Swarthmore College, a private institution in Pennsylvania is under fire after suspending a student two months before graduation after the student took part in Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) protests, according to a petition that was filed.
"On Thursday, March 6th 2025, Swarthmore college suspended a student for peaceful protest activities in the Fall of 2023," the petition read. "The student, a second semester senior 2 months from graduating, was charged with assault for the sue of a bullhorn indoors, the first suspension of its kind nationally."
The petition also states that the college sanctioned 10 students in total for their participation in pro-Palestine protests that took place between October 2023 after the October 7 massacre and March 2024.
They also claim that the students that were sanctioned were students of color, with the most severe sanctions being on Arabs and Muslims.
The suspension was due to the student using a megaphone indoors during a protest in 2023, during the fall semester, the petition claims.
Swarthmore fires back at SJP
Swarthmore suspended the SJP group from its campus in February after the group falsely claimed that the college called federal law enforcement on them during a protest inside the Parish Hall on the college's campus.
"During this interim period, SJP will be unable to access College funds, schedule or host events on campus, or access any other College resources available to student organizations," the college's president wrote in a statement.
A few weeks later, the college released a second statement saying that SJP posted to their Instagram a "racist message that included a reference to the Ku Klux Klan and was directed toward a Jewish staff member."
"I am appalled that SJP resorted to vile name-calling, and I condemn the group's use of hate speech," the president wrote.
"The post, which has since been removed, acme in response to an email from that staff member, who wrote tot he organization about an event SJP is planning to take place on campus at noon today," she continued, referencing to an event that happened at the beginning of March. "The email reiterated to SJP that, as a result of the interim suspension I announced following the protest in Parrish Hall two weeks ago, the group is prohibited from organizing events on campus."
SJP has in the past, organized protests on multiple campuses across the US, which disrupted classes and have assaulted Jewish students who were on their way to their classes.