UC Davis Law Student Association suspended after calls to boycott Israeli-connected businesses
By Steve Large
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DAVIS, California (KOVR) — UC Davis is suspending its Law Student Association (LSA) and taking over the funds from student fees after the association’s calls for a boycott of Israeli-connected businesses.
A university spokesperson said this type of suspension is done “infrequently.” The university released a statement that said, in part:
“Monday’s decision follows the vote by LSA, the law school students association, to knowingly violate University of California policy by seeking to implement a discriminatory resolution intended to boycott people or entities with ties to Israel.”
The student association voted on a resolution to join the Palestinian-led boycott, divestment and sanctions movement and to “not approve funding requests for events with speakers who represent the Israeli government, regardless of their nationality, religion, or ethnic origin.”
Constitutional law expert and UC Davis Professor Vikram Amar said that UC Davis’ decision to suspend the LSA follows U.S. law, which requires public university student organizations to fund activities on a “viewpoint-neutral basis.”
“This organization has violated campus rules as well as the U.S. Constitution,” Professor Amar said. “It seems pretty clear to me that this is not a viewpoint-neutral policy but rather a policy that disfavors organizations associated with people who have sympathy or support of Israel.”
The suspension comes after UC and CSU campuses responded to mass Israeli and Palestinian protests last year by re-enforcing rules banning protests that include encampments, structures and masks.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in Sacramento has been monitoring the UC Davis Law Student Association suspension.
“It’s a little ironic that it’s a law school and, you know, law students at Davis,” CAIR Sacramento executive director Reshad Noorzay said. “But, unfortunately, it’s been disappointing how the UC system has responded to students standing up for their First Amendment rights.”
The funds seized from the student law school association are now controlled by law school administrators. The student association remains suspended indefinitely.
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