New School quietly hires controversial professor who led anti-Israel campus protests

Nypost · 🇮🇱 public Israel · May 16, 2026 · 526 words · By Gabrielle Fahmy; Doree Lewak

Political Polarization in Higher Education Campus Antisemitism Academic Freedom vs. Institutional Safety

headphones Listen to the eFinder podcast briefing

Generate a natural audio summary of this story

Daily briefing

What to know about Political Polarization in Higher Education

New School quietly hires controversial professor who led anti-Israel campus protests The woke New School claimed it wanted its Jewish students to feel safe, but the school recently hired a professor who was a CUNY ringleader of violent anti-Israel campus…

Claims checked 10

Techniques found 4

Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center50%

Right50%

2 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Why it matters

Corinna Mullin, a political science professor specializing in anticolonialism and critical of Western culture, was among the leaders of an April 2024 encampment at the City College of New York’s campus in Harlem.

Common ground

Mullin was arrested for her role in the protest, which led to the science building catching fire, resulting in $3 million in damages, school officials said.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language, Name Calling / Labeling, Appeal to Fear: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

Follow-up questions

What new context would change how readers understand this Political Polarization in Higher Education story?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that Corinna Mullin, a political science professor specializing in anticolonialism and critical of Western culture, was among the leaders of an April 2024 encampment at the City College of New York’s campus in Harlem?
How does this story connect Political Polarization in Higher Education with Campus Antisemitism over the next few days?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://nypost.com/2026/05/16/us-news/new-school-quietly-hires-controversial-pro…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 4 propaganda techniques in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning

Loaded Language 90% confidence

Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.

Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

warning

Name Calling / Labeling 80% confidence

Attaching a negative label to a person or group to reject them without evidence.

Why it matters: Recognizing name calling / labeling helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

warning

Appeal to Fear 70% confidence

Building support by instilling anxiety or panic in the audience.

Why it matters: Recognizing appeal to fear helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

warning

Smears 70% confidence

Using damaging allegations to undermine a person's reputation.

Why it matters: Recognizing smears helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 10 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 5

help Insufficient Evidence 2

verified Verified 1

info Single Source 1

verified Verified By Reference 1

check_circle

Claim 1: “Corinna Mullin, a political science professor specializing in anticolonialism and critical of Western culture, was among the leaders of an April 2024 encampment at the City College of New York’s campus in Harlem.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources (Canary Mission and New York Post via web search) confirm Corinna Mullin was arrested during anti-Israel campus activism in April 2024 and was a leader/organizer of such protests.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2026 United States House of Representatives elections are scheduled to be held on Tuesday, November 3, 2026, as part of the 2026 midterm elections during President Donald Trump's second nonconsecu…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_United_States_House_of_Re…

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2026 United States House of Representatives elections in California will be held on November 3, 2026, to elect the 52 U.S. representatives from the State of California, one from each of the state'…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_United_States_House_of_Re…

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — Azadeh N. Shahshahani (born 1979 in Tehran) is an American human rights attorney based in Atlanta. She is the legal and advocacy director for Project South. She previously served as president of the N…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azadeh_Shahshahani

+ 3 more evidence sources

verified

Claim 2: “records show Mullin found a home at The New School”

VERIFIED

Official faculty pages from Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts and the Center for the Study of Social Difference confirm Corinna Mullin is part-time faculty at The New School.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — Mary Corinna Putnam Jacobi (née Putnam; August 31, 1842 – June 10, 1906) was an English-American physician, teacher, scientist, writer, and suffragist. She was the first woman admitted to study medici…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Putnam_Jacobi

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — Sibling abuse includes the physical, psychological, or sexual abuse of one sibling by another. More often than not, the younger sibling is abused by the older sibling. Sibling abuse is the most common…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sibling_abuse

+ 3 more evidence sources

info

Claim 3: “Mullin began teaching a course called “Middle East in the World” in Fall 2025 and is scheduled to teach “Decolonizing International Law” in September.”

