University of Pennsylvania says President Elizabeth Magill is not stepping down

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- A billionaire donor is among those calling for the president of the University of Pennsylvania to resign after critics say she is not sending a strong enough message against anti-Semitism.

At this point, though, it does not look like the president will be stepping down.

Meanwhile, there's a growing conflict on campus involving both supporters of Israel and of Palestinians, each dissatisfied with the university president's response to the ongoing war.

Some students held a walk-out on campus Monday morning in support of Palestine and in objection to statements by University of Pennsylvania President Elizabeth Magill.

After Hamas militants began attacks in Israel, Magill released a statement condemning the attacks.

"I am heartbroken by the suffering of families and communities being ripped apart," said Magill in the statement, which walk-out participants say ignored the plight of Palestinians.

"You have a whole group of students and faculty and allies who are Palestinian by cause and you've just denied their entire experience," said Palestinian student Nada Abuasi.

There is also dissatisfaction on the other side with members and supporters of the Jewish community expressing concern that Magill isn't showing enough to support the Jewish community.

It's a debate that was sparked by the Palestine Writes Literature Festival in late September. The festival included some speakers who had a history of making anti-Semitic remarks.

Magill now admits the university could have done more saying in a statement that reads, in-part, "I know how painful the presence of these speakers on Penn's campus was for the Jewish community... The University did not, and emphatically does not, endorse these speakers or their views. While we did communicate, we should have moved faster to share our position strongly and more broadly with the Penn community."

That statement comes too late for people like billionaire UPenn donor Marc Rowan who is calling for fellow donors to "close their checkbooks" and not make major donations to the university until Magill and the chair of the Board of Trustees both resign.

That's something that looks unlikely, according to a statement sent to Action News on Monday.

It detailed the fact that trustees recently had two virtual conversations on the issue, Magill's response and an action plan moving forward.

In the statement, University of Pennsylvania Board Chair Scott Bok makes it clear that no leadership changes are planned for the university.

The statement ends by saying: "The unanimous sense of those gathered was that President Magill and her existing University leadership team are the right group to take the University forward."