Professors Sue University Over Arrest During Pro-Palestine Protest

Three professors at Atlanta’s Emory University have filed a lawsuit against the university, alleging that it failed to protect students and staff during a 2024 campus protest over Israel’s actions in Gaza. The lawsuit, filed on Thursday, claims that the university broke its own free-speech policies by calling in police and state troopers to disperse the protest, resulting in 28 arrests.

The plaintiffs, including philosophy professor Noelle McAfee, English and Indigenous studies professor Emilio Del Valle-Escalante, and economics professor Caroline Fohlin, argue that the university’s actions were unjustified. According to McAfee, “the judicial system would find that Emory failed to protect its students, staff, and educational mission.” The lawsuit demands that the university repay money spent defending the plaintiffs against misdemeanor charges that were later dismissed, as well as punitive damages.

The professors claim that they were not involved in any wrongdoing and were simply observing the protest. They argue that the university’s actions were excessive and targeted them unfairly. Emory University has responded to the lawsuit, stating that it believes it is without merit and that the university acts responsibly to keep its community safe from threats of harm.

The lawsuit is part of a nationwide trend of protests on elite campuses, with multiple instances of students and faculty filing lawsuits against universities alleging discrimination due to protests. The Emory University case is unusual in that all three plaintiffs are tenured faculty members who were not convicted of any charges.

Source: Al Jazeera