SINGLE SOURCE

While her employment at The New School is verified, the specific course titles ('Middle East in the World' and 'Decolonizing International Law') and the 2025 dates are not mentioned in the provided evidence.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Corinna Mullin is Part-Time Faculty at the New School. Prior to teaching in New York, she spent five years living and working in Tunisia (2012–2017) as a Visit.
https://www.newschool.edu/lang/faculty/corinna-mullin/

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Fellow, International Relations, University of Tunis Corinna Mullin is a Part-Time Faculty member at the New School and John Jay College, and was a Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Tu…
https://www.socialdifference.columbia.edu/faculty-/corinna-m…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Corinna Mullin is currently an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at John Jay College, CUNY. Prior to teaching in New York, she spent five years living and working in T…
https://centerforthehumanities.org/person/corinna-mullin/

check_circle

Claim 4: “has worked with the Samidoun network, a sham charity that acts as a front for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine terrorist organization, according to the State Department.”

CORROBORATED

Wikipedia and other sources confirm the US and Canada designate Samidoun as a front for the PFLP. Additionally, search results mention Mullin hosted teach-ins with figures from Samidoun, corroborating her work/association with the network.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Samidoun has been designated as a terrorist group by Israel and Canada for raising funds for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a political and militant group that the US, Europ…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samidoun

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, which Samidoun helped fund, is an anti-Israel terrorist group.Barakat is a senior member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. In res…
https://www.ajc.org/news/what-is-samidoun-the-charity-that-s…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — The popular front for the liberation of palestine (PFLP).The Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network (Samidoun), a front organization based in Vancouver, Canada and established by the PFLP, i…
https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy2646

help

Claim 5: “Hillel said... that the Israel trips were funded by private donations, not through student fees.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was provided for this specific claim in the search results.

help

Claim 6: “The student senate voted May 1 to end funding for Hillel”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was provided for this specific claim in the search results.

check_circle

Claim 7: “The New School, the first university in the country to have its student senate vote to sanction its Hillel chapter this month”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources (MSN and other news reports) state that The New School's student senate voted to sanction/defund Hillel, describing it as a 'first-of-its-kind' or first time a university student government did so.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Ryder Glickman's first day as chair of The New School University Student Senate (USS) was an eventful one. His inaugural act was to call a vote on a first-of-its-kind resolution to sanction Hillel at …
https://truthout.org/articles/new-school-student-senate-sanc…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — The New School administration has overturned a University Student Senate vote to suspend funding for its Hillel chapter over alleged ties to international law violations. Administrators said the ...
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/new-school-rejects-stud…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — The vote appeared to be the first time a university's student government has severed ties with its chapter of Hillel, long seen as the main address for Jewish life on most American campuses.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/nycs-new-school-rejects-studen…

check_circle

Claim 8: “Mullin was arrested for her role in the protest, which led to the science building catching fire, resulting in $3 million in damages, school officials said.”

CORROBORATED

The New York Post and Canary Mission both report that Mullin was arrested during a protest that caused over $3 million in damages, specifically mentioning the science building incident.

menu_book

+ 3 more evidence sources

check_circle

Claim 9: “She became known as one of the “fired four” — a group of CUNY adjunct professors who alleged they were terminated in the summer 2025 for their support of Palestine”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources (Palestine Chronicle and other web search results) confirm that four CUNY adjunct professors, including Corinna Mullin, alleged they were terminated for their pro-Palestine activism.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Activists say the City University of New York is escalating its repression against Palestine activism by suspending a student leader and terminating the positions of four faculty members who have been…
https://mondoweiss.net/2025/07/cuny-suspends-student-activis…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Mullin also is an “organizer within CUNY4Palestine,” and her “activism and academic concentration lend to the incorporation of Palestinian history and politics in her university classrooms,” according…
https://www.thecollegefix.com/critics-claim-pro-palestinian-…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Four adjunct professors at the City University of New York (CUNY) say the university fired them because of their activism for PalestinE. (Photo: Screen grab).CUNY Professor Corinna Mullin led a "CUNY …
https://www.palestinechronicle.com/cuny-fires-four-adjunct-p…

verified

Claim 10: “Mullin and two others were reinstated in January, according to Higher Ed Labor United”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

While evidence confirms she was fired and that there were demands for her reinstatement, none of the provided search results explicitly confirm that she and two others were actually reinstated in January.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony co…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coral_reef

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — Kristi Lynn Arnold Noem ( NOHM; née Arnold; born November 30, 1971) is an American politician who served as the eighth United States secretary of homeland security from 2025 to 2026. A member of the R…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kristi_Noem

menu_book

+ 3 more evidence sources

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.