SJP suspension lifted by federal judge

A federal judge recently ruled that Students for Justice in Palestine at Pitt can resume club activities after the University gave them a six-month suspension in March.

In April, the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania filed a lawsuit on behalf of SJP after Pitt temporarily suspended the club. U.S. district court judge Nicholas Ranjan ordered the University to reinstate SJP on Aug. 28, three weeks before the club’s suspension was set to end on Sept. 18.

SJP sponsored a “study-in” at Hillman Library in December, in which students draped themselves in Palestinian flags and wrote pro-Palestinian messages on whiteboards. The University accused SJP of violating the student code of conduct during the event. 

Following a student conduct hearing in February, SJP sent an open letter to University officials and three hearing officers demanding that the charges be dropped. Pitt then placed SJP on an interim suspension in March, claiming they “improperly engaged in communications to members of the Conduct Hearing Board.” 

The ACLU’s lawsuit alleged that Pitt violated SJP’s First Amendment right to political expression, calling the open letter protected free speech. 

In a statement to The Pitt News, Haiwei Hu, former SJP co-president, commented on the recent ruling in favor of the club, saying the University’s Year of Discourse and Dialogue is an “untenable farce.”

“Situated as we are in the imperial core, we know that the investment of our tuition dollars in arms manufacturers enables the ongoing famine and genocide in Palestine,” Hu said.

University spokesperson Jared Stonesifer said in a statement after the ruling that “Pitt is committed to maintaining a campus community where free speech is affirmed and free expression is assured.”

“We will comply with the order issued on Thursday but cannot comment further as litigation is ongoing,” Stonesifer said.

Vic Walczak, the legal director of ACLU of PA, said the complaint alleges that the University does not have clear rules or guidelines for demonstrations. 

“There are a number of [regulatory] policies that are clear as mud, and when you’re regulating speech, you have to be particularly clear because that lack of clarity creates problems for everybody — for the people who are trying to speak and for the University, because it doesn’t give them clear guidance on how to apply the rules,” Walczak said. “We want to clarify and fix the rules that regulate expressive activities on campus.”

Last year, faculty and student leaders criticized vague language in the Student Code of Conduct.

Walczak said this ruling may discourage Pitt and other universities from using similar practices in the future, adding that the Trump administration has targeted pro-Palestinian speech at universities.

“There is no topic that has been attacked more than pro-Palestinian speech,” Walczak said. “I think the victory is symbolically very important for free speech generally on university campuses, but particularly for pro-Palestinian speech.”

Jules Lobel, a law professor at Pitt and cooperating attorney with the ACLU, said the suspension hindered SJP’s abilities to plan events at the beginning of the semester, a crucial time for doing so. Lobel added that the judgment sets a precedent.

“I think it’s a very important precedent that universities cannot discipline or threaten or go after pro-Palestinian groups because they engage in speech that the universities don’t like,” Lobel said.

In the initial complaint, Walzcak and other ACLU lawyers also alleged a year-long pattern of harassment and retaliatory actions by Pitt against SJP that included the University’s attempts to move certain events and demonstrations and curtail SJP’s social media activity after the suspension.

In further court action, Walczak said he will be looking for a declaratory judgment that these actions were also unconstitutional. Walczak said he will also pursue funding for SJP activities from Pitt because the club was unable to recruit new members and raise money at the beginning of the semester. 

Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine at Pitt also commented on the judgment.

“We welcome this ruling and hope that it encourages University leadership to rethink their repressive approach to student political expression on this, and indeed on all, issues.”