Author: Publisher

Would Juilliard surrender students to federal agents? Old Quotes from Polisi (2016), and New Statement from Juilliard (2025)

🐻 Coming out of hibernation for just a moment to share some now-relevant Polisi quotes we didn’t use for our very second article in 2016. Juilliard has also supplied an updated statement from 2025.

2016. President Polisi on collaborating with federal agents on Trump’s 2016 “Muslim Ban”

EDITOR: In the case of a Muslim ban, will the school comply [and provide information to federal investigators]? 

PRESIDENT POLISI: …If the FBI came to us and said “we’re doing an investigation on Muslim students,” we would inquire where the authorization was… We would not bend over and just say, “fine,” in other words.
…One has to comply with US law. And if you get a federal judge that issues a subpoena on an inquiry into a student… our general counsel has to look at it and see whether we have to comply or not… If it’s a fishing expedition [to find out if] someone happens to be Muslim, that would be anathama to anything I would believe in…and we’d put up every barrier possible to not comply until we had to comply….

2016. President Polisi on student free speech rights at Juilliard

STUDENT: [Something like ‘Would Juilliard ever issue a statement in opposition to Trump’s policies?’] 

PRESIDENT POLISI: I think that if the students feel strongly about something, then the students should do something about it…
…You know, if you are an organization of Juilliard students and want to say that you are for or against whatever else is happening here, that’s your right. That’s your First Amendment Right….It’s absolutely your right to do whatever you want. I mean, I prefer you not occupy my office!
[laughter]

2016. President Polisi on keeping students targeted by Trump safe

STUDENT: One thing that I need from you as the president of this institution is for us to talk about how are we going to make sure that the people here that have been targeted by [Trump] are going to be protected by this institution? 

PRESIDENT POLISI: [after saying something to the effect of ‘Juilliard can’t protect you off campus’] …we are here as an institution to educate you and to protect you, to make you as safe as we possibly can within the confines of this building…
…I can only tell you as the president of this place, the extraordinary faculty, administration and your peers…we’re going to protect each other as much as we can…

2025. Juilliard Statement from Mary Caraccioli, Vice President of Communications and Marketing

At Juilliard, we are deeply committed, as always, to supporting our students and addressing any challenges they face. Under President Woetzel’s leadership, we continue to uphold our commitment to delivering the highest quality of artistic education, empowering students from around the world to reach their fullest potential. The safety and support of our entire student body, whether national or international, is an essential priority. 

As policies and regulations evolve, we remain proactive in working directly with those affected, ensuring that our community receives accurate and timely information to guide them through any changes.

Related

Juilliard Community Confronts Trump Presidency at Polisi Forum

President Polisi responds to Dieffenbach & Parker Editorial

Why Showing Up Matters: student counter-protest (photos by Daniel Davila)

What I Saw at a Columbia Protest

There’s free speech at Juilliard (if you want it)

The website, social media accounts, podcast mechanism and brand of The Citizen-Penguin is up for grabs. The Citizen-Penguin is a student and alumni–owned underground newspaper that covers events, ideas and news concerning The Juilliard School (see disclaimer). Current students can email editor AT citizenpenguin DOT com for more information. Before it gets re-activated, it would need: an editor-in-chief, a managing editor, and an informal faculty advisor (with zero veto power).

A Citizen-Penguin sampler:

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A few rules that govern the operation of this site per founding agreements with the School:

  1. Don’t speak for the school (or its student body). Articles and editorials should have enough clarity that they don’t give the impression that The Citizen-Penguin is a mouthpiece for the School, or powerful enough to speak for all students. Our disclaimer: “The views and opinions expressed in The Citizen-Penguin are solely those of its contributors and do not represent those of The Juilliard School or any of its employees. The Juilliard School is not responsible for any of the content found in The Citizen-Penguin or for the accuracy of any information it contains.” (Sometimes, if an employee submits a rebuttal editorial, this isn’t necessarily a true disclaimer, but in those cases, while those employees might be acting as spokespeople, they are still not speaking for the institution. See Hipes on Residence Hall Closure, and Polisi on James Levine .)
  2. Don’t lie or publish untrue things. The latter is a little more likely since Juilliard doesn’t have a journalism program. Just make sure that all facts have a clear and legitimate source. (Public records from governmental agencies or FOIA requests; quotes from individuals, preferably also recorded, with consent; information from peer-reviewed publications, would all be reasonably interpreted as “legitimate.” While ‘truth’ and ‘doing your research’ has been politicized, a general rubric for journalistic truth has been well-established and that rubric must be prioritized over a political wish to give ‘all sides’ a platform.)
  3. Be transparent. For example, when holding comments to rule 1 and 2 above, it’s a good idea to tell the reader that a comment was deleted and why. (See comments section on Four Concerns with the Kovner Fellowship.) On that note, don’t allow anonymous comments, and don’t allow comments with new information that you cannot confirm that could be libelous.
  4. No hate speech.