Students are claiming that officials charged more pro-Palestinian students and student groups for their alleged involvement in pro-Palestinian campus protests, bringing a second wave of disciplinary proceedings earlier this month.
The Student Coalition for Palestine at GWU, a group of pro-Palestinian student organizations at GW, alleged in an Instagram post late last month that the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities charged at least 13 students “without evidence” for their involvement in the pro-Palestinian encampment in University Yard in May and 10 student organizations for 15 Student Code of Conduct violations, including charges for physical assault. The post alleges that officials are threatening four students with sanctions up to expulsion, and some are at risk of losing their on-campus housing.
Students for Justice in Palestine, Jewish Voice for Peace, Muslim Students Association, Socialist Action Initiative, Arab Students Association, Asian American Student Association, Black Defiance, Dissenters, Law School SJP and the Student Coalition for Palestine are the groups allegedly facing sanctions, according to the post. These students and student organizations join the seven student protesters that officials allegedly placed on interim suspension on the encampment’s second day, each with nine disciplinary violations.
The post states that SRR officials are accusing charged students of organizing the U-Yard encampment without evidence, claiming students are responsible for “any and all actions” during the protests.
“GW has resorted, once again, to its violent and discriminatory tactics of targeting individuals,” the coalition’s post states. “However, students remain steadfast in their commitment to the movement and their solidarity with the people in Gaza.”
A University spokesperson said federal regulations prohibit officials from commenting on the details and existence of individual student conduct cases.
Two representatives from the Student Coalition for Palestine at GWU, who requested to remain anonymous due to fear of doxing, said the organizations allegedly facing charges attended SRR student conduct hearings on July 2 and July 9.
After the hearings, students and student organizations facing charges will either accept the charges and agree to specific sanctions, or a panel of students, faculty and staff will review charges and resolve the case in a conference format, according to the student conduct process outline.
One representative said that when SRR officials notified student organizations of their disciplinary violations on June 13, they included charges for an April protest at the Elliott School of International Affairs in addition to encampment-related charges.
During the Elliott School protest, demonstrators denounced U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, a visiting event speaker, and hung a Palestinian flag from the roof of 1959 E Street, the residence hall adjacent to the school. University spokesperson Julia Metjian said at the time that the demonstration violated GW’s poster policy.
The coalition representative said SRR also included charges on student groups for the F Street encampment on May 9, which demonstrators set up a day after local police arrested 33 protesters and cleared the encampment in U-Yard. The protesters removed the encampment about four hours later after repeated warnings from police.
The coalition representative said SRR officials on June 14 sent student organization representatives the evidence they planned to use in the early July disciplinary proceedings, which primarily included footage of protesters interacting with administrators, video surveillance and police body cameras.
The coalition representative said SRR included evidence from the U-Yard and F Street encampments and the April Elliott School protest, including a video more than three hours long that showed demonstrators unfurling the Palestinian flag from the 1959 E Street roof.
The coalition’s post accuses SRR officials of violating due process by failing to provide “sufficient time” for charged student groups to review the more than 150 files that GW presented as evidence and not indicating which of the evidence supports each alleged violation. The post also claims that GW’s alleged decision to charge religious and cultural groups “in conjunction” with political groups was based on “false assumptions and bias.”
“This administration attempts to target any student group that associates itself with the movement for Palestinian liberation as a tactic to deter engagement,” the post reads. “However, the united front we have built across student organizations is a threat to GW.”
The Code of Student Conduct outlines due process as students’ right to be notified of charges and proceeding dates at least three days in advance, to receive notice with enough time to “reasonably” prepare a response and the right to question and respond to information used to make a decision in a case, a University spokesperson said.
“It’s quite a few different files, and I think what was really difficult for us, for example, during the flag drop, there are videos in that box that are three and a half hours long, and they don’t need to be,” the coalition representative said.
A University spokesperson said respondents facing charges can request that SRR remove evidence slotted for review during disciplinary proceedings. Officials then ask respondents to detail the content of their requested omissions and after, develop a “proposal” of evidence that SRR determines is reasonable to remove. Respondents can then review the proposal before a final decision is made, the spokesperson said.
The coalition representative said student organizations requested the office remove evidence that was “not relevant” to their charges and could “bias” the panelists against them, but the representative didn’t specify what evidence student groups asked SRR to cut out.
The coalition representative claimed that SRR officials ultimately did not remove evidence that student groups deemed irrelevant to their charges, instead taking out evidence of alleged counter protester “attacks” on demonstrators. The representative didn’t say when or where the incidents took place.
The coalition representative said one of the charges that student organizations face is disorderly conduct, which the Code of Student Conduct defines as “acting in a manner that threatens, endangers, or harasses others.” The representative said the charge pertains to harassment and disrupting community events, but didn’t specify what other charges student organizations are facing.
Unlike the student organizations, who are undergoing the disciplinary panel hearings as a collective, some individual students face potential disciplinary probation while others face suspension or expulsion, the coalition representative said. The representative said SRR officials did not give students “clarity” on the reasons for discrepancies.
The University spokesperson said students and student groups found in violation for their charges by SRR for the same incident might experience “different possible outcomes.”
“The Code of Student Conduct notes a variety of sanctioning considerations, including nature of the reported violation and prior history of violations,” the spokesperson said in an email.
The University spokesperson said due process mandated in the code also gives students the right to produce witnesses or witness statements on their behalf and present evidence. Students also have the right to appeal the outcome of a conduct process, the spokesperson said.
“SRR is responsible for upholding those student rights in every process and takes that responsibility seriously,” the University spokesperson said.
A different coalition representative said several student groups have requested to join the coalition since the encampment, some citing their shared criticism of MPD’s handling of the clearing.
The coalition’s post called on all GW organizations, including the more than 70 student groups who issued statements in support of the encampment, to join the coalition. Organizations started a “community call to action,” urging people to call or email GW officials to drop the charges against students and student groups through an online campaign platform. The campaign has sent 12,801 letters of their 25,600 goal as of Saturday.
“It is vital that we expand our united front and struggle together against fascist repression,” the post reads. “While we are grateful for the statements orgs have made in solidarity, now we need action. They cannot ban us all!”
The coalition’s Instagram post also states that the Office of Diversity, Equity and Community Engagement cut resources and staff from one of its subsidiary units, the Multicultural Student Services Center, whose “sole purpose” is supporting student organizations including those facing sanctions.
Officials last month announced the launch of the Center for Interfaith and Spiritual Life, a part of the University’s plan to promote dialogue among students due to increased campus tensions over the war in Gaza. In the announcement, officials said the new center had a similar purpose as an “office that used to exist at GW” but did not specify which one.
“It’s a reflection of the University’s explicit refusal to see Black and Brown students, Arab students, as deserving of the same spaces as all of their students do,” the second coalition representative said.
