(ATLANTA, GA, 9/10/2024) – The Georgia chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Georgia), Attorneys Sarah Gerwig and Samantha Hamilton, individual University of Georgia (UGA) students, and the organization Georgia Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) (formerly UGA Students for Justice in Palestine) today announced the filing of a Title VI federal civil rights complaint with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR), demanding an immediate investigation into UGA’s extreme differential treatment of Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim students, students perceived to be Palestinian, and students associated with or advocating for Palestinians.
Through discriminatory enforcement of its policies, the complaint alleges UGA’s actions violate Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
The complaint was filed by CAIR-Georgia and Attorneys Sarah Gerwig and Samantha Hamilton on behalf of individual UGA students and SJP, a student organization that advocates for Palestinian human rights and equality. The complaint details how SJP and students associated with the organization have been the target of anti-Palestinian, anti-Arab, and Islamophobic harassment on campus that has escalated since October 7, 2023. UGA did not take meaningful steps to end the harassment, prevent it from occurring, or remedy its effects, according to the complaint. Instead, UGA reinforced the hostile anti-Palestinian environment.
Examples of this behavior cited in the complaint include the UGA Police Department (“UGAPD”) arresting 9 students in April who were peacefully protesting Israel’s genocide of Palestinians, summarily suspending them without proper notice (some given less than 10 minutes), locking them out of their on-campus housing, terminating their on-campus employment, instructing their professors to call 911 on them should they be seen on campus, and prohibiting the students from taking exams or submitting papers online. Several students were barred from attending their own graduations.
The complaint also details University President Jere Morehead and UGA administrators repeatedly ignoring meeting requests from SJP students, as well as ignoring SJP students’ concerns when they complained of threats to their physical safety. Other allegations include UGA exaggerating risks to the student body during student peaceful protests, and engaging in McCarthyist witch hunts by targeting student organizations and individual students perceived to be associating with Palestinians, even after SJP dissolved as a UGA student organization out of serious safety concerns.
Zeena Mohamed, a student-complainant stated,“As an Arab and Muslim student at UGA, I have faced relentless doxing, threats, and harassment both online and on campus. I’ve been subjected to blatant racism, Islamophobia, and xenophobia, and every time I sought support from the university, UGA not only failed to respond, but actively used its institutional power to target and profile myself and other Muslim, Arab, and Palestinian students.
By ignoring our calls for support, arresting and suspending us, barring us from campus, and ultimately driving out SJP, one of the largest organizations that provided a sense of comfort and community for Arab, Muslim, and Palestinian students, UGA has made it painfully clear where it stands: not with marginalized students, but against us.”
Attorney Samantha Hamilton remarked, “UGA has been creating an atmosphere hostile to students who are Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim for years. That hostility has ramped up in severity since October 7th and culminated in the violent arrests of undergraduate students who spent 8 to 12 hours in jail, and whom the university has scarred for life. UGA has added insult to unconstitutional injury by continuing to engage in a systematic campaign to ruin the educational and professional lives of any student on its campus affiliated with the Palestinian liberation movement, which disproportionately affects students of Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim heritage and their allies.”
CAIR-Georgia Executive Director, Azka Mahmood stated, “The University of Georgia has left no stone unturned in its oppression of anti-genocide and Palestinian human rights advocates. From summoning and unleashing police brutality to doling out extreme punitive measures to students simply for engaging in protest and the exercise of free speech, UGA’s actions are shameful and discriminatory towards anyone associating with Palestinians, Arabs, and Muslims. CAIR-Georgia strives to hold UGA accountable for its bias and discrimination against these brave students. With the filing of this Title VI complaint, we urge the Department of Education to investigate the well-documented anti-Muslim, anti-Arab, and anti-Palestinian stances and actions of UGA.”
BACKGROUNDER:
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination based on race, color, or national origin by institutions receiving federal financial assistance. This includes the rights of Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim students to a learning environment that is free from discrimination. In November 2023, the Department of Education reaffirmed this right in a “Dear Colleague” letter.
CAIR-Georgia, Attorneys Sarah Gerwig and Samantha Hamilton, individual UGA students, and SJP are urging the U.S. Department of Education to swiftly investigate UGA’s failure to protect its Palestinian, Arab and Muslim students and ensure UGA is held accountable for its unequal treatment of these students.
CAIR-Georgia’s mission is to protect civil rights, promote justice, empower American Muslims, and enhance the understanding of Islam.
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CONTACT: Azka Mahmood, CAIR-Georgia Executive Director, [email protected], 678-653-5822, Nazia Khanzada, CAIR-Georgia Communications Manager, [email protected], (404)-239-2086