Pitt: SJP suspension justified for disciplinary interference

Students for Justice in Palestine at Pitt is asking a federal judge to lift a six-month suspension that University of Pittsburgh officials say was imposed in March to sanction the group’s violation of university policies.

The suspension is set to expire on Sept. 18, but the club wants to be active when students arrive on campus next week.

SJP, which is represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania, filed suit in April against the university and some of its administrators, contending that SJP’s First Amendment rights were violated by the suspension.

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SJP filed its lawsuit following a Feb. 4 disciplinary hearing concerning the group’s December “Study-In” at Hillman Library. University officials said the “Study-In” may have violated Pitt policies as demonstrations are not permitted in the library, and the SJP event was used “to convey a political and cultural message in support of the Palestinian people.”

As the Conduct Hearing Board was deliberating whether SJP violated university rules by holding the “Study-In,” members of the board received a letter from SJP intended to influence their decision, according to court papers.

Pitt then suspended the student group for improperly engaging in communication with members of board, according to a letter signed by Associate Director of Student Conduct Jamey Mentzer.

SJP alleges that the communication it sent to board members was in the form of an open letter signed by more than 70 university-affiliated clubs and community organizations, protesting the university’s “harassment” of SJP, and that the university imposed the suspension in retaliation for the group’s protected political speech.
The university disagrees.

“Put simply, just as extrajudicial expression to a jury to intimidate is not protected speech under the First Amendment, sending a letter SJP has conceded was ‘likely’ to intimidate factfinding panel members is not protected speech, full stop,” the university stated in court papers.

SJP has been a registered student organization at Pitt since at least 2009. It has hosted and participated in numerous anti-Israel and anti-Zionist events since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack in Israel. On Instagram, SJP has reposted several unsubstantiated claims against the Jewish state, including that “Israel beheaded a child and burned displaced Palestinians alive in their tent.” The group has accused Israel of committing “genocide” and has called for both Pitt and Carnegie Mellon University to divest from Israel, while leading anti-Zionist chants at various protests and rallies.

SJP also promoted a protest of the JCC Maccabi Campus Games earlier this month.

In June, SJP filed a revised motion for injunctive relief, seeking an immediate termination of the suspension, arguing the club will be irreparably harmed if it is “precluded from recruiting new student members during Welcome Week, beginning August 18, when new students will have the opportunity to learn about the various registered student organizations and how they can get involved.”

“Recruiting new members, particularly freshmen, is important to the long-term sustainability of SJP-Pitt and its ability to continue its speech and advocacy activities effectively,” SJP argues in its motion.

“Additionally, even for students who do not join SJP-Pitt, Welcome Week is a prime time for groups to educate students about what they do and raise awareness about the plight of the Palestinian people.”

Last week, the university filed its opposition to SJP’s motion.

In addition to contacting review board members while deliberations on the “Study-In” violations were pending, SJP, in its Open Letter, “falsely stated that it was signed and supported by Pitt’s own School of Law,” according to the university’s brief.

The university “should be permitted to pursue its goals of creating a suitable environment for education and protecting its conduct review proceedings from improper disruption or interference by the participants,” the opposition brief states.

A hearing on SJP’s motion for injunctive relief is scheduled for Aug. 28, after the conclusion of Welcome Week. PJC

Toby Tabachnick can be reached at ttabachnick@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.