On March 6, 2025, Swarthmore College sanctioned fifteen students, including students from and first educated in Philadelphia, for their participation in Palestine solidarity activism that took place between October 2023 and March 2024. Among these sanctions were a semester-long suspension, a year-long academic probation decision, and nine instances of semester-long academic probation. The suspended student, set to graduate in May, was sanctioned for “assault” because they used a megaphone indoors.
The sanctioned students are predominantly students of color and first-generation, low-income students, with the most severe sanctions issued to Arab and Muslim students. Some students now face unemployment as a result of these harsh actions.
Swarthmore, founded by Quakers, has a long history of activism. A focus on pacifism and social justice is squarely within the university’s history, and punishing students for acting on those very ideals is reprehensible. As a recent Guardian article notes, the situation at Swarthmore is just one instance of a national crackdown on dissent.
We all have a responsibility to protect the right to free speech. Swarthmore’s sanctions mirror President Trump’s broader agenda of suppressing dissent and criminalizing activism, which is in direct conflict with the college’s stated commitment to protecting students’ rights to protest and express dissent.
We request that the College reverse its sanctions, and work to protect rather than punish their students. Students have a right – and a moral obligation – to resist genocide and injustice.
