Kaitlyn Hughes & Josh Imhof | news editor and features editor

After the University of Pittsburgh’s Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) were placed on interim suspension on March 18, Mia Suwaid, the organization’s co-president, felt like there was nothing she could do to show solidarity with Palestine.

“Now more than ever, people need to be helping these people,” Suwaid said.

As the war dragged on overseas in Gaza, the members of the SJP were stuck in place.

But on Aug. 28, a federal judge ordered that the university lift the suspension of the pro-Palestinian group after granting a motion seeking preliminary injunction. The judge found that the protests and speech the group engaged in prior to suspension was protected by the First Amendment.

“We were all extremely, extremely pleased with the ruling,” Suwaid said. “We think this is going to set a huge precedent in the rest of the lawsuit.”

The order said that since SJP cannot gather as an organization or recruit new members, their rights of association and speech are being infringed upon.

On April 15, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) sued Pitt on SJP’s behalf alleging the suspension violates the First and Fourteenth Amendment.

The suspension was authorized following an open letter from the SJP to the university that was also sent to members of the hearing board, in a response to disciplinary hearings about a solidarity “study in” the organization held in December at Hillman Library.

Pitt did not respond to a request for comment.

“This was a huge relief and such a win not only locally but nationally,” Suwaid said. “It’s sending a message that institutions and universities in the U.S. can’t do whatever when they disagree with a certain message. It’s a continued protection of free speech.”

Solomon Furious Worlds, an ACLU attorney, said that students and organizations across the country can cite the case to say their rights and speech are protected.

“This is a reminder that the First Amendment is still alive, still active and still protects free speech,” Worlds said.

He said that supporting free speech is like a muscle; if people do not use it they will lose it.

“The best thing people can do is speak. The way we protect our rights is by using our rights… and voting,” Worlds said. “The power truly lies with the people.”

Duquesne students respond

Last year, Duquesne student Greta Daley was involved with Project 26, an organization that promotes the expansion of democracy in Pennsylvania through civic engagement and voter participation.

During her time with the organization, Daley has worked to get signatures for a petition urging Duquesne University to issue a statement saying that they would protect their international students from having their visas revoked. She has also helped people get registered to vote and conducted surveys to collect data on how people felt about current events.

She said that the court’s decision is significant for students at Pitt, as well other college campuses across the country.

“It seems that a lot of people are being silenced, especially what happened with Columbia, where there were huge disciplines for students doing things,” Daley said. “[This decision] is a reassurance to students that we have our First Amendment rights, and we are allowed to use them, especially at our college campuses where we can influence.”

In March, pro-Palestinian demonstrator Mahmoud Khalil was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement for his involvement in protests at Columbia University, despite holding a green card at the time.

Duquesne student Eliana Meding attended an SJP-backed protest in Oakland last October. She said that protecting free speech on college campuses is never a bad thing.

“I think regardless of your opinions on Palestine and Israel, free speech is always important in this political climate,” she said.

Kaitlyn Hughes can be reached at hughesk10@duq.edu

Josh Imhof can be reached at imhofj@duq.edu