> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://hyperallergic.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Hundreds Sign Petition in Support of Artist Shellyne Rodriguez - URL: https://hyperallergic.com/hundreds-sign-petition-in-support-of-artist-shellyne-rodriguez/ - Published: 2023-06-09T16:15:04.000Z - Updated: 2025-11-24T16:04:25.000Z - Description: Scholars and artists accuse Hunter College and the School of Visual Arts of “craven hypocrisy” for firing Rodriguez as she faced vicious right-wing media attacks. - Author: Valentina Di Liscia - Tags: News, Featured, New York, Shellyne Rodriguez, #wp, #wp-post, #image-position-hidden, #Import 2025-11-24 09:29 (2023, 2024, part 1) Hundreds of artists, scholars, and cultural figures have signed a petition expressing solidarity with former Hunter College adjunct professor Shellyne Rodriguez and condemning institutions' "callow punitive response" to the recent right-wing attacks on the artist. In late May, Hunter [fired Rodriguez after she was filmed threatening a reporter](https://hyperallergic.com/arts-professor-shellyne-rodriguez-fired-after-confrontation-with-anti-abortion-group/) of the right-wing tabloid the *New York Post*, who appeared at her Bronx home unannounced seeking an interview about her confrontation with anti-abortion activists on campus earlier that month. The School of Visual Arts (SVA), where Rodriguez has taught classes, also terminated the artist a few days later. "The craven hypocrisy of these self-described progressive institutions exposes the emptiness of their articulated commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion," reads the petition, led by a committee of supporters of Rodriguez including Sarah Schulman, Chloë Bass, Ruth Wilson Gilmore, and Alicia Grullón. "In the face of racist, homophobic attacks, Hunter and SVA failed to stand by a beloved professor, and their stated values." The petition text is appended in its entirety at the end of this article along with a complete list of more than 600 signatories so far, among them scholars Ariella Aïsha Azoulay, Arlene Dávila, and Fred Moten and artists Xaviera Simmons, Dread Scott, Nari Ward, Guadalupe Maravilla, and many others. The letter is continuing to [gather signatures](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc-pIL5fCftGD0HQD-yZOyh43rvUR59W3cHTtN%5FjvRkDm5V0w/viewform?ref=hyperallergic.com). Rodriguez was the target of a sustained harassment campaign for weeks after she confronted anti-choice activists tabling at Hunter College on May 2\. A clip of the encounter showed the artist accusing members of Students for Life of America of misinformation and disheveling their table display, which included rubber fetus models and printed postcards. The clip was widely circulated on right-wing platforms and drew an onslaught of violent and hateful emails, text messages, and voicemails against the artist, including physical threats and racial and gender slurs. It was against the backdrop of these threats that reporter Reuven Fenton and a documentation crew from the *New York Post* visited Rodriguez’s place of residence in the Bronx on Tuesday, May 23\. According to Rodriguez, Fenton and his team accessed her building without using the intercom system and pounded on her door unannounced. After warning Fenton to get away from her door, Rodriguez opened the door and brought a machete blade up to Fenton’s neck. Another video circulated by the *Post* showed Rodriguez appearing to follow the journalists outside of the building. In a [statement shared with *Hyperallergic*](https://hyperallergic.com/artist-shellyne-rodriguez-arrested-in-the-bronx/), Rodriguez said she feared for her physical safety. No injuries were reported. In an interview with *Fox News* after the incident, Fenton said he "really and truly didn't believe in \[his\] heart .... that she was going to hurt me." Shortly thereafter, Rodriguez was dismissed from her adjunct role at Hunter College, which stated that it “strongly condemns the unacceptable actions of Shellyne Rodriguez.” A few days later, SVA announced it would not renew the artist’s contract. Rodriguez turned herself in to the 43rd Precinct in the Bronx on Thursday, May 25, and was released from custody on the same day; she faces charges of menacing and harassment. