Defying University Procedures and Legal Precedent, Court Upholds Columbia University’s Suspension of Pro-Palestine Student Groups

NEW YORK – This week, the New York State Supreme Court dismissed the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) and Palestine Legal’s lawsuit against Columbia University for the unlawful suspension of its chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP).

With this decision, the two student groups remain suspended. 

In response, the NYCLU, Palestine Legal, and the plaintiffs offer the following statements:

“Columbia University’s suspension of Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace was retaliatory, targeted, and unlawful,” said Veronica Salama, Staff Attorney at the New York Civil Liberties Union. “Columbia abruptly suspended these student groups, baselessly accused them of threats and intimidation, violated their own due process protections, and selectively punished them for expressing views the University didn’t agree with. Schools should never be sites of censorship, or places where administrators, donors, or politicians can crush speech with which they disagree. The NYCLU and Palestine Legal know that students attending private colleges have the right to fair, equal treatment under the law — and we will continue fighting to ensure their civil liberties are protected.” 

“​​The Court’s decision sends the unfortunate message that private universities can break their own policies without accountability,” said Sabiya Ahamed, Staff Attorney at Palestine Legal. “Universities must at least be held to the standards they set for themselves. Why must students adhere to policies that not even universities follow themselves?”

“Columbia University’s relentless suppression of pro-Palestine voices — and the Court’s subsequent support of it — sets an unbelievably concerning precedent for free speech on college campuses,” said Cameron Jones, an organizer with Columbia’s chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace. “Columbia may be a private institution, but we still have rights to fair, equal treatment under the law — we should not be targeted or subject to disproportionate punishment because of our viewpoint. This gravely disappointing decision only strengthens our resolve to keep fighting, because the systems in place were never built to protect us.”

“Columbia’s divestment from the bombs dropping on my people is far more important and urgent than any Court’s shortsighted, disappointing decision,” said Maryam Alwan, an organizer with Columbia’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine. “Columbia’s illegitimate suspension of SJP and JVP was the first repressive domino in a chain that ultimately mobilized a nationwide movement of courageous, groundbreaking student advocacy in the spring — and we do not need a court to retroactively validate that fact. We should have the same right to speak out on campus as everyone else, and nothing will stop us from continuing to pursue justice, humanity, and freedom for everyone in Palestine.”

Over 40 years ago, New York’s highest court ruled that universities must follow their own rules when disciplining students and student groups. The Court warned against allowing administrators to bypass its rules “whenever they see fit,” stating that doing so reduces a university’s guidelines to a “meaningless mouthing of words.” In this decision, the trial court upheld Columbia University administrators’ abrupt and unilateral suspension of its prominent student groups advocating for Palestinian rights due to an alleged technical violation, without affording them due process under the university’s long-established procedures — procedures that were specifically designed to prevent such overreach. 

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