Palestinian Students & Angela Davis Overcome Censorship Attempts at Butler University

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Issues: Censorship, False Accusations

Poster for Angela Davis event at Butler University (Credit: Butler SJP)

Poster for Angela Davis event at Butler University (Credit: Butler SJP)

Despite repeated efforts to exclude Palestinian voices from campus conversations, students at Butler University in Indiana have persevered in asserting their right to organize for Palestine.

In October 2020 students organized a successful campaign against student government resolutions that aimed to silence them. And in April 2021, students forced Butler to reinstate an event with Angela Davis that was canceled following complaints about her support for Palestinian rights.

From the time Butler Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) began organizing on campus, students have experienced the “Palestine exception” to free speech.

In October 2020, student resolutions were proposed in retaliation against an art exhibit displaying posters about boycotts for justice, including Palestine, and a know your rights event about safe protesting jointly hosted by SJP and student government .

Butler student event targeted by anti-Palestinian pressure. (Credit: Butler SJP)

Butler student event targeted by anti-Palestinian pressure. (Credit: Butler SJP)

One of the proposed resolutions condemned boycott, divestment and sanctions for Palestinian rights, while another called for adopting a distorted definition of antisemitism designed to suppress criticism of Israel.

During the initial debate on the resolutions, the only two Palestinians in student government were excluded from participating in discussions. The student leaders, both Palestinian women, were unable to share the direct impact the resolutions would have on Palestinians and Palestine activism on campus.

Ultimately, Butler student groups, Indianapolis community organizers, and Palestine Legal pushed back against the campaign to vilify and silence Palestine student activism. After hearing about the harmful impact of these anti-Palestinian measures, the student sponsors withdrew the resolutions—but decided to impose new procedural hurdles for student events.

Months later in March 2021, Butler abruptly canceled a talk by the preeminent activist and scholar Angela Davis without warning or discussion just three days before the event was scheduled to take place.

The cancelation occurred after complaints about Angela Davis’s vocal support for Palestinian freedom from pro-Israel students.

The university blamed the censorship on the student government, which it claimed canceled the event because “established processes weren’t followed.”

Palestinian students and their allies launched a public campaign criticizing the university for imposing requirements not enforced on other events due to Angela Davis’s support for Palestinian liberation.

Under mounting pressure, the university quickly reinstated the event, and Angela Davis spoke to Butler students three weeks after she was initially scheduled to appear.

Timeline >>

Apr. 23, 2018: The Butler Student Government Association approves Butler Students for Justice in Palestine as an official campus organization.

Jan. 18, 2019: After almost a year of delays and administrative hurdles, SJP is finally granted formal recognition by Butler administrators.

Oct. 5, 2020: SJP announces an event "Boycott & Safe Protesting 101" on Instagram. The event is cosponsored by student government.

Oct. 6-8, 2020: A rightwing Twitter account with over 100,000 followers falsely attributes the event to National Students for Justice in Palestine, falsely claims the event was putting Jewish students at risk, and makes a false accusation of antisemitism against the Butler student government in a video posted to Twitter.

The next day, another rightwing Twitter account with 130,000 followers posts a video repeating false accusations of antisemitism regarding the event.

On Oct. 8, a pro-Israel cyberbullying account attacks the event on Instagram, and a rightwing account with close to 1 million followers tweets a video about the event, again making false accusations of antisemitism and calling for cancelation of the event. The Zoom link for the event is widely distributed on Twitter, forcing organizers to restrict the event to Butler students only.

Oct. 6, 2020: The university president receives over 20 phone calls from parents complaining about the event. Another 15 formal complaints are filed with student government.

Oct. 7, 2020: In an email to the campus Hillel listserv, a Hillel representative announces that they are working with outside pro-Israel groups to “take action” regarding the event and encourages people to file complaints about the event.

At a student government meeting that day, senators propose a same-day resolution that falsely conflates boycotts for Palestinian freedom with antisemitism and demands that student government rescind its sponsorship of the event.

During discussion of the resolution, the only two Palestinian members of student government are silenced—one Palestinian student is kicked out of the meeting and the other is not allowed to speak.

Oct. 8-14, 2020: Additional resolutions are introduced in student government targeting the event and/or Palestine advocacy:

  • One resolution condemns boycotts for Palestinian rights as antisemitic under a distorted and politicized definition of antisemitism.
  • A second resolution calls for student government to adopt this distorted definition of antisemitism.
  • The third resolution, and the only one to pass, sets new requirements for approving partnerships between student government and student organizations.

Oct. 15, 2020: Members of student government once again use procedural maneuvers to try to prevent Palestinians and their allies from speaking at a student government meeting. One Palestinian student government member tells the assembly she feels like she’s being silenced.

Oct. 17, 2020: Butler University sends out a campus-wide email about the event, repeating the false claims of antisemitism. The email alludes to the student government resolutions targeting the event, seeming to endorse them.

Oct. 18, 2020: Student organizations and Indiana community groups condemn the resolutions in a solidarity statement.

Oct. 21, 2020: Palestine Legal sends a letter to Butler University that their campus-wide email “amplified and lent credibility to baseless claims of antisemitism, exposing your own students to heightened harassment and condemnation...”

The sponsors of the resolutions withdraw them after hearing members of SJP and the Indiana Chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace speak about the silencing impact these measures have on Palestinians and their supporters.

Oct.-Nov. 2020: Following the backlash against the boycott art event, student government revises its policies on event sponsorship, ultimately deciding that while senators must be notified, they do not need to approve event sponsorships.

