PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — Brown University has temporarily suspended its chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) following a student protest that was held earlier this month.
BACKGROUND: Brown condemns ‘unacceptable’ behavior during protest; students persist
A spokesperson for Brown told 12 News in a statement “given the severity of alleged threatening, intimidating and harassing actions during” the protest, a review has started and the organization will be suspended “pending full review of the matter.” (read the full statement below).
The university added that although their policies allow for a protest, it can’t “interfere with the normal functions of the University.”
The Brown Divest Coalition, who helped organize the demonstration after Brown Corporation voted to not divest from Israel, said SJP were emailed Thursday about their suspension.
ALSO READ: Brown Corporation votes against divesting from Israel
“These outrageous actions are merely a continuation of Brown’s efforts to intimidate anyone and everyone who attempts to hold Brown’s governing bodies accountable for their explicit support of genocide, apartheid, and scholasticide,” the Brown Divest Coalition said in a statement. (read the full statement below).
The Brown Divest Coalition said with this decision, Brown has “cemented their utter disregard for and commitment to the dehumanization of the Palestinian people.”
Brown University’s policy for suspended student groups states they can’t sponsor or host events, aren’t able to get funding from the school and aren’t recognized as a group, among other restrictions.
Below are the full statements by Brown University and the Brown Divest Coalition.
Brown University
“Given the severity of alleged threatening, intimidating and harassing actions during an event on campus, Brown University has initiated a review of the event and required the Brown chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine to cease all organization activities pending full review of the matter.
“While Brown’s policies make clear that protest is a necessary and acceptable means of expression on campus, protest cannot interfere with the normal functions of the University, include intimidation or harassment of community members, or infringe on the rights of others. We are committed to upholding freedom of expression while also respecting the dignity and humanity of others.
“The implementation of the interim measures is based on the severity of the alleged behavior and does not prejudge whether the organization violated policy. The investigation into alleged conduct code violations and any findings of responsibility and/or accompanying sanctions will be resolved according to the provisions in Brown’s student conduct procedures.”
Brown Divest Coalition
“On October 24th, Brown administration sent an email to Students for Justice in Palestine informing them that the University has: Suspended SJP, terminating the ability to hold events and meetings or post on social media; hired an external investigator to begin surveilling and gathering evidence on protestors for the October 18th protest against the Corporation’s depraved decision to reject divestment.
“These outrageous actions are merely a continuation of Brown’s efforts to intimidate anyone and everyone who attempts to hold Brown’s governing bodies accountable for their explicit support of genocide, apartheid, and scholasticide.
“This suspension and other allegations made against SJP by the administration are a retaliatory, politically-motivated ploy to defame protestors, fracture the student movement, and detract from their complicity in the extermination of the Palestinian people. By prohibiting SJP from holding any events, including weekly vigils, the administration has debilitated the sole organization on this campus dedicated to creating space for collective grief amidst the indiscriminate slaughter of Gazans carried out by the Zionist regime. With this decision, the university has cemented their utter disregard for and commitment to the dehumanization of the Palestinian people.
“For the past two weeks, Israel has laid siege to the North of Gaza, literally a ‘genocide within a genocide,’ bombing hospitals, refugee camps, and restricting aid to over 400,000 Palestinians while Zionist settlers proudly proclaim their intent to settle the area. As the list of atrocities we bear witness to each day only promises to grow—hospital patients burned before our eyes, craters in displacement camps made by 2,000 pound bombs provided by the US, residential buildings leveled in Beirut —our university has chosen to protect their financial interests over the dignity of Palestinians time and time again.
“The administration claims to value ‘open dialogue’ yet weaponizes their administrative power at every turn: barring us from writing the names of martyred Palestinian children, welcoming IOF soldiers onto campus with open arms, criminalizing any criticism of students who proudly call for the elimination of the Palestinian people, and increasing police presence at our vigils to surveil grieving students.
“Brown is often painted in the media as the school that ‘actually talked with protestors,’ but do not be fooled: this is a smokescreen for their unyielding campaign of bureaucratic violence over the past year. The administration has inflicted upon us a year of institutional manipulation and lawfare simply because we refuse to be complicit. A year of platitudes and forced ‘neutrality’ as we’ve watched Palestinians burned and buried alive, their flesh collected in plastic bags. A year of unconscionable suffering while the Brown Corporation, President Paxson, and VP Russell Carey, line their pockets with the blood of our martyrs.
“But we know that the administration’s attempts to stifle the student movement will not work. No amount of external investigations, increased police presence, conduct hearings, or intimidating emails from Russell Carrey will quell our commitment to divestment and to the liberation of Palestine. We continue undeterred because we look to Gaza and we see the steadfast resistance of our people amidst forced starvation, continual displacement, and relentless bombardment. So long as the Zionist regime continues its campaign of ethnic cleansing and territorial expansion at the expense of Palestinian and Lebanese life, we will hold our institution accountable.”
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