The CUNY trustees who voted to block John Jay College from giving playwright Tony Kushner an honorary degree will hold an emergency meeting Monday to reconsider.
School officials announced the decision Friday after CUNY chairman Benno Schmidt sent a strongly worded letter telling trustees they "made a mistake of principle."
CUNY board member Jeffrey Wiesenfeld led the charge against Kushner, saying the "Angels in America" writer has been too critical of Israel.
"Freedom of thought and expression is the bedrock of any university worthy of its name," Schmidt wrote in the letter.
The degree would honor Kushner's "extraordinary talent and contribution to the American theater" and "is not intended to reflect approval or disapproval for political views," Schmidt wrote.
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