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Free Speech Concerns Swirl Around Northeastern University鈥檚 Suspension of Pro-Palestinian Group
In recent days, FIREhas been following the story鈥攔eported today by 鈥攖hat Northeastern University has suspended the group Northeastern FIREfor Justice in Palestine (SJP) for reasons that seem largely related to the group鈥檚 expression.
The most recent incident, which seems to have triggered Northeastern SJP鈥檚 suspension, involved some group members placing mock 鈥渆viction鈥 notices, intended to mimic the notices served to Palestinians in contested territories, under residence hall doorways. The Globe :
FIRE for Justice in Palestine was suspended March 7, nearly two weeks after it slid 600 鈥渕ock eviction鈥 notices under dorm room doors to draw attention to forced evictions of Palestinians by the Israeli government. The group says the college鈥檚 actions infringe on students鈥 free speech rights.
The full notice of suspension are on the organization鈥檚 website. The letter refers to 鈥淓ngaging in disruptive behavior at an authorized event of another recognized student organization on April 8, 2013,鈥 to demonstrate the group鈥檚 alleged repeat offenses. To those lacking context for the event and alleged disruption in question, this sounds bad for the organization.
What actually happened, however, was that Northeastern SJP staged a 鈥渨alkout鈥 of another group鈥檚 event, a relatively non-intrusive method of protest that allows a group to register its opposition without denying a speaker鈥檚 right to free speech. As the Globe鈥檚 Yvonne Abraham :
At the start of the event, 35 students stood, small signs taped to their shirts. One member called the soldiers war criminals. One or two chanted slogans. They were gone in a minute.
For this protest, SJP has been placed on probation, and will be suspended indefinitely for further transgressions. They must also create a civility statement, laying down rules for future conduct.
Northeastern says the group was sanctioned purely because it failed to get a permit for its demonstration, which the school requires at least seven days in advance. The students say the university has targeted them for their views.
鈥淭he university is concerned about its image,鈥 says Tori Porell, an SJP leader. 鈥淪ome people are trying to smear them as anti-Semitic, so they鈥檙e attempting to stop anything seen as controversial.鈥
University officials knew about the protest beforehand, and e-mailed SJP to urge 鈥渞espect and decorum,鈥 directing them not to bring in signs, and to 鈥渄iscourage vocal disruption.鈥 The students believed the small signs on their chests complied with that directive, and say they did not encourage chanting. They say the e-mail was tacit permission to proceed, even without a formal permit.
Among the sanctions given to Northeastern SJP for this apparently protected protest was a mandate that its members write a 鈥淐ivility Statement,鈥 a chilling requirement that runs counter to the ideal of the university as a marketplace of ideas. Universities, of course, can espouse virtues such as civility and encourage their students to espouse them as well, but requiring that students abide by such ideals, and going so far as to mandate that student organizations produce statements professing commitment to such ideals, is hugely problematic.
Northeastern鈥檚 sanctions against Northeastern SJP last year, then, seem to have been based in part on premises that were at best dubious, and at worst a substantial violation of the group鈥檚 rights pursuant to Northeastern鈥檚 promises of free expression. What鈥檚 more, Northeastern used the event as an impetus to impose a vague and onerous new policy requiring seven days鈥 notice for campus protests and demonstrations. As my colleague Will Creeley , 鈥淪even days鈥 notice is the difference between having one鈥檚 message heard and being last week鈥檚 news.鈥
Ostensibly, Northeastern SJP鈥檚 eviction notices constitute an infraction not because of their content, but because the group鈥檚 members didn鈥檛 get proper permission to distribute them. Even if this were true, however, it became an issue only after complaints about the flyers were brought to Northeastern鈥檚 attention鈥攃omplaints directly related to the content of the notices. What鈥檚 more, a double standard may be at play here: on its website that the 鈥済uidelines on flyer distribution in dormitories are flouted, if not flatly ignored, by other student groups, as well as individuals on a regular basis.鈥
Northeastern, being a private university, is not bound by the First Amendment. Yet the university commits itself to the same speech-protective standard the First Amendment demands, proclaiming in its Code of Student Conduct: 鈥淎s citizens and as members of an academic community, students enjoy the same basic rights and are bound by the same responsibilities as all citizens.鈥 Northeastern University has a lot to overcome if it wishes to dispel the notion that it wrongly punished Northeastern SJP for its protected protest activities. First it saddled the group with illiberal sanctions that violated its right to protest. Now it has suspended the group following another exercise of protected expression, and, even worse, used last year鈥檚 improper punishment as a basis for branding the group as a repeat offender and enhancing its sanctions.
As the Globe reports, the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, the Center for Constitutional Rights, and National Lawyers Guild are supporting Northeastern SJP. FIREhopes Northeastern will heed ACLU attorney Sarah Wunsch鈥檚 advice, :
鈥淭he fact that speech may be controversial or upsetting to some doesn鈥檛 make it hateful or a crime,鈥 said Sarah Wunsch, a staff attorney for the Massachusetts chapter of the ACLU. 鈥淣ortheastern wants to be recognized as a world-class university. World-class universities do not censor speech in this way.鈥
FIRE continues to monitor this burgeoning controversy at Northeastern, so stay tuned to The Torch for further updates.
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