Swarthmore Faculty and Instructional Staff Call on Admin to Drop Charges Against Student Activists

We, the undersigned members of the faculty and instructional staff, are writing in response to the profoundly troubling precedent being set by the Swarthmore College administration as it charges peaceful student protestors and activists with violations of the Student Code of Conduct.

The actions taken by the students being charged include actions taken by student protestors in the past, such as occupying the offices of upper administration, using bullhorns both indoors and outdoors, and hanging banners and posters around the college campus. There appears to be little substantive difference in the methods employed by the students charged in relation to pro-Palestine and antiwar activism and those used by student activists associated with Organizing for Survivors, the Black Affinity Coalition, Mountain Justice, and Solidarity at Swat. Nonetheless, pro-Palestine and antiwar activists are facing an extraordinary number of sanctions. For the first time in its history, the college has retained external counsel — Montgomery McCracken Walker & Rhoads LLP — specifically to prepare charges and to directly participate in student disciplinary hearings. Simultaneously, the college has prohibited the students who have been charged from having legal counsel present. Fourteen students face major charges which carry the possibility of expulsion.

We would like to remind our administration that feelings of “discomfort” do not constitute “harm” and caution against a weaponization of “safety” that makes possible the selective enforcement of disciplinary measures. These are strategies that have historically been deployed most forcefully against students of color. Given that twenty of the 25 pro-Palestine students facing disciplinary proceedings are students of color — many of whom are first-generation low-income students — we are particularly concerned with the integrity of the disciplinary process. This concern intensified following the special meeting of the faculty, during which no member of the administration chose to address the worry that racial bias has played a role in these disciplinary proceedings, despite being asked about racial bias on four separate occasions.

We strongly caution against using this historic moment to buttress the Student Code of Conduct, the college’s apparatus for policing dissent. We reject the draconian changes to the Code of Conduct and call for a consultative process that is true to our history, values, mission, and Quaker roots in order to continue producing the engaged citizens of the world for which Swarthmore College is renowned. Such a consultative process would allow us to approach peaceful protest in ways that balance the rights of others with the college’s commitments to free expression, antiwar activism, and justice while enacting our longstanding ethos of shared governance.   

As our president made clear in an email on Jan. 25, “peaceful protest and dissent are an important part of the College’s history.” And yet, rarely have peaceful protests and dissent been recognized and celebrated as such in the moments of their eruption. Amidst a nationwide wave of repression of pro-Palestine and anti-war speech, our students are using the tools of civil disobedience and public engagement — skills they have developed during their time at this institution — to contend with one of the most pressing political and humanitarian catastrophes of their time.  

We thus call upon the administration to drop disciplinary actions against student protestors, protect the rights of all students to decry injustice, and preserve Swarthmore’s long-held commitment to student activism.

