University of Missouri President Mun Choi has reaffirmed his decision to deny Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) from participating in the school’s homecoming parade out of safety concerns.
In October, Choi announced his decision to disallow the student group from participating in the parade due to safety concerns from events involving other SJP chapters around the nation. He specifically referred to “significant disturbances” that resulted from SJP groups elsewhere.
On Friday, the Mizzou SJP chapter took to Instagram to share that President Choi had reaffirmed his decision and rejected the groups latest list of “demands.”
”I stand by the decisions that were made to ensure the safety of our campus,” a screenshot of Choi’s response says. “As you are aware MSJP has had a number of meetings with me and my colleagues during the past year. We can do so again to discuss your concerns. But I will not respond to demands.”
According to the SJP chapter, Choi’s response came after the group teamed up with other organizations to send him a letter concerning the school’s “pattern of mistreatment and exclusion.”
”After months of silence and discriminatory actions, the administration not only barred MSJP from participating in this year’s Homecoming parade but also publicly labeled us as a threat to public safety,” the letter read. “This dangerous lie has placed Palestinian and pro-Palestinian students at greater risk of harm and and has fueled slander from Zionist groups both on and off campus.”
The message went on to accuse the university of fostering a “culture of systemic racism, Islamophobia, and anti-Palestinian hate.”
As a result, the groups demanded that the school offer a “public apology” for the homecoming parade decision, designate “anti-Palestinian rhetoric as xenophobic and racist,” and offer a “guarantee” that MSJP will participate in next year’s parade “without fear of exclusion or censorship.”
The demand letter also sought for the university to provide “Proactive measures to address racism and discrimination on campus,” and apply “Consistency in policy enforcement … without selective targeting of groups based on political views or backgrounds.”
”We expect the university to take these demands more seriously and to take concrete steps toward creating a safer, more inclusive environment for all students,” the message concluded. “Until then, the discrimination we have faced will continue to reflect the broader atmosphere of hostility toward marginalized communities at Mizzou.”
”Stop the genocide. Free Palestine,” MSJP added in its Instagram post.
Signatories of the letter also included Mizzou’s Young Democratic Socialists of America, the Legion of Black Collegians, the Muslim Student Organization, and Progressive Jews of Mizzou.
This article was originally published at campusreform.org
