Standing up for Palestine is not a crime!
Sign the petition below!
After hosting an educational meeting entitled “Intifada, Revolution, and the Path to a Free Palestine” at OSU on December 7th, Central Ohio Revolutionary Socialists received a letter of suspension from the OSU administration for constituting a “significant risk of substantial harm to the safety or security of [our] organization’s members and/or the university’s community.” OSU administration supported this accusation by alleging that CORS had broken rules around temporary signage (flyering) policy and room reservation.
This suspension is not an isolated case of a student organization breaking rules and facing consequences; it is one instance of a wider pattern of universities clamping down on the free speech rights of advocates for Palestine since Israel’s War on Gaza began in October. In particular, Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) chapters at numerous universities, including Columbia, Rutgers, and Brandeis have faced condemnation, suspensions, and bans from their campuses solely due to their commitment to educate and organize in support of Palestine – more often than not facing eerily similar bureaucratic charges as those leveled against CORS. There are two potential ways to explain this phenomenon: either long-standing and deeply rooted student organizations all managed to break university rules at the same time across the country in such an egregious manner as to warrant bans, or a terrible free speech crisis is wracking the country.
Given the rapid escalation of harassment, firings, bans, and punitive investigations against advocates for Palestine, it is clearly the latter. Due to the strong and unconditional support of United States’ institutions for Israel — from the government to corporations and universities — the war on Gaza has ignited popular anti-Arab, anti-Palestinian, and Islamophobic sentiment throughout society and the chilling of the right to speak on Palestine. Even worse, this toxic atmosphere has incited violent attacks, including the murder of a Palestinian child and the shooting of 3 Palestinian university students by a racist shooter.
In this context, it is vital that the basic rights of all are protected. We do not believe that Central Ohio Revolutionary Socialists pose a threat to themselves, to the university, or to our communities as OSU administration alleges. We recognize their right to free speech and to organize on the basis of their convictions.
Ohio State’s mission statement declares that OSU is “preparing a diverse student body to be leaders and engaged citizens” and, “fostering a culture of engagement and service.” OSU lists among its values ”Diversity and Innovation” and “Inclusion and Equity” and explains that OSU aims to “actively engage others’ perspectives as opportunities for individual and institutional growth” and “listen to multiple voices and engage in civil discourse.” We agree wholeheartedly with the principles outlined here and ask the Ohio State University to stand up for those principles — even in times like these where it is hard.
More information appears at https://corsrev.org/home/statements/
If you agree with these demands and want to show your support, sign the petition here!
We, the undersigned, demand that the Ohio State University:
- Immediately reinstate Central Ohio Revolutionary Socialists’ student organization status and drop the allegations and sanctions against them.
- Commit to defend the right to free speech about Palestine in this period where McCarthyist-style attacks are taking place with unprecedented frequency.
- Stand against and refuse to aid attacks on individuals or organizations advocating for Palestine, whether in the form of smear campaigns conducted by outside groups (like the one which led to the suspension of CORS), or by authorities (such as attempts to clamp down on Palestine organizing by the state or federal government).