By Maxim Tamarov, News Staff
Faculty members addressed the recent suspension of the Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at a Faculty Senate meeting Wednesday. The student organization, which distributed fake eviction notices in campus dorms, was told that it violated the school’s prohibition of unauthorized flyers.
During the meeting, senior vice president of enrollment management Philomena Mantella gave her thoughts regarding the suspension.
“It’s a wonderful process for students to lead their own organizations,” Mantella said. “We need to assure the safety of the community. We need to allow for free and open exchange.”
SJP has been sanctioned for violating several of Northeastern’s policies for organizations on campus. The administration previously told The News that SJP disrupted a student activity on campus and vandalized Northeastern’s property.
Ten months ago, SJP was put on probation for staging a walkout at a presentation of Israeli Defense Force soldiers hosted by Huskies for Israel.
“Regrettably, on March 7 we suspended SJP until Dec. 31,” Mantella said.
“This seems to me that a mistake was made by the administration,” Max Geller, a third year law student and president of SJP, told the Senate. “We feel very strongly that we are members of this community. We’re not interested in burning this place down. We are not angry.”
In regards to the suspension after the distribution of fake eviction notices last week, Geller said he felt the rules regarding the club were being strictly enforced.
“We were not given a hearing to address the charges,” Geller said.
Ambrose said that an appeal was being considered.
The student organization was not alone. Steve McKnight, professor of electrical and computer engineering, spoke up in support of Geller.
“The evacuation notes under the doors is a wonderful way to notify students of things done in the territory [of Palestine],” McKnight said. “[Northeastern’s reaction] is all over the Internet.”
Richard Daynard, the senate president and distinguished professor of law, pointed out that students were scared the night before their midterms that they were being evicted, because of the distribution of the mock eviction notices.
“Personally I’m concerned with the SJP’s articulation [of the issue]. Being right on an issue doesn’t mean anything goes. Inflicting pain on students is not okay,” Daynard said.
After the Faculty Senate meeting, McKnight said that the eviction notice stunt was a good example of a political organization’s protest.
“My suspicion is their upsetness is related to their political views. There is a strong current of support of the Israeli Defense Forces,” he said. “It would’ve been nice to see a little more active questioning. The senators were not concerned about this.”
In an interview after the meeting, Daynard admitted to not actually having seen the eviction notices, though he knew the eviction notices had had disclaimers.
“That’s not the point. Most people don’t read the bottom,” Daynard said. “I do not believe that the fine print exempts anyone.”
Correction: An earlier version of this article misidentified Philomena Mantella as senior vice provost for undergraduate education and experiential learning Susan Ambrose.
