Pro-Palestinian student activists filed a lawsuit on Dec. 20 against leaders of the University of Michigan, alleging violations of their constitutional rights.
”This lawsuit arises from defendants’ violations of free speech, due process and equal protection rights resulting from retaliation and discrimination against students based on the content of their speech and based on students’ viewpoint on issues of significant interest to the university community and to the public at large,” the lawsuit states.
The group Students Allied for Freedom and Equality—a Students for Justice in Palestine chapter—announced the legal action against the university’s board of regents, president Santa Ono and Martino Harmon, vice president of Student Life
“As long as the struggle continues in Gaza, it will continue globally, on our campus, and in our streets,” the group said in a statement. “Our movement has only grown stronger in the face of repression and targeted attacks—the demand for divestment and accountability is larger than an organization or a small group of students. It is a people’s movement made up of students, staff, faculty and our community members—and we will be victorious.”
This is the latest in recent activities within the university calling for divestment from and institutional action against Israel. On Dec. 9, pro-Palestinian activists targeted the home of University of Michigan regent Jordan Acker for the third time, throwing heavy objects through his windows and vandalizing his vehicle with anti-Israel graffiti.