The Michigan Chapter of Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI) a chapter of the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization today expresses concern of what appears to be the University of Michigan’s continued targeting of pro-Palestinian voices on campus with the recent suspension of the student group Students Allied for Freedom and Equality (SAFE).
Earlier this week SAFE was suspended from the Ann Arbor Campus by University administrators despite a student judicial panel making a recommendation that SAFE not be disciplined and further finding that SAFE was not responsible for the majority of the allegations made against them by the university.
See: University of Michigan suspends pro-Palestinian student group after protests
“University of Michigan’s suspension of SAFE appears to be another maneuver by the university in its attempt to silence all anti-genocide pro-Palestinian voices on campus,” said CAIR-MI Executive Director Dawud Walid. “The fact that the university hired an outside consultant to do its bidding at an enormous expense to the institution just goes to show how far they are willing to go to suppress certain viewpoints on campus.”
“There is fundamental irony in the fact that the University of Michigan wants to act as both the complaining witness and the judge, jury and executioner while still claiming to promote free speech on campus,” said CAIR-MI Staff Attorney Amy V. Doukoure. “In no way can the university plausibly claim that the suspension of SAFE was anything but a targeted aimed at silencing Pro-Palestinian voices on campus. The student judicial panel spoke and recommended that SAFE not be suspended, but, just as they did with the student protestors who were disciplined after a student and administrative panel found them not responsible, the University acted out on their preconceived plans – and suspended SAFE- the only group on campus that is dedicated to the liberation of the Palestinian people.”
Backgrounder:
SAFE has a 20 year legacy of advocacy on University of Michigan’s Ann Arbor Campus and is the only student organization that is dedicated to the liberation of the Palestinian people. SAFE and its members have been targeted since October 7, 2023 for their anti-genocide advocacy by the University administration and leadership. In 2024, the University of Michigan changed the process by which complaints against students and student organizations could be made. The changes were made in the Summer of 2024 while the majority of students were away from campus both allowed for the first time that the University itself to bring a complaint on its own accord and then gave final decision-making power over the complaint to the university administrators.
See: University of Michigan’s new disciplinary process tougher on students
Around the same time, the University engaged an outside consultant to bring a complaint against SAFE through the SOAR process and then later hired this consultant at a cost of hundreds of thousands of dollars. This consultant brought a complaint against SAFE seeking to have SAFE’s status as a recognized student organization revoked.
As a result of these changes and the hiring of the outside consultant CAIR-MI alongside other advocacy groups and attorneys filed a lawsuit against the University of Michigan on behalf of SAFE and several students who had been targeted for their anti-genocide advocacy.
See: Pro-Palestinian students, alumni sue University of Michigan over alleged targeting of protesters
As a result of the university’s attacks on free speech, CAIR designated University of Michigan as a “university of particular concern” as part of its unhostile campus campaign
Following the complaint brought by the consultant a judicial panel made up of students found that SAFE was not responsible for most of the accusations made against them by the University and urged the University not to suspend SAFE. However, Dean of Student Life, Laura Blake Jones, issued the University’s decision, which completely overturned the findings of the student judicial panel and ignored their recommendation by suspending SAFE.
CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.
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CONTACT: CAIR-MI Executive Director, Dawud Walid (248) 842-1418, dwalid@cair.com; CAIR-MI Staff Attorney, Amy V. Doukoure, (586) 943-8823, adoukoure@cair.com