Lansing, Michigan. This past year, thousands of students participated in pro-Palestinian demonstrations on college campuses around the country, including Jonathan Zou, a second-year student at the University of Michigan. Even if there are no longer as many protests on campus, students like Zou are nonetheless affected.
Zou has been barred from all University of Michigan campuses since being arrested by university police on October 7 for wielding a megaphone during a pro-Palestinian demonstration, with the exception of going to class or getting medical attention.
The American Civil Liberties Union is suing the University of Michigan for allegedly violating the free speech rights of five people, including Zou, who are subject to similar bans. The ACLU’s case, which was submitted to a federal court on Monday, also claims that the institution misused its power to bar anyone from using public land.
In an interview conducted prior to the case being filed, Zou stated that although the institution acknowledges this history of activism, it will arrest, ban, monitor, and oppress students using legal or school disciplinary measures.
A University of Michigan representative stated the university has not yet received the lawsuit and has no comment in response to a request for comment.
Last spring, pro-Palestinian protests surged throughout college campuses, with activists erecting tent encampments and, in certain situations, intensifying their rallies.Many people had their cases dropped, thousands were detained, and others are now in legal limbo as they continue their schooling.
In an executive order signed on Wednesday, President Donald Trump called for swift action to combat antisemitism on college campuses, pledged to prosecute those found guilty, and revoked the visas of foreign students he identified as Hamas sympathizers.
Tensions over the Israel-Hamas conflict have had a major impact on Michigan, as metro Detroit is home to a sizable Jewish population as well as the largest Arab American community in the country. Police conflicts with protesters and demonstrators targeting university representatives for protests have been the result of these dynamics, which have caused unrest on University of Michigan campuses.
After accusing a pro-Palestinian group of breaking the university’s conduct guidelines, the University of Michigan suspended the group for two years and withdrew its funding last week.
On behalf of Zou, two recent grads, one other current student, and a member of the Ann Arbor community, the ACLU filed the complaint. The lawsuit claims that after being accused of misbehavior during protests, the people were each given trespass prohibitions but were never punished.
On the one-year anniversary of the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, which claimed 1,200 lives and left another 250 hostage, Zou was taking part in a march on the University of Michigan’s Ann Arbor campus. The conflict that has ravaged the Gaza Strip, which is run by Hamas, was ignited by the 2023 assaults.
After utilizing a megaphone during the march, Zou was taken into custody but was never charged.
The lawsuit claims that the trespass bans have upset people’s daily routines, interfered with their employment and education, and are preventing them from freely expressing their opinions and protesting on the University’s expansive campus. In order to stop the institution from enforcing wide trespassing restrictions in the future, the individuals are requesting that the federal court lift their bans.
A truce between Israel and Hamas came into force last month, resulting in prisoner exchanges and a surge of supplies into the Gaza Strip following a 15-month military conflict that left the region in ruins, with many people displaced and starving. If the ceasefire fails after the initial six-week phase, the prospect of combat returning is big.