Mizzou Students for Justice in Palestine sues UM System President Dr. Mun Choi

MSJP announced the lawsuit against Mun Choi on Wednesday, August 27, in a news conference, stating that when they were prohibited from being a part of the university’s Homecoming parade last year, their First Amendment rights were violated.

  The pro-Palestine student group has partnered with the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights advocacy organization, to sue Choi for the accused free speech infringement and viewpoint discrimination.

“What we want to do is send a message to not only President Choi, but to universities around the country that have engaged in similar behavior– and there have been many of them,” said Ahmad Kaki, staff attorney at CAIR National. 

“Targeting students because they seek to express a message in support of Palestinians and critical of Israel, suppressing those students’ viewpoints is unconstitutional,” said Kaki.

  Before fully denying MSJP’s application for the parade, Choi asked the group to not carry a banner reading “END THE GENOCIDE.” 

  Just three days before the parade, after MSJP had been approved, Choi stepped in and individually blocked them from participating, though other groups with political slogans were allowed.

  MSJP President Lily Dunn described their organization as “a model organization,” saying that they “have never done anything to violate the rules of the university.” 

  According to Dunn, one of their goals is to uplift other student organizations and speak against the narrative being created about Palestinians. 

“We try to make ourselves a known presence on campus in order to show that we are not a threat,” said Dunn, a sophomore studying journalism at MU. “On this campus a lot of people are led to believe that Palestinians are inherently terrorists. So being an organization that supports Palestinians, we work to show that this is not true.”

MSJP is just one of the organizations that has recently experiencedcancellation or censoring on MU’s campus. The Legion of Black Collegians (LBC) recently had an event cancelled for having the word “Black” in the name.

“MSJP as an organization is going to continue to fight for the rights of Palestinian students and for our student organizations on campus no matter what,” said Dunn. “All that matters is trying to benefit our campus and our community–more than winning or losing.”

  Support is coming from UMKC, with Justice Horn, the UMKC student body president posting a news release on Instagram saying that he supports MSJP in their efforts.

“I stand for protest. I stand for free speech. I stand with students,” said Horn. “To the students at Mizzou and across this state: you are not alone. I stand with you–in truth, in resistance and in solidarity.”

  UMKC’s branch of SJP has stayed in touch with MSJP by collaborating on posts and sharing their “justified frustration” over the events that occurred.

“When we found out the lawsuit was filed, we messaged their former president to share how proud we are of them for speaking up and refusing to be bullied into silence by an unaccountable university President,” said Yara Salamed, the president of SJP at UMKC and third year law student. “They’ve had our support and will always continue to.”

  Students across the country have been standing up and protesting for Palestine, with many being suppressed by their universities for their actions. CAIR has worked with other student groups before MSJP, most notably winning a case against the University of Maryland for cancelling an October 7th anniversary vigil.

  CAIR works with many prevalent issues that are facing Muslim communities, organizations and individuals. According to Kaki, “One of the most important causes to Muslims right now is to stop the genocide in Gaza.”

“They have a right to not be retaliated against by state actors, like university officials, for expressing themselves,” said Kaki. “Students are not attorneys, they’re not always going to know all of their rights to their fullest expense. So we encourage students to reach out to us when they’re suppressed in their ability to speak out for Palestine on campuses.”

  To get in touch with CAIR, reach out to them on their website.

  To stay updated on MSJP and the case, find them on Instagram.

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