UVM Students for Justice in Palestine filed a federal lawsuit against UVM on Sept. 9, according to a statement from SJP.
The lawsuit disputes the University’s decision to place SJP on interim suspension, which it says was done without due process. It also claims that the University’s policies concerning demonstrations allow for “unbridled administrative discretion to restrict free speech.”
“What’s at stake here is bigger than SJP,” said Helen Scott, SJP faculty advisor, in the statement. “It’s about the fundamental right of students to protest.”
UVM spokesperson Adam White said that the University could not comment on pending litigation.
“UVM values free expression as a vital component in our campus community, provided it is practiced in compliance with university policies,” White said in a Sept. 11 email to the Cynic.
The suspension stems from conduct violations committed during the 10-day Palestine solidarity encampment that began on April 28. These include violation of the University’s Solicitation and Posting policy and Temporary Structures policy, according to UVM’s Student Organization Misconduct website.
SJP received a notice on May 1 that the University was suspending its status as a UVM student organization as “it may pose a threat to the health, safety, or wellbeing of persons within the university community and our guests,” according to the suspension notice quoted in the lawsuit.
The suspension is pending the outcome of the misconduct investigation. Until then, a suspended organization cannot continue operations on campus, according to UVM’s Student Organization Misconduct Investigation and Resolution policy.
However, the lawsuit alleges that Lina Balcom, director of Student Life, who is named as a co-defendant in the lawsuit along with Assistant Director Jerome Budomo, said that the investigation had not yet begun in an Aug. 9 email to SJP.
SJP said that this over four-month delay is being used to continue the interim suspension for as long as possible.
SJP has filed an injunction that aims to end the interim suspension until the litigation concludes.
“This is not only an attack on the movement of Palestinian liberation, it is an existential threat to all forms of student organizing on campus,” the group stated in a Sept. 11 Instagram post.
SJP is holding a rally on Sept. 12 in front of the Royall Tyler Theater, according to the post.
