Brown University suspends pro-Palestinian group after protest

On October 29, 2024By Karl

The university said some of the activity at the protest was appropriate, but that some participants hit a vehicle, physically blocked a vehicle and used profanities and racist remarks at people.

Student activists and others marched on October 18 to protest Brown Corporation’s decision to refuse to divest from the companies. (Jonathan Wiggs/Globe Staff)

Brown University suspends the university’s education department Students for Justice in PalestineA protest followed allegations of bullying earlier this month by the campus’s leading pro-Palestinian advocacy group, a spokesperson said Monday.

Students staged a planned demonstration to protest the Brown University Corporation’s decision not to divest from the 10 companies, which they claimed was facilitated by the Brown Divest Coalition, a student group.Israeli occupation of Palestinian Territories.”

The Ivy League university chose not to divest because Brown’s exposure to these companies was so small that it could not be directly liable for social harm. wrote.

BDC and Brown SJP held a rally on October 18, which the university recorded and planned. Some students in videos posted to Instagram by BDC sang a gospel song calmly or sang a hymn “Remember South Africa and remember Vietnam.” Inside anotherStudents loudly surround a bus near university police officers.

The university said that although most of the protests followed community guidelines, there was also some “deeply concerning behaviour”.

“These reports include striking a vehicle carrying community members, physically obstructing the passage of a vehicle, swearing at individuals at close and personal range, using profanities and racial epithets toward a person of color, and following individuals and yelling at them while filming them.” wrote Russell Carey, interim vice president for campus life.

A university spokesperson said they have launched an investigation into the protest and ordered Brown SJP to cease all activities pending the investigation.

“While Brown’s policies make clear that protest is a necessary and acceptable means of expression on campus, protest may not interfere with the normal functions of the University, involve intimidation or harassment of members of the community, or violate the rights of others,” spokesman Brian Clark said. wrote.

BDC and Brown SJP wrote on Instagram that the university hired an outside investigator “to spy on students protesting genocidal investments.”

The statement read in part: “By weakening the main organization committed to organizing for the liberation of Palestine on this campus, the administration has made clear its commitment to the dehumanization and erasure of the lives of Palestinians.” “But we know that the administration’s campaign of bureaucratic violence will not silence or hinder our efforts to hold the agency accountable.”

Previously, Harvard University suspended The Harvard Undergraduate Palestine Solidarity Committee, a pro-Palestinian student group, for the remainder of the semester in April.

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Molly Farrar is a general assignment reporter for Boston.com, focusing on education, politics, crime and more.