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Some NYU students have voiced concern over the LGBT policies in the United Arab Emirates, the site of NYU's first planned satellite campus. Though U.A.E. law does not ban homosexuality, it considers "acts of homosexuality" to be criminal. It has thus drawn criticism from both the U.S. State Department and organizations such as Human Rights Watch for its policies regarding homosexuality.
NYU, and New York City for that matter, are known for being gay-friendly. LGBT students are accepted here in ways they wouldn't be at many American universities. Bearing this in mind, some have questioned the wisdom of opening an NYU site in a nation whose laws run contrary to the values and customs of the Washington Square campus.
University officials have assured students that NYU's Abu Dhabi campus, nicknamed NYUAD, will function as a bubble of academic freedom in which students are granted the same liberties they enjoy in the United States. Outside of the campus limits, however, students will be subject to the same laws governing all U.A.E. citizens.
We doubt that calling the U.A.E.'s repressive legal system into consideration will change NYU's planning. The administration was well aware of Abu Dhabi's practices coming into negotiations; there have been no new revelations since discussions between administrators and Abu Dhabi representatives began. Instead, recent events - such as the government's unacceptable response to the gang-rape of a 15-year-old French boy in Dubai - raise questions about the plan as is.
We believe the creation of an academic liberty "zone" is necessary for NYU's presence in Abu Dhabi. But what might happen beyond the university's new walls is worth considering. We hope the administration will offer more details addressing how they plan to navigate potential conflicts involving NYU students outside of NYUAD's facilities.
But we also must remember that NYUAD is indeed a branch campus. It is not being created with the intention of catering to NYU students; this is not a study abroad site. Rather, it is intended to attract students from the Gulf and neighboring regions. In emphasizing the negative implications of expansion, some have overlooked the possible good that might come of it. Students exposed to a more open atmosphere personally and intellectually might take their experiences home - wherever that might be. That could spark dialogues which might eventually lead to social change. Idealistic? Yes - but not unimaginable.
We understand student concerns about putting NYU's name on a campus housed in a country whose policies are discriminatory. But we do not see NYU's decision to open a campus in Abu Dhabi as an endorsement of the country's culture, laws or customs.
