Concerns about racism at Brooklyn College

Karen Baruch said, “I really like the new Microsoft Outlook program. It’s very user friendly and I love the new feature that categorizes my mail by the day. It’s also clean and easy to adjust to. I definitely enjoy the improvements made on this platform, it’s very helpful!”

Melissa Colas said, “The new Outlook is more business oriented, organized and also sophisticated,” something sure to be appreciated by many of the business students in the population.

Love it or hate it, Outlook Life is something Baruch students will have to get used to. That is, unless someone has a better idea.

It has been noticed that the provost behavior towards current Jewish staff members have left dissatisfying taste among the Brooklyn College Staff.  Such blatant racism has led to bringing the issue to the attention of Matthew Goldstein, chancellor of the City University of New York. 

“One highly qualified woman was denied a position because Tramontano said the staff already had a Miriam,” Hikind said, according to a 5 Towns Jewish Times article on the topic.

Brooklyn College spokesman Jeremy Thompson says that the claims are based on erroneous information, according to the Wall Street Journal, and that each of the hiring and promotion decisions were made “for rational and appropriate reasons.”

Amongst those that support Tramontano at the college is Economics professor Robert Cherry. He feels that this is a personal vendetta that Freidman has against Tramontano. He also is under the belief that Freidman’s motive is to defame the provost.

In the diverse community fostered by the CUNY system – and further within Brooklyn with its large Jewish population – it is hard to believe that blatant discrimination, not only against Jews but also against women, is something that anyone should have to put up with.

Concluding his blog post from April 17, Representative Hikind said, “Of course I will certainly continue to follow and report on this investigation. My fellow legislators and I are looking forward to CUNY’s report,” as are many both inside and outside of the CUNY community.