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2023/06/2022_bicops-on-the-third-of-may_39-5-x-46-inches.jpg) Shellyne Rodriguez, "BICOPs on the Third of May" (2022), color pencil on paper, 39 1/2 x 46 inches (image courtesy PPOW) The recent petition denounces the schools' decisions to terminate Rodriguez "without further inquiry" and points to an exploitative dynamic between universities and adjunct faculty, whose employment status is [notoriously precarious](https://www.chronicle.com/article/the-churn?ref=hyperallergic.com). It also urges universities to adopt harassment response and prevention plans, as encouraged by groups such as [Faculty First Responders](https://facultyfirstresponders.com/umass/?ref=hyperallergic.com), to support academic workers persecuted by the right. "Both Hunter and SVA traffic in the cachet of Black, Latinx, Indigenous, Queer, and Trans adjuncts," the petition reads. "That they simultaneously exploit and decline to stand up for us is galling." The letter concludes with a quote by author, civil rights activist, and Hunter College graduate Audre Lorde from her 1983 essay "[There Is No Hierarchy of Oppressions](https://uuliveoak.org/pdfs/worship%5F9-04-09%5Fexcerpts%5Fno%5Fhierarchy%5Fof%5Foppressions.pdf?ref=hyperallergic.com)," in which she admonished: "And when they appear to destroy me, it will not be long before they appear to destroy you." The Hunter College campus crossroads at 68th Street and Lexington Avenue was renamed [Audre Lorde Way](https://hunter.cuny.edu/news/hunter-crossroads-lexington-ave-and-68th-st-named-audre-lorde-way/?ref=hyperallergic.com) last year. The petition is one of several recent statements in support of Rodriguez. More than 1,200 scholars, artists, and cultural figures, including students, alumni, and faculty affiliated with Hunter College and other City University of New York (CUNY) schools, signed an [open letter of solidarity](https://lashbacknyc.net/?ref=hyperallergic.com) published by a coalition known as FEAS Frente Hermanas Amor y Solidaridad. Students in the Studio Art MFA program at Hunter College, where Rodriguez taught, also released a [statement](https://www.instagram.com/p/Cs6%5FZ0gxwJP/?hl=en&ref=hyperallergic.com). In early May, as the recording of Rodriguez confronting the anti-abortion group circulated, CUNY's own abortion rights coalition organized a [petition of support](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSciHukZyNW59wDQAgtB25DS-cTv3rHUzSqkLWvN9okVGM0Szw/viewform?ref=hyperallergic.com) on her behalf. A committee of artists and educators launched a [GoFundMe fundraiser](https://www.gofundme.com/f/artist-and-educator-shellyne-rodriguez?utm%5Fcampaign=p%5Fcf+share-flow-1&utm%5Fcontent=undefined&utm%5Fmedium=copy%5Flink&utm%5Fsource=customer&utm%5Fterm=undefined) for Rodriguez that has raised $22,000 of its $30,000 goal. Read the Artists in Solidarity petition in full, followed by a list of current signatories, below. --- *I have come to believe over and over again that what is most important to me must be spoken, made verbal and shared, even at the risk of having it bruised or misunderstood…my silences had not protected me. Your silences won’t protect you. – Audre Lorde* We, undersigned cultural workers, voice our outrage at the pernicious attacks on artists, scholars and educators, who are/fight for women, queer and trans people, Black and Indigenous people, disabled people and immigrants. We repudiate the silence, inaction and active betrayal of institutions that would sacrifice their integrity rather than their funding. We watch, mortified, as universities relinquish storied histories of political courage in favor of a callow punitive response to recent right-wing criticism of artist and educator Shellyne Rodriguez. Prompted by concerned students, Rodriguez confronted a group distributing anti-choice propaganda on Hunter College campus. Her interaction with the nationally-organized group was being handled internally by Hunter when right-wing media fomented a wildly disproportionate public response, focusing on Rodriguez's identity as a queer, Black, Latinx woman. Her phone and home address were publicly disclosed. She was deluged with racist, homophobic threats, facilitated in no small part by Hunter's failure to publicly defend her. After a highly publicized confrontation with *NY Post* reporters who had, unannounced and unidentified, accosted her at her home, Hunter College and the School of Visual Arts terminated her without further inquiry. The craven hypocrisy of these self-described progressive institutions exposes the emptiness of their articulated commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion. In the face of racist, homophobic attacks, Hunter and SVA failed to stand by a beloved professor, and their stated values. The vast majority of professional artists are teaching artists, an economic dynamic from which schools such as Hunter and SVA benefit greatly. They boast of us in promotional materials; they celebrate, but also bask, in the glow of our successes. They profit from our reputations, while offering few protections and no job security. Both Hunter and SVA traffic in the cachet of Black, Latinx, Indigenous, Queer, and Trans adjuncts. That they simultaneously exploit and decline to stand up for us is galling. Artists and targeted groups are historically among the first to defend free thought. It should be the shared responsibility of the universities to defend not only spaces of learning, but also those who shepherd that learning. Attacks on targeted identity groups are always also attacks on culture, art, and the spaces where the creative and the intellectual flourish. Banning Black history books and criminalizing drag are but the most recent object lessons