The Unconstitutional Silencing of Pro-Palestinian Student Groups

Free speech is one of the hallmarks of a functioning democracy and one of our fundamental constitutional rights. At the ACLU, we know that it’s precisely in times of crisis and fear when free speech, open debate, and peaceful dissent are most important.

Over the last few months, as the world continues to witness the catastrophe in Israel and Palestine, protests in support of Palestine are being silenced and censored on college campuses.

In early November, the ACLU sent out an open letter to the administrative leaders of each state’s public college system that reached over 650 colleges and universities, expressing our strong opposition to any efforts that stifle free speech on college campuses, and urging universities to reject calls to investigate, disband, or penalize pro-Palestinian student groups for exercising their free speech rights.

In Florida, State University System Chancellor Ray Rodrigues already issued an order in consultation with Governor Ron DeSantis to deactivate Students for Justice in Palestine chapters in the state. In response, we and our partners at the ACLU of Florida and Palestine Legal are suing Governor DeSantis and Florida university system officials on behalf of the University of Florida’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine to block the deactivation order from taking effect.

Joining us to discuss this important lawsuit are Shaiba Rather, the Nadine Strossen fellow with the ACLU’s National Security Project and Tyler Takemoto, the William J. Brennan fellow with the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project.

In this episode

Shaiba Rather

Nadine Strossen Fellow, ACLU

Shaiba Rather is a fellow at the ACLU National Security Project. She is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School. During law school, Shaiba served as an editor on the Harvard Law Review and worked as a student advocate in the HLS Human Rights Clinic, Crimmigration Clinic, and Criminal Justice Appellate Clinic. Before…

Shaiba Rather

Kendall Ciesemier

Host of At Liberty and Senior Executive Producer of Multimedia, American Civil Liberties Union

she/her/hers

Kendall Ciesemier (@kendallciese) is the Host of At Liberty and the Senior Executive Producer of Multimedia at the ACLU. Previously, Kendall worked as a producer and reporter for The New York Times’ Opinion section and Mic, a digital media company. Most notably at Mic, Kendall’s interview with Alice Marie Johnson, a woman serving a life…

Kendall Ciesemier

Tyler Takemoto

William J. Brennan Fellow, ACLU Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project

he/him

Tyler Takemoto is a William J. Brennan Fellow with the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project. Prior to joining the ACLU, he was a Media Litigation Fellow at Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. Tyler is a graduate of U.C. Berkeley School of Law, where he served as Editor-in-Chief of the California Law Review,…

Tyler Takemoto