USF student protesters file civil rights complaint against university

*Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society filed the complaint after the lasting consequences from spring 2024 protests. ORACLE PHOTO/LILY BELCHER*

Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) filed a civil rights complaint against USF in December, accusing the university of a “pattern of discrimination” and a “hostile environment.”

The 59-page complaint alleges USF has a history of discrimination, created policies that target SDS and issued “retaliatory disciplinary charges” against the organization’s student leaders.

The complaint also suggests several remedies USF can take, including reinstating SDS as a registered student organization and financially compensating affected students.

USF spokesperson Ryan Hughes said the university complies with all laws and university regulations.

“USF has been clear, and will again reiterate, that discrimination, harassment and retaliation will not be tolerated,” Hughes wrote in a statement to the Oracle.

The complaint, filed on Dec. 11, 2024, came after several other universities, including UCLA, John’s Hopkins and Northeastern, faced similar complaints.

SDS members Vicky Tong, a psychology major who graduated in December, and Connor Jaap, an environmental science and policy senior, said the civil rights complaint includes USF’s discrimination against Palestinians and those associated with Palestine.

Neither Tong nor Jaap are Palestinian, but said their involvement with protests in support of Palestine means they are “associated with” Palestine.

The file outlines instances of discrimination dating back to October 2023. The complaint explains how things escalated in April 2024 between USF and SDS when the student organization received an interim suspension after they “marched” into the Dean of Students’ office to submit a petition.

The petition advocated for DEI programs and related departments at the university, such as the Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies and Africana Studies. During the march, several students wore keffiyehs, described in the complaint as “a visible expression of Palestinian culture and history.”

SDS was temporarily suspended after the march, meaning they were barred from hosting any meetings or events on campus, according to the Student Organizations policy.

However, just days later, SDS hosted a Nabka Day commemoration during which a protester set up a tent, which was prohibited without prior approval, according to a university wide email sent out ahead of the protests. The pair of events on April 29 and 30 resulted in 13 arrests.

SDS alleged the university’s policy imposing time, place and manner restrictions during the week of the protest – final exam week – was “clearly specifically designed” to stop SDS’ events.

Jaap said USF discriminated against the organization by creating the policy on Nakba Day. However, the university reserved the right to “cancel or place restrictions on events to protect the safety of the campus” in the previous version of its event policy – Policy 6.028 – which was adopted in 2017 and technically amended in January 2024, three months before Nakba Day.

USF sent a campus-wide email the night before the first encampment protest reminding students of the event policy, prohibiting tents and saying no events near academic buildings would be allowed. The 5 p.m. curfew was imposed with a half-hour notice during the protest, according to the complaint.

The complainants also accuse USF of issuing “retaliatory disciplinary charges” against members of SDS, including Joseph Charry who was suspended. SDS was also expelled from being a student organization ahead of the fall 2024 semester.

The complaint includes multiple instances during the fall semester when the university issued code of conduct charges to SDS members who attempted to host events despite the organization being prohibited from doing so.

Following one protest that was shut down before it could start, USF spokesperson Althea Johnson reiterated that the university values free speech.

“However, there are consequences for individuals or groups who don’t follow university policies or the law,” Johnson wrote in a Oct. 3, 2024 statement to the Oracle.

Tong, a complainant, said the main step SDS is demanding USF take is reversing the expulsion of the organization, which would allow members to gather on campus again.

The Title VI complainants also call for the university to disclose investments and divest from companies that support Israel. USF is also asked to reimburse Charry, who was forced to leave the country after his suspension, for “monetary harm,” including his airfare and student visa reapplication fees.

Jaap said SDS had filed three complaints with USF’s Student Equal Opportunity office in the fall semester, but “nothing was done.”

USF administration and complainants can engage in early mediation, where both groups can discuss and agree to some or all of the suggested remedies. If USF declines early mediation, the Office of Civil Rights could launch an investigation.

LILY BELCHER, MANAGING EDITOR

Lily Belcher is the managing editor for The Oracle. She's a mass communications and professional and technical communications double major. She started at The Oracle in summer 2023 as a correspondent and worked her way up to news editor. She has been freelancing for local newspapers for four years and hopes to write for a major newspaper following her graduation. Reach her at belcher20@usf.edu

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