in such thought policing, but they are far from the first. In [Republican lawmaker's call to defund CUNY](https://www.nysenate.gov/sites/default/files/press-release/attachment/cunysunylettertohochul.pdf?ref=hyperallergic.com) we hear echoes of Jesse Helms' 1989 call to defund the NEA. And what we should have learned in 1989 is that what is required of public institutions in the face of such attacks is not moral panic, but intellectual honesty, ethical fortitude, and a vigorous defense of the possibility of a unique perspective, however despised or marginalized. One year ago, Hunter College renamed a corner of its main campus after Black Lesbian poet laureate Audre Lorde. In her spirit we demand our universities defend artists and educators who speak against the vile attacks on all of our freedoms. We demand our universities adopt measures and create a [Harassment Response and Prevention Plan](https://facultyfirstresponders.com/umass/?ref=hyperallergic.com) to support members of their faculy when under right wing attacks. As Audre has repeatedly warned us, "... when they appear to destroy me, it will not be long before they appear to destroy you." Signatures as of June 9, 2023: Wendy Olsoff American Artist Daniela grande Omar Berrada Turiya Adkins Léopold Lambert Alicia Grullón Maria Hupfield Eva Peskin Charles de Agustin Ruth N. Figueroa Couvertier Aden Weisel Alexandria Smith Scott Campbell Danielle de Jesus Lisa Banta Natalie Eddings Ariella Aïsha Azoulay Sam Vernon Marina Reyes Franco kiara ocasio Joiri Minaya Sonya Irsay Larry Ossei-Mensah César Barros A. Corey Durbin Blake Paskal Nizan Shaked Jordany Genao Anastasiya Tarasenko Gabriel Garcia Roman Josh Hubi Karen "KayLove" Pedrosa Shivangi Mariam Raj Xayvier Haughton Cesar Kastro Michelle Rosenberg echo Eraso Patrício Morocho Suneil Sanzgiri gregory sholette Alex Dolores Salerno Samantha Medina Alex NUÑEZ Milton X. Trujillo Kadiatou Coulibaly Eden Deering Eddie Arroyo Laura Suárez Rodríguez Jay Lineberry Emma Quaytman Mike Tully Paula Stuttman Susanne Fredricks Michele Fiedler Harry Burke Sofía Gallisá Muriente Stephanie Goodalle Nathaniel Mothing Kandis Friesen Ja’Tovia Gary Cindy Hwang Ashara Ekundayo Magdalena Aleman Lukaza Branfman-Verissimo Gina Goico Terence Washington Xaviera Simmons Chloë Baas Elizabeth Glaessner Yara Travieso charles theonia Grace Carney Morehshin Allahyari Rebecca Goyette Mirene Arsanios Jeannette Rodriguez Pineda Catalina Schliebener Muñoz Sarah Schulman Gabo Camnitzer Grimaldi Baez Sophia Hussain Shane Aslan Selzer Mary white Gabriela Rassi Nari Ward Suneela Mubayi Taylor Renee Aldridge Matthew Schrader William Powhida Jan Descartes Michael Rakowitz Camilo Guinot Jessica Kwok Andrea Raymond Bill Martin Alina Tenser Emily Leach Eleanor Whitney Alaina Simone imogen xtian smith cassandra mayela Sara Jane Stoner Maya Strohmeier sgp diane enobabor Ben Nortey Francheska Alcántara Mimi Bai Amber Christina Barrera Adam Breaux Zeus Fontaine Ana Villagomez Trey Hollis Ian Epps Megan Hicks Dana DeGiulio mary sabbatino Cynthia Mulcahy katrina toimil misael soto Layal ftouni Alicia Gallant Pamela Echeverria Tara Long Johnica Rivers Eriola Pira Christopher Rivera Ariana Faye Allensworth Zelene Suchilt Polina Tereshina Mark Tribe Asari Aibangbee Andrea Chung Sebastien Sanz de Santamaria Melinda Griffith Dawn Weleski T Eliott Mansa Marronage Eva Mayhabal Davis Ben Durham Whitney McGuire Kevin Arrow Erica Baum Anna Goraczko Asha Tamirisa KESSWA KP Peralta, Social Work Student and former Graphic Designer Beatriz Santiago Muñoz Christopher Archer Jay katelansky Regina Bresler Suni Mullen Kazem Ghouchani Samia Labidi Gerald Lovell Zalika U. Ibaorimi Xenia Diente Karen Leader Neen Rivera Calvin Burton Natalia Lassalle Morillo Jean Seestadt Arlene Davila Olivia Peace Cecilia Caldiera Anneliis Beadnell Megan Westgate Katie Fuller Amorelle Jacox Odalys Burgoa Claudia Peña Salinas Elise Rasmussen Ginevra Shay Kency Cornejo Kaitlyn Greenidge Edward Frumkin Daisy Ruiz Patrick Rowe Karina Valdivieso Meghana Karnik Christine Howard Sandoval Elizabeth Axtman Lizania Cruz Andrea Cauthen Amirtha Kidambi Lauren Anderson Sahir Alexis Cheung Sara Bodinson Valeri Larko Amy Sinclair Brianne (Kennedy) Redfield Odessa Warren Andreas Petrossiants Elliot Josephine Leila Reichert Marela Zacarias Ranee Henderson Niki Reiner Vladimir Cybil Charlier Maria Guzman Aurash Khawarzad RJ Messineo Denenge Leonardo Aranda Teresa Basilio Adam Tetzloff Marina Christodoulidou Allentza Michel Carolyn Edgar Brett Wallace Dread Scott Julia Justo Prerana Reddy Abelardo Cruz Santiago B Andrade Sarah Ema Friedland Hennesy Sánchez Rotem Linial Devin Malone Jen Ayres Nora Akawi Jesse Chun Theresa Ganz William Carter Estefania Trujillo Preciado Sasha Bush Lee Painter-Kim Nikki Myers Olalekan Jeyifous Lee Gilmore Megan Heuer Eric Patel Marz Jupiter Sara Mokuria Dubravka Sekulić Stephanie Mota Kyle Goen Marco Lanier Dan Jonas-Roche Sami Abu Shumays Kathryn-kay Johnson Nataša Prljević Oluremi C. 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