “vandalism.” In April 2024, SJP’s “Israeli Apartheid Week” coincided with Passover, flagged as provocative. U of A’s Jewish fraternity Alpha Epsilon Pi was vandalized that month.
Faculty suspensions followed: Professors Rebecca Lopez and Rebecca Zapien were briefly removed in December 2023 for calling Hamas a “resistance group.” They were reinstated later. Hudson defended them, stressing teaching “causes and motivations of October 7th.”
An anti-Semitism resolution draft by Fellous on April 13, 2024, condemned fraternity vandalism as “virulent antisemitism.” Hudson emailed on May 3 to “adjust” it for “admin/police violence” against protesters. Colleagues protested, with Barry Goldman questioning the omission of violence against Jewish students. Fellous agreed to separate issues, noting “antisemitism and hate crime have nothing to do with police violence.” On May 5, another colleague accused Hudson of withholding the draft and warned of antisemitic implications.
At the May 2024 Faculty Senate meeting, Hudson declined the resolution, referring it to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for “further study.” She reaffirmed rejection of all biases, including those on “gender identity, reproductive status, and sexual orientation.” On Nov. 4, 2024, she reported ongoing feedback collection.
On Dec. 2, 2023, Hudson’s “State of the Faculty” message announced a Campus Climate response team for “incidents not meeting credible threats,” warning against labeling ceasefire calls or anti-Israel views as “pro-Hamas” or “antisemitic.” Law professors Toni Massaro, Tessa Dysart, and Mona Hymel then expressed concern, and distanced themselves with a fourth colleague whose name was redacted, adding, “I don’t think that a person with an understanding of antisemitism drafted or reviewed the part concerning hate speech.”
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) threatened legal action on Dec. 12, 2023, calling it a “deeply chilling and unlawful” act of “formalized government monitoring of protected speech.”
The Wall Street Journal editorial board highlighted the emails on Oct. 30, 2025, noting “anti-Israel and pro-Hamas bias among the faculty and student groups.” Anderson’s X thread amplified the report.
Anderson stated: “It took the University of Arizona an entire year to release these records to me, from my initial FOIA request in May 2024 until the final production in June 2025.” He added, “Multiple attorneys and thousands of dollars in legal fees were required to successfully reverse the university’s unnecessary delay (and, later, its formal denial) of my request, which it did only after a final warning that I would be filing a lawsuit within the next 48 hours. More importantly, its refusal to hand over these records denied students and faculty any semblance of transparency into the mechanics behind what was happening on their own campus—or what has happened in the year since.”
He concluded, “The best-case scenario is that UA succumbed to a culture dominated by over-thinking, whataboutism, and misplaced priorities that allowed hatred to flourish. But its extended fight against transparency suggests a broader institutional failure—one bordering on purposeful evasion of public records laws—with the intention of riding out the storm until Israel and Palestine were out of the news. We deserve better from this public university.”
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
by Ethan Faverino | Nov 3, 2025 | Education, News
By Ethan Faverino |
A group of students at Arizona State University hosted a public awareness event on Thursday, October 23, at the Memorial Union to highlight Antifa’s activities on campus and encourage students to confidentially report any known associates for submission to the Federal Terror Watchlist.
The event, hosted by College Republicans United (CRU), featured verified public records and official documents detailing students previously convicted of Antifa-related crimes, including multiple individuals who were active members or leaders of the Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA) at ASU at the time of their arrests.
“Like the Trump administration, we believe that if you see something, say something,” said Kevin Decuyper, who co-founded CRU at ASU in 2018 as a student and is now the chairman of the College Republicans United national organization.
Former law enforcement officer and current Congressional candidate for Arizona’s 1st District, Paul Reevs, said, “What these students are doing, standing up and simply asking people to help them identify violent people, is courageous. We need that kind of leadership, and I want to support them when they do that.” He attended the event and spoke to students to raise awareness about Antifa-related criminal activity on and around campus.
In a release promoting the event, CRU cited Gabriel Nadales, a former Antifa member and National Director of Our America who spoke at the group’s ASU chapter in 2019 about the connection between ANTIFA and the YDSA.
YDSA co-chair Isaac Burdge denied any organizational ties to Antifa, stating the group opposes fascism but does not engage in violence.
Despite Burdge’s claims that YDSA is not violent, there have been many documented cases of violence, including Benjamin Cooper, YDSA’s agitprop director at ASU, who has had multiple arrests for assaulting police.
Correction: A previous version of this story said that Gabriel Nadales was a featured speaker at the October 23rd event. Nadales did not speak at the event, but spoke to the group in 2019. The story has been udpated to reflect this.
Ethan Faverino is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Ethan Faverino | Oct 31, 2025 | Education, News
By Ethan Faverino |
Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne issued a statement opposing the State Board of Education’s decision to postpone the rulemaking to strip Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) language from Arizona’s teaching standards.
