UVM’s suspension of Students for Justice in Palestine in response to last semester’s encampment is immoral and unconstitutional.
On Sept. 9, SJP filed a lawsuit against UVM for violating the civil rights of its members as well as a preliminary injunction in order to reinstate the club pending a court decision, according to a Sept. 12 Cynic article.
If successful, this lawsuit could lead to the protection of free speech in universities across the country.
“Across the country, we have seen students beaten, suspended and expelled for exercising their right to protest, with little to no legal consequences for their schools,” said an SJP organizer involved in the case, who wished to remain anonymous.
“While these institutions laud free speech, they do nothing to uphold it when it comes to their campus,” they said.
Beyond the First Amendment, the University can regulate and place restrictions on speech if they believe the speech is a threat to campus security and safety, according to a Sept. 26 Cynic article.
This idea of safety being threatened on campus by the encampment is absurd.
The encampment established a learning opportunity for students on campus by hosting teach-ins, film screenings, Muslim and Jewish prayers and much more.
Faculty, unions and community figures were present alongside students to learn about a struggle that requires unity from a perspective our traditional campus environments do not provide.
This suspension is an incredibly concerning action for a publicly funded, land-grant university to take against students exercising their freedoms of speech.
The Palestinian struggle is hidden from Americans by layers of misinformation and colonial institutions. If SJP is successful in this lawsuit and their reinstatement at UVM, it could set a country-wide precedent for the protection of Palestinian advocacy on campuses.
“If this suit wins, it will not only create precedent for protecting student protest at UVM and within Vermont, but embolden SJP chapters across the country in fighting back against their repression and affirming that we have a right to speak out against our schools’ support of genocide,” the SJP organizer said.
This precedent would protect the freedoms of all interconnected social struggles.
It would support university students’ right to take a stand against the perpetrators of injustice and atrocities without fear of retaliation from the school they pay ludicrous amounts to attend.
In a time where First Amendment freedoms are constantly being violated and legislatively suppressed, a victory such as the success of this lawsuit could be a major step in fighting back.
You don’t have to support SJP to support this lawsuit. You just have to support free speech.
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