Pro-Hamas student group sues U of Vermont over alleged free speech violations
Students for Justice in Palestine is suing the university after being suspended for organizing an anti-Israel encampment on campus.
'The erection of tents is recognized as a powerful form of symbolic speech protected by the First Amendment,' the complaint states.
A pro-Hamas group at the University of Vermont has filed a lawsuit against the university administration for disciplining the group following its decision to establish an encampment on the university’s campus in Burlington.
The anti-Israel encampment contained more than 90 tents this spring, according to Seven Days. The group that organized the encampment, Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), was placed on interim suspension during the demonstration.
“The erection of tents is recognized as a powerful form of symbolic speech protected by the First Amendment,” the complaint states, which was filed in the U.S. District Court of Vermont on Monday.
“We’re definitely living in a climate where advocacy for Palestine and criticism of Israel are both considered impermissible,” Helen Scott, a faculty advisor for the SJP chapter, reportedly said in an interview. “It’s a fundamental violation of free speech around one issue.”
On Sept. 11, the SJP chapter posted a statement to Instagram critiquing what it called a “genocide” perpetrated by Israel as well as the university administration’s decision to suspend the group.
“Over the course of the last 11 months, the zionist entity’s most recent genocidal assault in Gaza has destroyed every university and over 300 other schools,” the group wrote. “There will be no back to school for an estimated 625,000 Palestinian children in Gaza. Students across the world will not stand by as this genocide continues, no matter what our own universities do to prevent us from using our voice.”
The group continued that the university has not provided “evidence” that the “Palestinian Solidarity Encampment” it organized earlier this spring violated the First Amendment.
“UVMSJP has filed a preliminary injunction against the University of Vermont to rescind their suspension of SJP until the courts can rule that UVM’s actions are unconstitutional,” the group explained, “but we also need put pressure on UVM ourselves to lift their illegal suspension.”
In the same post, the group promoted a protest scheduled for Sept. 12 to “call for UVM to rescind their suspension of SJP and to fully divest from the genocide and occupation in Palestine.”
Campus Reform reported earlier this month that the National Students for Justice in Palestine (NSJP) group has dedicated Sept. 12–one day after the anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks—as a national “Day of Action” to demand divestment from companies that have connections to Israel.
Campus Reform has contacted the University of Vermont for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