The issue will now be taken up at the Board’s December meeting—a delay Horne warns risks $866 million in federal education funding and violates clear federal civil rights directives.
“I respectfully but strongly disagree with the vote to postpone opening the rule-making process,” declared Horne. “The President issued an Executive Order requiring DEI language to be removed from programs funded by federal dollars. It made it abundantly clear that federal education funding is at risk if DEI language remains in education programs. Failure to comply with federal guidance may result in the loss of an estimated $866 million to Arizona schools. That is a major funding cut to our schools, and we need to begin dealing with this as soon as possible.”
Horne pointed to a letter from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR), signed by Acting Assistant Secretary Craig Trainor, which reaffirms that discrimination based on race, color, or national origin is illegal under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Equal Protection Clause, and controlling Supreme Court precedent.
The guidance explicitly condemns race-based preferences in admissions, financial aid, hiring, training, discipline, housing, and graduation ceremonies, and warns that DEI programs often “preference certain racial groups and teach students that certain racial groups bear unique moral burdens that others do not.”
The OCR letter also cites the Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard (SFFA), which states that the use of racial preferences in school testing and admissions is unlawful. Their message is simple: “If an educational institution treats a person of one race differently than it treats another person because of that person’s race, the educational institution violates the law.”
“Not only is the $866 million at risk, but there is a philosophical issue at stake, too,” continued Horne. “All people should be judged based on their character and ability, not their race or ethnicity. DEI language and programs promote the exact opposite, and they have no place in the classroom. The teaching standards, unfortunately, include DEI references, and they need to be removed.”
The teaching standards at issue direct educators to teach “equitably,” with “responsiveness to the cultural backgrounds and differing perspectives learners bring to the learning environment,” and to address the “social, emotional, and cultural needs of students.”
“These terms do not belong in teaching standards,” Horne concluded. “The standards are meant to direct educators on the most effective ways to teach students’ core academics. Every instructional minute is precious, and DEI efforts distract from that essential mission.”
Ethan Faverino is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Matthew Holloway | Oct 30, 2025 | Education, News
By Matthew Holloway |
The Phoenix Union High School District (PXU) is preparing for significant budget reductions and potential staff layoffs as enrollment continues to drop, according to a letter sent to district employees on October 24th by Superintendent Thea Andrade.
In a letter to PXU colleagues posted to X by Phoenix Union Governing Board Member Jeremiah Cota, Andrade cites a decline of approximately 1,800 students in the 2025-2026 school year, following a drop of about 1,200 students the previous year. This represents a total loss of roughly 3,000 students, or about 10% of the district’s overall population, since its high point in 2022.
The superintendent attributes the budget cuts to “a significant decline in student enrollment.” In her letter, she explains that “the reasons for declining enrollment are complex,” and pivots to what she says are contributing factors: “the largest expansion of Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESA) in our state’s history,” the continued growth of charter schools, local demographic challenges such as gentrification and low birth rates, and the expiration of several federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds.
The announcement drew immediate response from Governing Board Member Jeremiah Cota, who slammed the district for casting blame on ESA families, charter schools, and Arizona’s Republican-led legislature.
In his post, Cota said that as a board member, he has repeatedly requested improvements in school safety and has been “all but ignored.” He also expressed concern that parents are hesitant to send children to district schools due to safety issues and “woke identity politics” in classrooms.
Cota wrote in full:
“Today, Phoenix Union High School District announced an untold number of possible job cuts due to declining enrollment.
It’s unfortunate, this district has chosen to blame ESA families, charter schools, and the GOP legislature for their budget shortfalls.
As a board member for @PhoenixUnion, from day one I’ve asked to make our schools safer and have all but been ignored on EVERY single request.
Parents, don’t feel safe sending their kids to one of our schools and are tired of the woke identity politics being injected in the classroom.
Yet, here we are, big enrollment drops and possibly even bigger job cuts coming.
TRUTHFULLY, I am concerned the present board will not take any corrective action to stem this decline.”
To address the financial strain, the district has already implemented cuts. In the 2023-2024 school year, it reduced district office budgets by $8.6 million and reorganized the executive team, eliminating several administrative positions to shield campus roles. For the 2024-2025 school year, per AZ Family, an additional $5.8 million was cut through district office reductions, unfilled vacancies, and natural attrition.
As previously reported by AZ Free News, the Phoenix Union High School District (PXU) faced major controversy going into a vote to approve a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Chicanos Por La Causa (CPLC) to provide substance abuse prevention and mental health services at three high schools. The MOU outlines CPLC’s role as a subgrantee of the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) under the federal Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant (SABG).
The MOU would also permit CPLC to offer “Health Masculinity Services for Self-Identified Males.”
Looking ahead, the district projects it will need to cut another $15 million in the 2025-2026 school year and $20 million in the 2026-2027 school year to maintain solvency. Approximately 90% of the district’s annual budget goes toward employee salaries and benefits, Andrade noted.
