By SUSAN JONES
The co-presidents of Students for Justice in Palestine, a registered Pitt student group that has been around since 2008-09, say that a recent hearing before the Office of Student Conduct Office has left the group in limbo.
The Feb. 4 hearing was related to an incident in Hillman Library on Dec. 9 when students engaged in a pro-Palestinian “study-in.”
The Office of Student Conduct alleges that SJP organized the event, which violated several University policies. The SJP officers, who were granted anonymity because of previous threats against them, said the organization did not host the event, but did promote it on the SJP Instagram page.
“We had had an event the day before (a reading by Palestinian poet Mosab Abu Toha),” said one of the SJP co-presidents, a senior studying computer science and economics statistics. “This study-in … was kind of an organic, autonomous action that wasn’t under the SJP umbrella. Of course, we still shared this out, because it’s something that aligns with our mission as an organization. But this is not something that we’re claiming that we planned.”
The University says participants held the event in a non-reservable space in the library and several complaints came from students, parents and alumni about the signage and flags draped over tables and facing outward on the participants’ computers, and written on library-owned white boards.
The participants were asked to take down the signage and eventually asked to leave. Several returned on Dec. 10 and 11. Again, SJP promoted the event on social media, but said they were not the host.
“The students reassembled back at the library — that’s their right as students of this University to do — and they continued to study peacefully without disrupting University functions, and they remained there until Thursday,” the SJP co-president said.
On Dec. 12, Kornelia Tancheva, director of the University Library System, said in an email to SJP officers that anyone who continued to violate University or library policies would be referred to Student Conduct.
Since the Student Conduct hearing was held on Feb. 4, SJP said it has heard nothing about sanctions. The recommended sanctions include: Probation of the group through Dec. 31, 2025, during which more sanctions could be imposed based on future behavior; restriction of privileges to host or co-host events through May 5, 2025; and completion of education conversations on scheduling spaces, responsibilities of student group leaders and community impact of student organizations.
“We’re not placed on any interim measures, so we’re technically still allowed to have events and plan events as we please, until we receive that notice,” the SJP co-president said.
“So I think it’s put us in a very difficult position, and we’re unable to plan the very large collaborative type events that we have been hoping to do, just because of the lack of knowledge regarding our status as a registered organization,” he said. “But regardless, Palestinian advocacy will continue, and we don’t need the recognition of the University in order to continue advocating for Palestine. It just won’t be as a registered student organization, as SJP. I think the primary takeaway for me there is that this attempt won’t silence advocacy for Palestine on this campus.”
The University said in a statement that it “aims to promote civic dialogue, engage our community, and contribute knowledge on complex topics. In addition to upholding Constitutionally protected rights to freedom of speech and expression, we are committed to fostering an environment of respect and concern for others and unequivocally denounce antisemitism and all forms of hate.
“In order to ensure the University is able to fulfill its mission of teaching, learning and research, the University maintains the right to regulate and monitor the time, place and manner in which events, including demonstrations, may occur. These restrictions are content-neutral and applied consistently. When those restrictions are violated, conduct proceedings will occur. Any assertion or suggestion that the University is not following its policies or procedures or has a bias in this student conduct hearing is baseless.
“The University’s approach to student conduct necessitates respecting the privacy and integrity of ongoing investigations. Conduct proceedings are an unbiased, educational process designed to uphold community standards and the Code of Conduct. Please refer to the Student Code of Conduct for a general overview.”
SJP said its mission has not really changed since it was formed. “They’re still to educate fellow students about how repression of Palestinians, and the occupation of Palestine is something that we as the citizenry of United States fund and enable, and that’s something that is only possible through the power of the United States in funding and through the diplomatic support that the United States lends to Israel on a global scale.”
The group will continue to focus on divestiture of Pitt’s endowment from “from arms companies, from any sort of company that is enabling apartheid and genocide in Palestine” and for more transparency on what the $5.5 billion endowment is invested in. SJP petitioned the Student Government Board for a resolution on the election ballot this spring about divestiture, but it was rejected.
“We’re not trying to do a broad divest from every company that does business with Israel, because that’s not really feasible, in my opinion, and it doesn’t have the same capability to affect the material reality of Palestinians on the ground, as much as a targeted divestment strategy.”
There have been several incidents of antisemitism on campus this academic year, including students who were attacked near the Cathedral of Learning and in South Oakland, and reports of antisemitic taunts on a medical school social media group. These incidents led to the creation of the chancellor-level Antisemitic Working Group in December, although that group has not started meeting yet.
Some Jewish students have complained that the protests by SJP and others cause fear and are antisemitic. The SJP co-president said, “I vehemently rebuke that accusation. There are many Jewish students that are part of our larger coalition, and some of them have even branched off to form a separate non-Zionist Jewish group on campus … called the Jewish Students Bund. …
“This conflation that is so often weaponized by Zionist voices is inherently a bad faith argument when we have so many Jewish community members and students and faculty and alumni who are part of the movement advocating for divestiture on our campus.”
Susan Jones is editor of the University Times. Reach her at suejones@pitt.edu or 724-244-4042.
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