Identity of Speakers
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The University of Florida chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine (UF SJP)
Student
OtherStudent organization that advocates for Palestinian rights and social justice on campus.
Resources
Additional Information
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Incident Nature:
Other
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Incident Political Orientation:
Not Clear -
Incident Responses:
Student sanctioned
Rally or Protests
University administration invoked formal speech code in response
University administration changed university policy as a consequence
Litigation
Other
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Incident Status:
In litigation Federal District Court
Dismissed
- Was Speech Code incident
Summary
In October 2023, the State University System of Florida, under direction from Governor Ron DeSantis and Chancellor Ray Rodrigues, ordered public universities to deactivate chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP). The directive came in the wake of the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, and accused SJP of supporting a terrorist organization. The University of Florida and other institutions were instructed to disband their SJP chapters based on claims that the national SJP network endorsed Hamas’s actions, raising concerns about the limits of political expression on campus.
In November 2023, the University of Florida’s SJP chapter filed a federal lawsuit challenging the state’s directive. The group argued that the order violated their First Amendment rights to free speech and association. The plaintiffs sought a preliminary injunction to block enforcement and prevent the university from disbanding their chapter. The suit named both Chancellor Rodrigues and Governor DeSantis, and framed the action as an attempt to silence a student group based solely on its political viewpoint and affiliations.
In January 2024, a federal court dismissed the case, ruling that there was no concrete indication the state actually intended to enforce the deactivation order. The court found that, absent specific action against the UF chapter, the claims lacked standing.
