The University sanctioned nine organizations in August for their alleged involvement in the two-weeklong pro-Palestinian encampment in May, a recently updated list of student groups with conduct violations confirms.
Conflict Education & Student Accountability suspended Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace at GW through December 2024 and placed the organizations on disciplinary probation through May 2025, according to the online student group conduct violations sheet, which officials updated in December. Officials also placed the GW Student Coalition for Palestine along with six groups — the Muslim Students Association, GW Dissenters, Black Defiance, Arab Student Association, Asian American Student Association and Socialist Action Initiative — on disciplinary probation, according to the list.
University spokesperson Julia Metjian said federal law and University policies prevent GW from commenting and providing details on specific student conduct cases.
GW found all nine organizations responsible for community disturbance, access without authorization, disorderly conduct, noncompliance and misconduct related to property as a result of hosting an “unapproved” encampment in University Yard, according to the sheet. The University also charged SJP, Dissenters, Black Defiance and SAI with violating the terms of “prior conduct” decisions that required preapproval for all events, the sheet states.
The sheet states that GW placed Black Defiance, Dissenters and SAI on disciplinary probation after allegedly co-hosting an unapproved demonstration April 11, 2024, where protesters condemned an event hosting the U.S Ambassador to the United Nations at the Elliott School of International Affairs and hung a large Palestinian flag from the roof of 1959 E Street. This charge violated an additional sanction outcome for hosting a protest on December 8, 2023 where attendees delivered a letter with more than 1,000 alumni’s signatures to University President Ellen Granberg demanding officials reinstate GW SJP following their initial suspension for projecting anti-Israel and GW phrases onto Gelman Library in October 2023.
The coalition claimed in August that the University suspended some student groups who participated in the encampment and placed others on disciplinary probation. The sanctions sheet confirmed that these sanctions commenced on Aug. 6.
Metjian said in an email that officials suspended JVP and SJP for “incidents” that occurred between April 26, 2024 and May 9, 2024.
Metjian said a student conduct panel consisting of students, faculty and staff from the University Integrity and Conduct Council decided the groups’ cases after they evaluated “information available,” provided by the student groups.
Metjian declined to comment on how the University determined which student groups were responsible for the pro-Palestinian encampment and how officials decided to sanction whole student organizations instead of student leaders. She also declined to comment on who GW charged within the student coalition since it’s not a registered group but is included in the organization violations.
The Code of Student Conduct states that the nature and impact of the violations, the implications on GW’s community and prior misconduct on the respondents are all taken into account when issuing sanctions. The code also states that any “expression of remorse” from a respondent, protection of the community and provided evidence is also considered.
The code states that students and registered groups on disciplinary probation have limitation of privileges, like use of on-campus venues, participation and leadership roles in student organizations, study abroad, academic honor ceremonies, use of “information technology resources” and University-related travel.
A representative from JVP who requested anonymity due to fear of doxxing and retaliation said representatives from all of the charged organizations presented their cases in front of three different student panelists starting June 18 for their alleged involvement in the encampment and received their sanctions on Aug. 6 during the CESA process.
The JVP representative added that their organization appealed the sanctions in August on the basis of biases from CESA, which they said CESA later declined.
“The university’s choice to suspend the two organizations with the most organizing power and need is indicative of the university’s ongoing viewpoint and content discrimination as well as its ongoing attempts to eliminate the few safe spaces available to Jewish students who are anti and non-zionist,” JVP’s conduct appeal states, which was obtained by The Hatchet.
According to the sheet, JVP will remain on disciplinary probation for the remainder of the spring semester, and the representative said the group is still allowed to host programming, like Shabbats on campus. They added that the group is “under a microscope” as the organization has to meet with Meredith Bielaska, their adviser and the director of student involvement, two weeks prior to each event.
The representative said that last semester, the organization had opportunities to develop relationships with JVP chapters at Georgetown, American, George Mason universities and the University of Maryland, with whom they hosted cross-campus celebrations for Hanukkah, Rosh Hashanah and a Sukkot demonstration.
They added that GW didn’t allow JVP to table at the annual Multicultural Student Services Center’s Block Party last August, but they continued to table and organize off campus where the representative said JVP received an influx of signups from students last semester.
“Our work won’t end just because we can’t reserve a meeting room in the University Student Center, right?” the representative said.
The representative said officials selected student groups to charge for the encampment after looking at body camera footage from the GW Police Department, U-Yard security cameras and social media posts from students and organizations.
At least a dozen MPD and GWPD officers were stationed at the encampment daily monitoring the protests. On day 14 of the demonstration, hundreds of MPD officers swept the encampment, arresting 33 protesters, at least six of which were GW students.
Last spring, more than 70 registered student organizations released statements on Instagram voicing support for free speech and condemning the alleged suspensions of students protesting at the encampment.
“They first go after individual identifiable faces, and they see that doesn’t work, so they start to target the entirety of the organization, and they see that doesn’t work either,” the representative said. “So to me, GW’s targeting of both organizations and individual members just highlights GW’s desperation.”
AASA and Black Defiance declined to comment. The coalition, Dissenters, MSA, ASA and SAI did not respond to requests to comment.
