Reject Georgia Tech’s Censorship of Young Democratic Socialists
John Stein, Georgia Tech's Dean of Students
UPDATE: We won! The decision has been overturned thanks to community support
Over the last 6 months, YDSA GT has been targeted by an unlawful campaign of intimidation and political repression by Georgia Tech’s administration in retaliation for hosting Jewish and Palestinian speakers who criticized Israel's unlawful military occupation of Palestine. The administration's campaign centers around a politically motivated disciplinary investigation, the very existence of which directly violates school policy and the U.S. Constitution.
"This politically motivated investigation aims to completely shut down any conversation around Israeli occupation being had on campus. To accuse YDSA of being discriminatory for being a place where anti-occupation Jews, like myself, can actually begin to grapple with the occupation of Palestinian lands is completely inappropriate" said Ariella, a Jewish YDSA Member
The Office of Student Integrity has played the role of policing certain political views by sanctioning YDSA for exercising our constitutional rights to freedom of speech and assembly and by demanding unreasonable punishments that will exhaust our limited resources and force us to betray our own deeply held political values. These sanctions would force YDSA to hold multiple OSI-approved events with organizations “with differing viewpoints,” and place us on disciplinary probation.
"I have long felt uncomfortable voicing my opinions in institutional Jewish spaces, as my views run counter to the orthodoxy those institutions espouse. YDSA provided one of the first spaces where I ever felt comfortable discussing my anti-occupation views and reckoning with the way I was taught to view Israel." said Eli, a Jewish YDSA Member and Former Treasurer of Hillel's Student Executive Board
It is clear that Georgia Tech is disregarding its students' First Amendment rights to peacefully assemble and hold expressive events. This process has been designed to intimidate YDSA's all-student membership, exhaust our all-volunteer resources, and silence our constitutionally protected political speech. The harassment of students for speaking in defense of Palestinian human rights is a nationwide trend, and it is alarming to see it proceeding this far in our own community.
"In our work throughout Georgia and across the US South, we notice a trend of academic institutions failing to uphold basic constitutional rights when support for Palestine is uplifted. We urge the administration at Georgia Tech to support students' rights to organize." said Stephanie Guilloud, Co-Director at Project South, a civil and human rights organization based in Atlanta
We, and the allied organizations below, call on Dean of Students John Stein to rescind the Institute’s disciplinary actions, which violate YDSA GT’s rights to free speech, assembly and due process, and we call on Georgia Tech to issue a public apology. YDSA GT will explore all legal options to protect our rights as students, including litigation. Regardless of your ideology, if you support the rights of students to organize around their beliefs, please sign the attached petition and share this with anyone you know. We also urge you to call Dean Stein’s office at 404-894-2565 with the attached message of support, or simply to donate to our cause.
Here is how to help:
- Sign on to this petition!
- Sign on here if you are an organization so that your organization may be added as a signatory at the end of this petition.
- Share this message online, with friends, family, journalists, lawyers, and other organizations who may be willing to help.
- Help us fundraise so that we may have the time and resources to combat these charges and seek legal aid.
- Call Dean Stein’s office at 404-894-2565, with the attached message of support at the end of this petition.
Hello, I am calling in support of Young Democratic Socialists of America at Georgia Tech. I find the action taken against YDSA because of their political views to be very troubling. It's clear that Georgia Tech has botched the disciplinary process and is retaliating against YDSA for exercising their constitutional right to freedom of speech and assembly. The sanctions levied against YDSA will compromise their organization’s ability to organize around their stated beliefs and goals. This is a deep blow against the values that Georgia Tech claims to uphold.
Dean Stein should rescind the Institute’s disciplinary actions, which violate YDSA GT’s rights to free speech, assembly and due process, and Georgia Tech should issue a public apology. Thank you for your time.
For more information about the case, please see our press release with more details
If your organization wants to support this petition, fill out this form.
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To:
John Stein, Georgia Tech's Dean of Students
From:
[Your Name]
Dean Stein,
Over the past 6 months, YDSA GT has been targeted by an unlawful, politically-motivated investigation and sanctioned for exercising their constitutional rights to freedom of speech and assembly. The bases of these sanctions, and the terms of the sanctions themselves, are unconstitutional and a violation of their rights.
Additionally, the investigation has been corrupted by procedural error and bias. The Institute has repeatedly violated its own policies surrounding the student organization disciplinary process. The Institute has changed the scope of the investigation into YDSA's speech, swapped out the charges against YDSA at the last second, and repeatedly deceived YDSA, all in an apparent effort to censor YDSA's political speech.
We call on Dean of Students John Stein to rescind the Institute’s disciplinary actions, which violate YDSA GT’s rights to free speech, assembly and due process, and we call on Georgia Tech to issue a public apology.