Identity of Speakers
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Layla Soliz
Student
OtherUT Student of Palestinian descent
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Hasan Husain
Student
OtherUT Student of Palestinian descent
Resources
Additional Information
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Incident Nature:
Rally or protest
Lawsuit
Other
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Incident Political Orientation:
Not Clear -
Incident Responses:
Student sanctioned
Rally or Protests
Campus police
Other Law Enforcement
Litigation
-
Incident Status:
In litigation Federal District Court
- Was Speech Code incident
Summary
In the spring of 2024, students at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville held a series of pro-Palestinian demonstrations called the People’s School for Gaza. On May 15, the group organized a protest and vigil outside the law school and student union to mark Nakba Day, which commemorates the mass displacement and suffering of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, a period marked by widespread violence, killings, and the uprooting of Palestinians. During the event, university police arrested several protesters and issued indefinite campus bans to both students and non-students, including Layla Soliz and Hasan Husain.
After the protest, the university began disciplinary proceedings against some students and barred others from parts of campus. Soliz and Husain say these actions were taken without due process and were meant to punish them for their political speech.
On May 16, 2025, the two students filed a federal lawsuit alleging the university violated their First Amendment rights and retaliated against them for participating in the protest. They seek a court ruling that the university’s actions were unconstitutional, monetary damages, and an order to stop similar future actions. The university defended its response as following campus policies and state laws against unauthorized camping.
