The University of Wisconsin-Madison recommended one year of disciplinary probation against Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) Friday afternoon on accusations of misconduct related to the May pro-Palestine encampment.
Tonya Schmidt from the Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards (OSCCS) accused UW-Madison SJP of Registered Student Organization code of conduct violations including harmful behavior, violation of UW System Administrative Code prohibiting camping on university property, damage to property, disruptions to university functions and failure to comply with university officials.
The Committee on Student Organizations (CSO) heard arguments from Schmidt and UW-Madison SJP representatives who were all given the opportunity to ask questions. After UW-Madison SJP representatives and Schmidt made closing arguments, the committee closed the hearing to the public. Their decision will be sent to SJP within two weeks.
If the CSO determines UW-Madison SJP violated the policy, the organization may continue to operate as an RSO as long as they comply with the RSO code of conduct for the next year.
Schmidt said under normal circumstances she would recommend SJP be suspended as an RSO, but because of the agreement to end the encampment struck between campus administration and SJP, the university considered the ending of the encampment as a “mitigating factor” and recommended probation instead of suspension.
Schmidt said OSCCS reviewed more than 1,000 reported cases by community members about the encampment and narrowed down the investigation to 32 cases with accusations of antisemitism.
UW-Madison SJP member and anti-Zionist Jewish student Abbie Klein told The Daily Cardinal she never experienced antisemitism from other SJP members.
“The only time my Jewish identity has been in question is by Zionists attacking me verbally,” Klein said.
During the hearing, UW-Madison SJP representatives argued they were being treated unfairly by the university. They claimed groups who have camped outside the Kohl center for sports events were not removed by police as evidence of unfair treatment and said any possible university damage done lacked evidence, is speculative or was done by police.
“We have tried protests, we have tried meeting with the chancellor, we have tried teach-ins, we have tried letters to the administration, we have tried sit-ins, we have tried die-ins, and more over the course of many months. But time and again, our demands were not heard by administrators,” said one SJP representative.
