Pitt’s Suspension of Pro-Palestine Student Group Violates First Amendment, Says ACLU Lawsuit

The University of Pittsburgh violated the First and Fourteenth Amendments when it suspended the school s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine last month according to a federal lawsuit filed on Tuesday against the school The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania filed the suit in the U S District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania The complaint alleges that the University of Pittsburgh violated the Constitution s prohibitions on restricting free speech when it placed the SJP chapter on an indefinite suspension last month after the group organized a letter condemning what it noted was the university s harassment of SJP The First Amendment requires that inhabitants universities respect students right to engage in vigorous debate about major issues of the day Pitt s suspension of the club s status and other interference with peaceful advocacy is unconstitutional retaliation ACLU of Pennsylvania legal director Witold Walczak revealed in a press release Pitt cannot constitutionally put its thumb on one side of the debate by harassing and chilling the pro-Palestinian students side of that crucial discussion The lawsuit is one of a wave of similar actions taken by apprentice protesters and their allies in response to university crackdowns on speech on Palestine The University of Pittsburgh did not promptly respond to a request for comment The post Pitt s Suspension of Pro-Palestine Learner Group Violates First Amendment Says ACLU Lawsuit appeared first on The Intercept