Feb. 9, 2021: The renowned activist Angela Davis signs a contract to speak at an April 1 event at the university after being invited by one of the Palestinian members of student government.

Feb. 22, 2021: An administrator alerts other university staff about Angela Davis’s support for boycotts, divestment, and sanctions for Palestinian rights.

Mar. 5, 2021: The student organizer submits a sponsorship notification form to the student senate. The form was created in November 2020 following the boycott and protesting event. It does not ask for the event’s title, description, or even the names of event participants.

Mar. 25-28, 2021: A student senator reaches out to the pro-Israel campus organization Hillel and to speaker of the senate to complain about the event. The senator drafts a resolution to remove student government sponsorship from the event, citing Angela Davis' support for Palestinian rights as a reason.

Mar. 29, 2021: Butler University Vice President of Student Affairs Frank Ross, student government leaders and their advisors meet and decide to cancel the event with Angela Davis three days before it is scheduled to take place.

They discuss complaints about Davis’s support for Palestinian freedom, but try to justify the cancelation based on alleged procedural violations, including a claim that the organizer failed to properly follow new procedures implemented after the October boycott event.

The meeting does not include the organizer of the event.

These rules, which student government leaders later admit were vague, had never before been used to block an event.

Mar. 30, 2021: The student organizer of the event publishes a letter to the editor regarding the cancelation of Angela Davis’s event and criticizes the university’s “inconsistent and unfounded justifications for its racist and authoritative cancelation.” Butler faces widespread backlash for censoring Angela Davis over her political views on Palestinian freedom.

Apr. 1, 2021: Vice President Ross publishes a statement insisting that the event was not canceled, but was “postponed” for procedural violations and disputing that the event was canceled for political reasons.

Hillel members and a Hillel advisor release public statements distorting the student organizer’s words to portray the organizer as antisemitic. The statements accuse her of invoking antisemitic tropes in blaming Jewish students for the event’s cancelation. The organizer had made no reference to Jewish students and had accurately described the role Zionist students, including non-Jewish pro-Israel students, played in blocking the event. The false accusations expose the organizer to public backlash.

Apr. 2, 2021: Vice President Ross issues a second statement apologizing for the university’s reactionary communications the day before. The statement apologizes to Black and Jewish students for any harm that they experienced, but does not apologize to Palestinian students or acknowledge anti-Palestinian racism against the student organizer.

Apr. 5, 2021: The Butler Collegian publishes a detailed investigation of the event’s cancelation, suggesting that the university selectively applied previously unenforced policies to cancel the event, and noting that the administration had knowledge of opposition to Angela Davis’s politics around Palestinian freedom when weighing whether to cancel the event.

That same day, Butler informs the student organizer of a bias investigation against her. The investigation is later dropped.

Apr. 6, 2021: A group of Jewish anti-Zionist students publish a statement "steadfastly opposed" to Hillel's conflation of criticism of Israel with antisemitism. The group states "The false presentation of critique of the state of Israel as antisemitism is a distraction from the central issue regarding Zionism — the displacement and oppression of the Palestinian people."

Apr. 9, 2021: Butler Students for Justice in Palestine announces that the Angela Davis event has been rescheduled for April 20.

Apr. 20, 2021: Angela Davis speaks at Butler University.

Documents >>

Palestine Legal Letter to Butler University Vice President (October 21, 2020)

Statements >>

Butler Student Government Statement on Boycott Event (October 8, 2020)

Butler University email repeating false claims against boycott event (October 17, 2020)

Butler University: Stand Against Anti-Semitism and Racism, Butler Student Organizations & Indianapolis Community Groups, (October 18, 2020)

Support Palestinian students and allies at Butler University, Jewish Voice for Peace Action Alert, (October 2020)

Statement on Butler University Administration’s Cancelation of Angela Davis Event, Butler Student Organizations & Indianapolis Community Groups, (March 31, 2021)

Butler University statement walking back decision to cancel Dr. Davis (March 31, 2021)

Tell Butler University: Don't silence Angela Davis, Jewish Voice for Peace Action Alert, (April 2021)

Student Government statement about postponing Angela Davis event (April 2, 2021)

Butler University statement apologizing for mishandling Dr. Davis event (April 2, 2021)

Media >>

Butler Students Defeat Measures to Censor Palestine, Palestine Legal, (October 23, 2020)

Butler’s Cancelation of Angela Davis Talk Latest in Pattern of Palestine Censorship, Palestine Legal, (April 1, 2021)

Butler students win BDS victory amid attacks from pro-Israel critics, Michael Arria, Mondoweiss, (October 22, 2021)

Letter to the Editor: Students demand answers, action, The Butler Collegian, (March 30, 2021)

Butler University Accused of Canceling Angela Davis Event Because of Her Support for BDS, Marie Solis, Jezebel, (March 31, 2021)

After pressure from pro-Israel students, Butler abruptly canceled an event featuring Angela Davis, Michael Arria, Mondoweiss, (March 31, 2021)

Butler University blocks Angela Davis event, Nora Barrows-Friedman, The Electronic Intifada, (April 1, 2021)

Why Isn't Angela Davis Appearing at Butler University?, Scott Jaschik, Inside Higher Ed, (April 1, 2021)

Angela Davis, and the bureaucracy that cancelled her, Bridget Early, The Butler Collegian, (April 5, 2021)

Letter to the Editor: Our identity will not be defined by Zionism, The Butler Collegian, (April 6, 2021)

Learn more >>

The case at Butler is one of many stories of Palestinian student leaders being targeted and attacked because of their advocacy. Read about more cases in our 2020 annual report.