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A view of FAMU\u2019s quadrangle. (Khalil-Lullah Ballentine\/FAMUAN) <\/p>\n
FAMU\u2019s recent winter break trip to Israel, which included faculty,\u00a0administrators\u00a0and students, has sparked\u00a0conversations\u00a0among\u00a0the\u00a0student\u00a0body, with critics questioning the university\u2019s transparency, ethical\u00a0responsibility\u00a0and alignment with its mission as a historically Black institution.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The trip\u00a0was\u00a0described\u00a0by\u00a0university\u00a0partner Passages Israel\u00a0as an immersive educational experience\u00a0exposing\u00a0students to \u201cboth ancient and modern Israel, deepening their faith while also gaining a greater understanding of the complex issues confronting Israel today.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
However, many students say they were unaware the trip was taking place until after it had already occurred, fueling frustration.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cFrankly, I didn\u2019t hear anything about the trip until after, and even then, leaders\u00a0haven\u2019t seemed\u00a0open to\u00a0conversation or accountability about it,\u201d said\u00a0Kayla Davis, a\u00a0political\u00a0science major.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Brianna Jean, an animal science major at FAMU, said her\u00a0initial\u00a0reaction to learning about the trip was disbelief.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u201cTo be completely honest, I thought it was a joke,\u201d Jean said. \u201cI heard from a friend that they were in Israel, and the first thing that came to mind was \u2018why?\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Israeli forces\u00a0have\u00a0killed at least 556 Palestinians since a\u00a0ceasefire went into effect\u00a0nearly four\u00a0months ago,\u00a0according to CBS News.\u00a0As recently as Feb. 4,\u00a0Israeli\u00a0soldiers\u00a0killed\u00a023 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip in one of the deadliest days since\u00a0a\u00a0ceasefire\u00a0began.\u00a0Among these\u00a0Palestinians killed,\u00a0five\u00a0were\u00a0children, including a 5-month-old and\u00a0a baby\u00a0who was\u00a0just\u00a010 days\u00a0old,\u00a0seven women\u00a0and a paramedic, said hospital officials.\u00a0<\/p>\n
University officials have said students were provided opportunities to\u00a0participate\u00a0and that the trip was introduced during a Board of Trustees meeting.\u00a0In a written response\u00a0to\u00a0the\u00a0FAMUAN, Vice President for Student Affairs William E. Hudson Jr. acknowledged that some students expressed strong opposition after the trip became public.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe university was aware that some students expressed strong concerns about the trip,\u201d Hudson\u00a0said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hudson\u00a0also explained that\u00a0administrators\u00a0reviewed the feedback and engaged in internal discussions with academic leadership and\u00a0student support\u00a0teams.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Despite these assurances,\u00a0students\u00a0can\u2019t\u00a0help but\u00a0view the trip as\u00a0an endorsement of Israel\u2019s actions.\u00a0Jean\u00a0said\u00a0she believed\u00a0it functioned as institutional indoctrination rather than neutral academic exploration.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cConsidering the political climate in the world, it is not far-fetched to say Israel has a deeply rooted connection to the United States,\u201d Jean said, referencing U.S. financial and political support for Israel amid the ongoing\u00a0genocide\u00a0in Gaza. \u201cTo see our\u00a0president, Marva Johnson,\u00a0sending students, faculty, and administrators to Israel is utterly distasteful.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Jean also took issue with statements from the CEO of Passages Israel, an organization connected to similar HBCU trips, who said the goal was to expose students to ancient and modern Israel while deepening their faith.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis was never a trip to have anyone at FAMU deepen their faith,\u201d Jean said. \u201cThis trip was meant to be a \u2018Look at us, we\u00a0aren\u2019t\u00a0so bad\u2019 trip.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hudson rejected the idea that the university intended to promote a political viewpoint.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe intent of the trip was educational in nature and aligned with academic objectives, not to endorse any political position or viewpoint,\u201d he said. \u201cThe program was designed to support learning, critical engagement, and global exposure within the framework of established academic oversight and institutional policies.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The backlash has also sparked broader conversations about FAMU\u2019s identity as an HBCU and its relationship to global struggles involving race,\u00a0power\u00a0and oppression.\u00a0Jean\u00a0said the trip felt especially contradictory given Israel\u2019s documented treatment of Black communities, including Ethiopian Jews.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLeaders of an HBCU going on a trip to Israel is illogical,\u201d Jean said. \u201cHBCUs are known for fostering empowerment and community building. For us to go to Israel is tone deaf.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cFAMU has been notoriously strict with what politically motivated and charged things that it is associated with going as far as to order a cease to the\u00a0\u2018FAMU\u00a0Students for Kamala\u2019\u00a0for using the school\u2019s name so seeing them go from that to actively visiting a country that is embroiled in political controversy was shocking,\u201d\u00a0Davis\u00a0added.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hudson says\u00a0the administration understands that students may hold differing views on how institutional values are reflected in academic programming.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe concerns expressed by students were understood as reflecting their perspectives on FAMU\u2019s identity and mission as an HBCU,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He added that international trips undergo a structured review process coordinated through the Office of International Programs, including risk assessments, faculty oversight,\u00a0and alignment with university policies, particularly when travel involves regions facing humanitarian crises.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Still, some students say the university has not done enough to acknowledge their concerns or take accountability. Jean criticized the administration for what she described as silence and a lack of apology.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOur support is not for sale,\u201d Jean said. \u201cIt is shameful to not only send students to Israel but also hide this from everyone until after winter break. We demand accountability.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hudson says\u00a0the university\u00a0remains\u00a0committed to open dialogue and student well-being, emphasizing that student perspectives were considered both before and after the trip.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe university values student input and\u00a0engages\u00a0in ongoing review and dialogue,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A view of FAMU\u2019s quadrangle. (Khalil-Lullah Ballentine\/FAMUAN) FAMU\u2019s recent winter break trip to Israel, which included faculty,\u00a0administrators\u00a0and students,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":204086,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[232,234,233],"class_list":["post-204085","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tallahassee","tag-tallahassee","tag-tallahassee-headlines","tag-tallahassee-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/204085","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=204085"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/204085\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/204086"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=204085"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=204085"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=204085"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}