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
by Staff Reporter | Oct 29, 2025 | Education, News
By Staff Reporter |
Northern Arizona University (NAU) is the latest in the state to drop its program with a Chinese university over national security concerns.
House committees on the Chinese Community Party and Education and the Workforce released a report last month flagging security concerns within NAU’s partnership with a Chinese municipal public university, Chongqing University of Post and Telecommunications (CQUPT).
The report outlined the main pathways by which China manipulates the American university system to benefit its military interests.
“What once came through Confucius Institutes now flows through new channels — less visible but no less strategic,” stated the report. “The Select Committee is now actively investigating these additional CCP activities — including the China Scholarship Counsel and student visa pathways — which, combined with joint institutes, illustrate a coordinated strategy by the CCP: leverage American institutions to train PRC talent, absorb U.S. research, and convert that knowledge into military and economic advantage. Joint institutes are just one vector — the problem is systemic.”
Rep. Eli Crane commended NAU for shutting down the program following the report’s publication.
“I applaud Northern Arizona University’s leadership in reviewing its international partnerships and ensuring that its programs align with national security initiatives,” said Crane in a press release on Monday. “NAU’s actions reflect a responsible approach to protecting students, faculty, and the integrity of U.S. research and education. We greatly appreciate their commitment to these shared values, as well as all they do for Northern Arizona.”
The CQUPT program was a 3+1 dual-degree program in Electrical Engineering.
Full withdrawal will occur within 90 days, per Crane’s press release.
NAU’s program was one of over 50 university partnerships the congressional committees deemed “high-risk” for their involvement with universities guided by Chinese Communist Party (CCP) military and defense interests. The congressional committees disclose that the list is not all-inclusive and that more may exist.
The University of Arizona (U of A) had two programs included in the congressional report that were deemed high risk: one with the Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT) and the other with the Arizona College of Technology (ACT) at Hebei University of Technology (HUT).
The HIT program is one of three joint programs that American universities launched with one of China’s Seven Sons of National Defense (SSND) universities.
Only universities selected by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to advance China’s military and defense research qualify as SSND.
Although the report declared the HIT partnership to be active, U of A has stated it terminated its partnership in December 2023.
The committees also determined the University of Arizona’s Arizona College of Technology at Hebei University of Technology.
Last month, U of A faculty were advised that Chinese microcampuses would be closed following congressional advice on national security concerns with the partnerships.
U of A issued a notice on its Research and Partnerships page last December that SSND posed “atypical security risks and concerns about misuse of research for military purposes” due to their being controlled by CCP’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
by Jonathan Eberle | Oct 28, 2025 | Education, News
By Jonathan Eberle |
Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne is welcoming discussions between the University of Arizona (UA), Arizona State University (ASU), and the Trump administration on a new Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education, a federal initiative promoting merit-based standards and accountability in universities.
Horne, who also serves on the Arizona Board of Regents, said the compact reflects his long-held belief that education policy should prioritize individual achievement over racial or identity-based criteria.
“Since I took on the Tucson Unified district in 2008 to end the racially divisive ‘Ethnic Studies’ program, I have been fighting against racial entitlements,” Horne said in a statement. “People should be judged on their character and merit, not the color of their skin. The Trump administration’s federal compact for universities shares that same goal, and I am pleased that universities, including the University of Arizona and Arizona State University, are in discussions with the President on enshrining those principles in their schools.”
Horne also disputed recent reports suggesting that the University of Arizona had declined to participate in the compact, pointing instead to a recent letter from UA President Suresh Garimella to U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon. In the letter, Garimella expressed alignment with the administration’s goals of strengthening higher education through merit, excellence, and accountability.
“We share your vision of continuing to strengthen our higher education system for the betterment of the country — a vision rooted in a merit-based pursuit of excellence that directly or indirectly benefits all Americans,” Garimella wrote. He added that the university finds “much common ground with the ideas your administration is advancing” and welcomes collaboration with other institutions, higher education associations, and Congress “to advance and implement our principles in alignment with the national interest.”
Garimella’s Statement of Principles, included with the letter, outlines commitments to nondiscrimination, academic freedom, fiscal responsibility, and research integrity. It reaffirms that admissions and hiring decisions at UA will continue to be merit-based, and that diversity statements will not be used in employment processes. The document also emphasizes free speech protections, pledging to uphold the Chicago Principles on Freedom of Expression and to publish results from campus surveys on viewpoint diversity.
Under Garimella’s leadership, UA reports a 22% reduction in administrative spending, a tuition freeze for in-state students, and an expanded focus on aligning research priorities with national and economic security needs — reforms he described as consistent with the compact’s goals.
Horne said those steps demonstrate “a serious commitment to the kind of merit-driven, excellence-focused education system that Arizona taxpayers deserve.”
Both UA and ASU are expected to continue discussions with federal officials about implementing the compact in ways that preserve institutional autonomy while aligning with national standards for merit and accountability.
Jonathan Eberle is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
