University of Wisconsin-Madison SJP under investigation, could get banned for disruptive protest
The SJP was previously placed on probation for ‘harmful behavior, violation of law, damage to or theft of property, violation of university policy, and disruptive conduct’ during the spring tent encampment.
The SJP could potentially face the loss of its status as a registered student organization.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) is being investigated and could lose its status as a registered student organization (RSO) for organizing a disruptive protest.
The school’s Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards started investigating the SJP on Thursday after radical anti-Israel demonstrators disrupted a Board of Regents meeting, The Daily Cardinal reported.
[RELATED: UW-Madison students from disruptive encampment face disciplinary hearings]
The protest, which also took place on Thursday, saw approximately 50 demonstrators interrupting the board meeting to call for divestment from Israel, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel wrote.
The protesters ignored warnings to disperse, leading to the arrests of 19 of them, the Sentinel announced.
Investigating Officer Aaron Vieth revealed that the SJP could see a “termination of [its] RSO status” if he determines that it defied the school’s regulations and its probationary status, the Cardinal wrote.
On Oct. 3, the University of Wisconsin-Madison announced that it was placing the SJP on “disciplinary probation” for 10 months for “harmful behavior, violation of law, damage to or theft of property, violation of university policy, and disruptive conduct” during the anti-Israel tent encampment that disrupted campus life in the spring.
The school wrote at the time that the “SJP may remain registered with RSO privileges and benefits, provided the organization complies with the RSO Code of Conduct.”
The SJP leadership has until Sunday to arrange an interview with school officials, and the group will have a week following Vieth’s decision to decide whether or not to appeal, the Cardinal wrote.
The SJP shared an Instagram post after the protest calling on readers to call the campus’s police department to “demand the immediate release” of the guilty protesters.
A University of Wisconsin-Madison spokesperson told Campus Reform that the Young Democratic Socialists at the school are also being investigated, and added: “UW-Madison supports the right to free expression, within the bounds of the law and campus policy. The RSO investigations were launched due to alleged disruptive conduct in violation of campus policies at the Dec. 5 Board of Regents meeting.”
”SJP is currently on disciplinary probation through the 2024–25 academic year. A substantiated violation of probation requirements during this time could be grounds for further sanctions up to and including termination of SJP’s RSO status. Separately, a number of students will also receive individual conduct notifications related to possible application of non-academic misconduct rules,” he concluded.
Campus Reform has reached out to the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the SJP for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
