Loyola: Black Students Disciplined for Protesting Racial Injustices

When students of color at Loyola University Chicago (LUC) organized a November 12, 2015 demonstration in solidarity with racial justice protests at the University of Missouri, over 700 students, faculty, and staff attended. Demonstration organizers did not fully comply with LUC’s draconian demonstration policy – full compliance would have precluded participation in a national day of solidarity with Mizzou. 

But despite promises from senior administration officials that no student would be disciplined, LUC charged three organizers – all black students – with violating the demonstration policy. The students faced suspension. All three students were also members of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at LUC, and Palestine Legal staff attorney Rahul Saksena acted as their adviser during their disciplinary hearing.

After intense pressure from students and media, LUC’s interim president dismissed all charges and expressed a willingness to revise the demonstration policy.

On December 8, LUC’s Interim President announced a moratorium on the school’s demonstration policy.

In January 2016, Palestine Legal and the NLG-Chicago wrote to LUC’s interim president, raising three demands: 1) end the draconian provision of the demonstration policy, including the requirement that students register demonstrations with the University; 2) adopt stronger due process measures during the student disciplinary process; and 3) apologize to SJP for unfair and selective enforcement of the demonstration policy in 2015. LUC responded to Palestine Legal with a standard letter (dated Jan. 19, 2016) reiterating its commitment to “fostering a vibrant and productive dialogue about important social issues regardless of viewpoint.”

In March, LUC revised the school’s demonstration policy. Students will no longer need to obtain approval to demonstrate.

Relevant Links

• Chicago Tribune article: "Loyola protest organizers could be reprimanded for Mizzou solidarity rally"
• Announcement of LUC's moratorium on demonstration policy
• LUC's revised demonstration policy

St. Louis University: Black Student Sanctioned for Asking Questions Critical of Israeli Policies

On April 4, 2016, St. Louis University student Christopher Winston attended a campus event entitled “Israel: First Responders to World Crisis.” During the question-and-answer portion of the event, Mr. Winston asked questions critical of Israeli ambulance service policies towards Palestinians. His questions were met with hostility by the event hosts, who at one point threatened to call campus security to remove Mr. Winston, the only black person in the room. In response, Mr. Winston said, “[t]hank you, your Zionist fascism is on full display today” as he left the event.

On May 11 an SLU administrator informed Mr. Winston that he had been found to engage in a “bias related incident.” Not once did the university consult Mr. Winston or give him the opportunity to state his side of the story. Mr. Winston was also found to have violated university policy prohibiting “disruptive behavior” due to the “manner in which he presented himself” at the April 4 event.

On May 23, Palestine Legal wrote to the president of St. Louis University to express outrage over the school’s decision to discipline Mr. Winston for simply expressing his political viewpoints at a student-organized event. Mr. Winston appealed the case, stating that he was not provided an opportunity to refute the allegations. In a June 9 letter, the University’s appeal board upheld the sanctions.

Relevant Links

• Palestine Legal letter to SLU
• Video of Mr. Winston’s questioning at the event
• Electronic Intifada article: “Black student censured in St. Louis for challenging Israeli spin”
• Alternet article: “African American student accused of ‘Bias Incident’ by St. Louis University for Condemning Israeli Human Rights Abuses”