Investigate U-M Leadership for Civil Rights Violations

I wrote this email to Domenico Grasso, interim president of the University of Michigan, in response to his abuse of students.

Mr. Grasso,

Your administration’s decision to hire private security to surveil, infiltrate, and intimidate University of Michigan students who voiced support for Palestine is abhorrent. As reported by CBS News on June 20, 2025 (source), this deliberate act of repression against students exercising their rights to free speech and peaceful assembly is a blatant abuse of power.

You do not deserve the position you currently hold. Any leader who authorizes the weaponization of outside intelligence against their own student body has forfeited any claim to integrity, legitimacy, or leadership. The calculated targeting of pro-Palestinian activists under your watch is not coincidental—it is ideological. And I can only conclude, given the pattern of suppression, that your actions are rooted in Zionist bias and a desire to quash dissent that challenges the status quo.

This is not neutrality. This is complicity in a campaign to silence moral clarity and dehumanize those who stand in solidarity with the oppressed.

I have copied both Governor Gretchen Whitmer and Attorney General Dana Nessel to demand a full investigation into this grotesque overreach. Students deserve safety—not surveillance. Advocacy for Palestinian lives is not a crime. But under your leadership, it has been treated as one.

As long as this administration remains in place, I will actively discourage students from applying to or attending the University of Michigan. The institution has proven itself untrustworthy, authoritarian, and unworthy of its reputation as a space for open inquiry and justice.

You owe the public a full release of all contracts, communications, and findings related to this operation. And every student who was followed, watched, or interrogated deserves a public apology. Anything less confirms what many already know—that your allegiance lies not with justice or education, but with power, suppression, and political agenda.

Resign immediately.

With disgust,

Thomas Karr

Featured Image: Pro-Palestinian protest on the UM campus on February 20, 2025 | Photo by Erick Diaz Veliz (https://michiganadvance.com/2025/06/09/university-of-michigan-denounced-for-using-private-investigators-to-surveil-student-protesters/)

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About the author

I’m Tommy, a writer and storyteller who works in marketing for the arts and cultural communities. I’m the author of Mabel Stanley and the Town That Was Built All Wrong, a fun and heartfelt book, and I’m currently working on a novel about self-discovery and the complexities of memory. Writing is a big part of my life, but I also enjoy creating experiences that bring people together, which is why my husband, Matt, and I co-run the online store Have Fun Spread Joy. It’s all about embracing the playful side of life and giving back along the way. I’m married to Matt, and we share our home with our two pets, Zoey (the cat) and Dixie (the dog). When I’m not writing, working on our store, or doing marketing for the arts, I like to dive into theater, something I want to get more involved with over time. I was diagnosed with ADHD, and while it comes with its own set of challenges, it also gives me a unique perspective that I try to channel into everything I do. Whether it’s writing, working on creative projects, or finding ways to spread joy, I’m all about making a lasting impact in whatever I do.

Tommy Karr