Officials announced they are sending a cease and desist letter to Students for Justice in Palestine for using an Instagram handle containing “GWU,” which they say falsely implies affiliation with the University despite the group’s revoked organizational status.
A representative from SJP, speaking on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation from the University, said neither the group nor its members have received any communication from officials about their Instagram username — “SJPGWU” — or the cease and desist letter. Officials’ Thursday announcement follows the University’s yearlong suspension of the organization in April for hosting events without adviser approval and a separate two-year status revocation officials issued over the summer for the group’s petition calling on officials to fire economics professor Joseph Pelzman — actions that led the group to disaffiliate from the University last month.
“The university is issuing a legal letter demanding that the group cease and desist using the university’s name and will seek further remedies as appropriate if this group does not comply,” the Thursday release states. “Any posts or views expressed by this group do not reflect the views of the university.”
The SJP representative said the organization has not received any letter from any official ordering them to stop using “GWU” in their social media handle nor did they receive prior notice about officials’ plan to issue the cease and desist. They argued the University lacks any legal grounds to issue a cease and desist because they do not own the trademark for the “GWU” acronym.
Officials abandoned the trademark for “GWU” in 2001 when they did not file to extend it, according to U.S. Patent and Trademark Office records. Gardner-Webb University, a private Christian university in North Carolina, currently owns the trademark for “GWU” and last renewed it in 2022.
According to the office’s website, even if a party’s trademark expires or is canceled, it may continue to have “common law” rights to the mark, which could validate a cease and desist. Common law rights are acquired by a business automatically when it uses a name or logo in commerce, and these rights are enforceable in state courts.
The representative said SJP’s social media posts never implied the group was trying to represent the views of the University, especially because the handbook is clear about student organizations not representing GW’s beliefs.
The student organization handbook does not mention the use of “GWU,” including in guidance for merchandise and trademarked logos.
“SJP does not represent itself as speaking on behalf of the University — we are very clear that the reason we exist is to criticize the university for its ties to the occupation of Palestine,” the representative said in a text message.
SJP’s Instagram states that the group is comprised of GW students organizing for the liberation of Palestine.
The student handbook further states that any organization with “GW,” “George Washington” or “The George Washington University” in the name does not imply the University endorses the group’s beliefs.
“There’s no clear reason why we would be taken to be expressing views on behalf of the University, when even the registered student orgs who do use ‘GW,’ use registered trademarks, are clearly stated not to be,” the representative said.
The representative also said no other organization that uses “GW” or “GWU” on their social media accounts has received a cease and desist letter, which they said is evidence of the University targeting SJP specifically.
“Given this, and given that GW has not sent similar letters to other organizations, it’s clear that the goal is to suppress pro-Palestinian speech,” the representative said in a text message.
The group’s latest set of sanctions includes limitations on privileges, semesterly training sessions on University policies, an apology letter and an educational workshop. None of the organizations sanctions included limitations on social media posting.
Officials suspended SJP in April for a full year after the group hosted unauthorized events in March, violating one of the terms in the sanctions issued by the University following the April 2024 pro-Palestinian encampment in University Yard, of which SJP was one of the main organizers.
Over the summer, officials suspended SJP again, barring them from campus for an additional year, this time related to the group’s efforts to fire Pelzman. Officials determined the group’s campaign was threatening to Pelzman, who authored and sent a plan to President Donald Trump detailing the potential economic redevelopment of Gaza after the war in Gaza ends.
Following the group’s second suspension, which would bar SJP from campus until the end of the 2026-27 academic year at the earliest, the organization decided to disaffiliate from GW entirely in August.
A different representative from SJP, who requested anonymity over fears of retaliation from the University, said in August that the group decided to disaffiliate so they would not have to dedicate time to conduct proceedings and could instead focus on pressuring University officials to end financial support for companies tied to the war in Gaza.
SJP has faced numerous disciplinary proceedings in recent years, including a semester-long suspension and semester-long probation over their involvement in the pro-Palestine encampment. Officials suspended the group for three months in November 2023, after members of the organization projected anti-Israel and anti-GW messages onto Gelman Library on Oct. 24, 2023, a few weeks after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel and the onset of the war in Gaza.