1. Dilruba Ahmed, Visiting Assistant Professor, English Literature / Creative Writing
2. Sabeen Ahmed, Assistant Professor, Philosophy
3. Tariq al-Jamil, Associate Professor, Religion
4. Khaled Al-Masri, Associate Professor, Modern Languages & Literatures
5. Thamyris Almeida, Postdoctoral Fellow and Visiting Assistant Professor, Latin
   American and Latino Studies
6. Elaine Allard, Associate Professor, Educational Studies
7. Farid Azfar, Associate Professor, History
8. Alejandra Azuero-Quijano, Assistant Professor, Anthropology
9. Jamal Batts, Assistant Professor, Black Studies
10. Carolyn Bauer, Assistant Professor, Biology
11. Michael Wilson Becerril, Visiting Assistant Professor, Peace and Conflict Studies
12. Adrienne Benally, Assistant Professor, Environmental Studies
13. Jennifer Bradley, Associate Professor, Educational Studies
14. Nicolette Bragg, Visiting Assistant Professor, Writing Associates Program
15. Megan Brown, Associate Professor, History
16. Tim Burke, Professor, History
17. Rachel Sagner Buurma, Associate Professor, English Literature
18. Itzue Caviedes Solis, Assistant Professor, Biology and Environmental Studies
19. Pallabi Chakravorty, Stephen Lang Professor of Performing Arts, Dance
20. Paloma Checa-Gismero, Assistant Professor, Art & Art History
21. BuYun Chen, Associate Professor, History
22. Caroline Cheung, Program Coordinator, Teaching & Learning Commons
23. David Cohen, Professor, Physics and Astronomy
24. Lara Cohen, Associate Professor, English Literature
25. Bernadette Colburn, Print Services Lead
26. Kirby Conrad, Assistant Professor, Linguistics
27. Damir Creecy, Lab Instructor, Biology
28. Maggie Delano, Associate Professor, Engineering
29. Desiree Diaz, Associate Professor, Spanish
30. Bruce Dorsey, Professor, History
31. Lila Fontes, Associate Professor, Computer Science
32. Natalie Mera Ford, Assistant Professor, Writing Associates Program (English Literature)
33. Vince Formica, Associate Professor, Biology
34. Emily Gasser, Associate Professor & Chair, Linguistics Department
35. Sibelan Forrester, Susan W. Lippincott Professor of Modern and Classical Languages and Russian
36. Farha Ghannam, Professor, Sociology and Anthropology
37. Brian Goldstein, Associate Professor, Art History
38. Alexandra Gueydan-Turek, Associate Professor, Modern Languages and Literatures
39. Sam Handlin, Associate Professor, Political Science
40. K. David Harrison, Professor, Linguistics
41. Andy Hines, Senior Associate Director, Aydelotte Foundation
42. Steven Hopkins, Mari S. Michener Professor, Religion
43. Paul Jacobs, Technician, Physics & Astronomy
44. Nina Johnson, Associate Professor, Sociology and Anthropology and Black Studies
45. Varun Khanna, Visiting Assistant Professor, Classics
46. Mary Ann Hickman Klassen, Senior Lab Lecturer, Physics and Astronomy
47. Dahlia Li, Visiting Assistant Professor of Gender and Sexuality Studies
48. Roseann Liu, Assistant Professor, Educational Studies
49. Jose-Luis Machado, Associate Professor, Department of Biology
50. Edwin Mayorga, Associate Professor, Educational Studies
51. Brendan Mcgeever, Cornell Visiting Professor, History
52. Shailen Mishra, Visiting Assistant Professor, Writing Associates Program
53. Elise A. Mitchell, Assistant Professor, History
54. Maya Nadkarni, Associate Professor, Anthropology
55. Alba Newmann-Holmes, Assistant Professor, Writing Associates Program
56. Lei X Ouyang, Associate Professor, Music & Asian American Studies
57. James Padilioni, Jr., Visiting Assistant Professor, Religion and Environmental Studies
58. Zachary Palmer, Assistant Professor, Computer Science
59. Sangina Patnaik, Associate Professor, English Literature
60. Salvador Rangel, Assistant Professor, Sociology and Anthropology
61. Jesse Rivera, Observatory Manager, Physics and Astronomy
62. Ellen Ross, Howard M. and Charles F. Jenkins Professor, Religion
63. Moriel Rothman-Zecher, Visiting Assistant Professor, English Literature
64. Christy Schuetze, Associate Professor, Anthropology
65. Peter Schmidt, Professor, Department of English Literature
66. Ahmad Shokr, Associate Professor, History
67. Benjamin Smith, Assistant Professor, Modern Languages & Literatures
68. Marshall Smith, Assistant Professor of French and Francophone Studies, Black Studies
69. Tristan Smith, Associate Professor, Physics and Astronomy
70. Lee Smithey, Professor, Peace and Conflict Studies
71. Lisa Smulyan, Professor Emerita, Educational Studies
72. K. Elizabeth Stevens, Associate Professor, Theater
73. Tracey Mia Stewart, Assistant Professor, Music and Black Studies
74. Suya Su, Visiting Assistant Professor, Sociology and Anthropology
75. Vivian Truong, Assistant Professor, History
76. Roberto Vargas, Head of Research and Instruction, Libraries
77. Edlin Veras, Assistant Professor, Sociology and Anthropology, Black Studies
78. Mark I. Wallace, James Hormel Professor of Social Justice, Religion
79. Jonathan Washington, Associate Professor, Linguistics
80. Robert Weinberg, Professor, History
81. Patricia White, Centennial Professor, Film and Media Studies
82. Isaiah Wooden, Assistant Professor of Theater
83. Matt Zucker, Associate Professor, Engineering