US judge sides with pro-Palestinian students over canceled Oct 7 vigil
3 Min Read
Judge rules that pro-Palestinian students have the right to express themselves and the University of Maryland cannot stop them from holding a campus event for Gaza.
-
Georgetown University students march around campus as they rally during a pro-Palestinian demonstration at Georgetown University in Washington, on September 4, 2024. (AP)
A federal judge ruled on Tuesday that the University of Maryland cannot prevent students from holding a planned event on October 7 to mourn those massacred in Gaza. The students, part of the campus chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), had reserved a room for the event in July.
In August, university officials met with the group to express concerns and discuss the pressure they were facing to cancel it. On September 1st, the university's president banned all student-sponsored events for October 7, allowing only school-sponsored events to proceed.
The university justified its decision by citing security concerns, noting that officials had allegedly received "death threats" as news of the event spread.
US District Judge Peter Messitte ruled on Tuesday that the University of Maryland likely violated the student's First Amendment rights by canceling the event. Messitte noted that the university had alternative options to enhance security, such as hiring additional personnel or law enforcement, rather than outright canceling the gathering.
He wrote that “the decision of the University to revoke SJP’s reservation was clearly neither viewpoint- nor content-neutral. It came about for reasons the Constitution does not countenance: fear of disruption, and anger of opponents. Again, the case authority emphatically rejects these reasons."
University of Maryland President Darryll Pines stated in an email that the school would respect the court's ruling.
Abel Amene, co-secretary of the Students for Justice in Palestine chapter, also expressed approval of the decision, praising it as a victory for student rights and free expression. “We are relieved to have the chance to actually put on this event and commemorate not only all the deaths that occurred on October 7, including hundreds of Palestinians during bombings in Gaza on October 7, but the tens of thousands of people that have been killed since that date,” he told the Washington Post.
The legal battle in Maryland is unlikely to be the final First Amendment test on college campuses, as numerous institutions have introduced new restrictions on protests following the wave of demonstrations last spring. This growing trend suggests more legal challenges could be on the horizon.
The bans on pro-Palestinian events come as the death toll in Gaza is on the rise. The latest death toll of Palestinians killed in the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip has risen to 41,689 martyrs and those injured to 96,625 since October 7, 2023, the Gaza Ministry of Health confirmed on the 362nd day of the war.
In its daily report, the ministry announced that the Israeli occupation forces perpetrated five massacres in the Gaza Strip, resulting in 51 martyrs and 165 injuries reported at hospitals in the past 24 hours.
