END THE BANNING OF SJP
GMU Office of Student Conduct; President Gregory Washington, Rose Pascarall (University Life), Lauren Long (Student Involvement)
Update: On Monday, April 7, George Mason University's Student Conduct board ruled that Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) is suspended for the remainder of the Spring 2025 semester (until May 16), but can re-register to be a student organization for Fall 2025.
Sign this petition to tell George Mason Administration that they must honor their decision to reinstate SJP this Fall!
A sustained and unnatural disaster is posing an existential threat to the Palestinian population of Gaza and the West Bank. Israel has blocked entry into Gaza of food, medicine, water, fuel, electricity, and all other supplies since March 1. This blockade collectively punishes civilians who have been under siege for 17 months and weaponizes hunger, in direct violation of international law. On March 18, 2025, Israel declared an end to a two-month ceasefire in Gaza, followed by the resumption of surprise airstrikes; these Israeli airstrikes have already killed more than 1,000 Palestinians, including more than 130 children, whose deaths represent the largest single-day child death toll in the last year according to UNICEF. We have heard unambiguous and unapologetic declarations from the highest levels of both the Israeli and U.S. governments that the goal of this violent destruction is the removal of Palestinian people from their homeland.
On November 7, 2024, a raid was conducted at the off-campus residence of two officers from the Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapter at Mason. The raid was conducted by a large contingent of heavily armed FBI, Virginia State, Fairfax County and GMU police. The students were informed that the search was related to the spray-painting of words on Wilkins Plaza at the Fairfax campus. The following day, an email was sent to one of the targeted SJP officers indicating that their student organization had been placed under an interim suspension order. Neither SJP’s faculty advisor nor any other officers or members of SJP received notice of the suspension. The students whose home was raided have not been charged with vandalism or any other criminal offenses. No evidence has been offered connecting any additional officers or members of SJP to the alleged acts of property damage or to any other behavior (legal or illegal) that would disrupt the orderly operation of George Mason University.
Speaking out for Palestine, for life, and for a cessation to war are not anti-semitic activities; nor are they activities that compromise the safety of our shared campus environment. It is unconscionable for a student community under such obvious pressures and facing such well-documented risks to be denied the advocacy and protections afforded by SJP. The organized voices of so many students should not be silenced.
Therefore, we the undersigned call for the Office of Student Involvement to immediately reinstate the Mason chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine as a Registered Student Organization.
Petition by
To:
GMU Office of Student Conduct; President Gregory Washington, Rose Pascarall (University Life), Lauren Long (Student Involvement)
From:
[Your Name]
A sustained and unnatural disaster is posing an existential threat to the Palestinian population of Gaza and the West Bank. Israel has blocked entry into Gaza of food, medicine, water, fuel, electricity, and all other supplies since March 1. This blockade collectively punishes civilians who have been under siege for 17 months and weaponizes hunger, in direct violation of international law. On March 18, 2025, Israel declared an end to a two-month ceasefire in Gaza, followed by the resumption of surprise airstrikes; these Israeli airstrikes have already killed more than 1,000 Palestinians, including more than 130 children, whose deaths represent the largest single-day child death toll in the last year according to UNICEF. We have heard unambiguous and unapologetic declarations from the highest levels of both the Israeli and U.S. governments that the goal of this violent destruction is the removal of Palestinian people from their homeland.
On November 7, 2024, a raid was conducted at the off-campus residence of two officers from the Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapter at Mason. The raid was conducted by a large contingent of heavily armed FBI, Virginia State, Fairfax County and GMU police. The students were informed that the search was related to the spray-painting of words on Wilkins Plaza at the Fairfax campus. The following day, an email was sent to one of the targeted SJP officers indicating that their student organization had been placed under an interim suspension order. Neither SJP’s faculty advisor nor any other officers or members of SJP received notice of the suspension. The students whose home was raided have not been charged with vandalism or any other criminal offenses. No evidence has been offered connecting any additional officers or members of SJP to the alleged acts of property damage or to any other behavior (legal or illegal) that would disrupt the orderly operation of George Mason University.
Speaking out for Palestine, for life, and for a cessation to war are not anti-semitic activities; nor are they activities that compromise the safety of our shared campus environment. It is unconscionable for a student community under such obvious pressures and facing such well-documented risks to be denied the advocacy and protections afforded by SJP. The organized voices of so many students should not be silenced.
Therefore, we the undersigned call for the immediate reinstatement of the Mason chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine as a Registered Student Organization!