Hello,

I am writing to demand that all charges be dropped against the Towson University students facing discipline for participating in a peaceful die-in demonstration on November 15th. The die-in was organized to bring attention to the number of Palestinian civilians killed in Gaza and share their stories with the Towson community.

The students facing discipline are being threatened with probation and deferred suspension over alleged minor violations of the University’s Time, Place, and Manner policy, causing a disturbance on campus, and failure to follow staff orders. If either of these excessive punishments are imposed, either probation or deferred suspension will appear on the students’ records and will be disclosed to future graduate schools and employers. These extreme punishments are clear attempts at criminalizing pro-Palestinian voices and unnecessarily escalating a peaceful protest that did not harm anyone or disturb the campus, classes, or research in any way.

In addition to the threats leveled at the students, the excessive number of armed police officers present at the demonstration feeds into the idea that a peaceful demonstration to honor Palestinians killed in Gaza should be seen as dangerous and threatening and that Arab, Muslim, and allied students are a threat to campus safety. The University determined that a small number of students laying on the grass was something that required more guns than there were student participants. In their hearings, the Office of Student Accountability repeatedly mentioned “safety” of other students, something that further marginalizes students who already have a target on their backs. It is this conflation of safety with silencing Arab and Muslim voices that led to a six year-old Palestinian child being stabbed 26 times and killed in Chicago, a Muslim woman being killed in Texas, an Arab student at Stanford University being run over in a hit-and-run, and three Palestinians being shot in Vermont, leading to one being paralyzed for the rest of his life. Towson is putting its own students at risk of violence by portraying them as dangerous and threatening.

Towson University is a campus that welcomes the diversity of student perspectives when it comes to activism. There have been many student groups who have protested in the past, many of which have caused disruption to campus life and classes, and the university did not try to shut them down or sanction the protesters. Rather, they allowed students to express themselves on a variety of issues.

These allegations come as finals approach for these students, adding unnecessary stress that could further affect these students’ academic career. It is disappointing to see that the wellbeing of students is not a priority of Towson’s administration, but endangering academic success is supported.

I demand the university administration immediately ceases its attempt to silence students who are raising their voices against genocide and occupation. It is a mockery that Towson University prides itself on having a “supportive” community when they have done just the opposite.

Students do not feel safe on campus. This is unacceptable.

I demand that all charges be dropped.