Berkeley and Wayne State University labelled 'hostile' to pro-Palestinian activism

The University of California, Berkeley (UC-Berkeley) and Wayne State University (WSU) on Monday both found themselves placed on the Council of American-Islamic Relations' (Cair) list of campuses designated as hostile to pro-Palestinian speech.

Cair's “hostile campuses” list is meant to serve as a "comprehensive resource" to guide people interested in promoting "supportive learning environments" and features names of institutions "of particular concern due to reported incidents, policies, and discriminatory practices targeting Palestinian, Muslim, Arab, Jewish, and other individuals opposing occupation, apartheid, and genocide," according to Cair's website.

Cair designated UC Berkeley as a hostile campus due to “its ongoing suppression of Palestinian advocacy, surveillance of student protests, and failure to protect students and faculty from harassment and retaliation”. 

Cair said in a press release that the university “escalated policing, expanded surveillance, and selectively enforced policies that chill protected expression and endanger students and faculty advocating for Palestinian rights”.

Research and advocacy specialist Dr Maryam Hasan, who led Cair’s research, told Middle East Eye she had made her assessment based on two campus incidents and on public information gathered from Title VI complaints, lawsuits, testimonials, news articles, publications, and letters.

“One incident involved a Palestinian law student who was grabbed and pushed by a UC Berkeley law faculty member. UC Berkeley opened an investigation, but nothing has happened so far," Hasan told MEE.

Another event that Hasan described involved a student who was singled out in class when the professor compared pro-Palestinian symbols on his clothes to those of the Confederate flag.

“Then the professor withdrew from teaching the course the next day. UC Berkeley took no action to support the student or hold the faculty member accountable. It sends a message that Palestinian identity does not matter.”

Dan Mogulof, assistant vice chancellor of communications, told MEE in a statement that the university has an "unwavering commitment to free speech and to effectively confronting harassment and discrimination of every sort”.

“The campus is dedicated to supporting a community where all can thrive and feel a true sense of belonging without regard for their identities, origins, or beliefs. Berkeley’s leadership works closely with the members of the campus’s Advisory Committee on Muslim and Palestinian Student Life in order to understand and address those communities’ needs and interests,” the statement said. 

During a press conference held by Cair’s San Francisco Bay Area chapter at UC Berkeley on Tuesday, speakers said that 1,000 University of California (UC) alumni agreed not to donate to the UC system until it stops systemic repression of pro-Palestinian speech.

UC Berkeley was the birthplace of the Free Speech Movement in 1964, famously led by Mario Savio, where students protested against the university’s ban on political activities on campus, marking the first act of mass civil disobedience on a college campus. The movement laid the groundwork for successfully championing opposition to the Vietnam War.

Wayne State University makes the growing list

Cair designated WSU, a public university located in the Detroit area of Michigan, as a hostile campus due to what it says is “its repeated repression of Palestinian, Muslim, Arab, and allied students who oppose Israel’s genocide in Gaza”. Detroit is home to one of the largest concentrations of Arab Americans and Muslims in the US.

“Wayne State University has criminalised peaceful dissent and silenced the voices of its Palestinian, Muslim, Arab, Jewish, and allied students who speak out against the Gaza genocide,” Hasan said.

Hasan told MEE that several factors had influenced the decision to label WSU a hostile campus. 

This included a civil rights complaint filed in April about harassment and racial and religious profiling of students; a petition posted by the WSU chapter of the American Association of University Professors about the right to free speech and peaceful protest; inconsistent policies at WSU; and WSU’s board of governors holding virtual board meetings to avoid input from pro-Palestinian voices.  

'Wayne State University has criminalised peaceful dissent and silenced the voices of its Palestinian, Muslim, Arab, Jewish, and allied students'

- Dr Maryam Hasan, Cair

Matt Lockwood, associate vice president of university communications, told MEE that the university was "deeply committed" to supporting freedom of speech, expression and worship. 

“As an institution of higher learning, we also continue to uphold our obligation to foster civil discourse and ensure - in a content-neutral manner - that conduct on our campus does not violate the law, infringe upon the rights of others, contravene university policy or disrupt university operations."

The two universities join a list of 26 other campuses designated as hostile by researchers at Cair.

Universities that make up that list include Ivy Leagues such as Harvard University, Columbia University and Cornell University, as well as other prestigious schools such as Stanford; University of California, Los Angeles; New York University; Emory University; and George Washington University.

Hasan said Cair does not "recommend" hostile campuses to students and advises them to make decisions based on thorough research. 

“We are not recommending them," she said. “We are asking students and parents to look into their campus and make a decision based on safety, policies that are welcoming and inviting to political speech, free speech and academic freedom”.