Stony Brook Officials To Ask Student Gaza Protesters To Move: Report

STONY BROOK, NY — Stony Brook University officials are asking students protesting the conflict in Gaza to move from the Staller Center's steps because another group has a reservation, Newsday reported.

In an open letter to the university community, President Maurie McInnis noted that peaceful protest and student activism have a long history on the campus, adding, "We support every individual’s right to free expression, and I am writing today to review with our community how we can maintain an environment that promotes free speech and peaceful assembly while protecting the educational mission of the university and the safety of our students and our campus."

"Given recent events on our campus and elsewhere, we have received multiple requests for clarification of campus policies," she said.

A group of students began erecting tents on Tuesday on the Staller Center's steps "and they immediately complied when university staff asked that the tents be dismantled," she said, adding, that it was "in accordance with university guidelines," and "very much" appreciated.

They then began a demonstration on the Staller Center's steps without the use of tents, which is permitted under the university’s rules, she said, adding that guidelines provide that protesters do not "block access to or from buildings, use amplified sound that disrupts university activities, impede the use of space that has been reserved by another registered student club/organization or campus office, or impose an ideological or political litmus test on those who seek to enter the space.

"The latter is antithetical to our very purpose as a university," she said.

Demonstrations that comply will be permitted to continue, but if a reservation has already been made, university officials "will ask demonstrators to move to another location, and we will provide an alternative option. In order to honor the free speech and assembly rights of their fellow students, we expect that demonstrators will cooperate with the request," she said.

"The university has consistently honored our community’s First Amendment rights to free speech and peaceful assembly," she said. "At the same time, the university’s expectation of compliance with its rules governing demonstrations stems from our commitment, no less important, to safeguard our community, to protect the institution from disruption, and to maintain a campus where all voices have an opportunity to be heard."

"We will continue to take appropriate steps to protect our students and others on campus, and we again call on all members of our community to treat each other with civility and respect," she said.

Patch has reached out to university officials for comment.

Students from the Justice for Palestine group at Stony BrooK University are leading a pro-Palestinian demonstration, with around 30 to 40 students seen sleeping outside tarps at the school, News 12 reported.

The protest comes as college students across the U.S. are setting up encampments in support of the people of Gaza.

The students are demanding financial transparency from the university, News 12 reported.

University officials told the outlet that there is no encampment at Stony Brook and that they allow students to express themselves peacefully.

A spokesperson for the students told Newsday that they will remain on a common area outside the Staller Center, as well as the main campus library until their demands are met.

Zubair Kabir, a spokesperson for the group sb4palestine, told the outlet: "This is a form of protest to show the university that we want our basic demands met."