Identity of Speakers
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Manuel Rivera
Student
OtherFourth-year University of Chicago Student
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
Faculty responses (e.g., asking student to leave classroom)
Campus police
Other Law Enforcement
Litigation
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Incident Status:
In litigation State Court
- Was Speech Code incident
Summary
Manuel Rivera, a fourth-year University of Chicago student, filed a civil rights lawsuit against the university, its Interim Dean of Students, and two university police officers, alleging violations of his First Amendment rights and tenant protections after he was evicted from on-campus housing and placed on involuntary leave following his participation in a pro-Palestine protest in October 2024.
Rivera claimed that the university’s actions were retaliatory, accusing the administration of unlawfully evicting him without proper legal authority and falsifying records to suggest a later eviction date than the actual one. The lawsuit sought damages for wrongful eviction and retaliation, as well as attorney’s fees and other remedies. This case emerged amid ongoing tensions surrounding pro-Palestine activism on campus, with prior complaints accusing the university of discriminatory treatment toward Palestinian students and their allies. The university has declined to comment, citing the pending litigation.
