On March 26th, four Vanderbilt students were arrested and 26 students were placed on interim suspension for their participation in a peaceful protest at Kirkland Hall. The student protestors are seeking your support as they advocate for their criminal charges and disciplinary actions to be dropped immediately. Historically, Vanderbilt students have occupied Kirkland Hall---the university's main administrative building---to protest injustices occurring worldwide. Following this precedent, students entered Kirkland Hall to peacefully protest the administration’s cancellation of a campus-wide referendum on the adoption of a Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) amendment to the Vanderbilt Student Government (VSG) constitution. The amendment would initiate “the immediate cessation of the usage of any and all VSG funds for the purchase of goods and services from companies complicit in Israel’s continual violation of the human rights of Palestinians.” Vanderbilt administrators claimed that Kirkland was closed for ongoing construction at the time of the protestors’ entry; however, comments provided by administration to the Vanderbilt Hustler in early February state that Kirkland has been open to the Vanderbilt community and construction has been complete since mid-February. None of the protestors who entered the building witnessed any ongoing construction. Instead, they saw multiple staff, faculty, and administrators going about their business, and earlier in the week, several faculty members and students entered the building without any impediment to deliver an open letter to the Chancellor demanding the reinstatement of the referendum.

Given the university’s prior claims that Kirkland was open to the Vanderbilt community, 26 student protesters entered the building with one goal: to demand the reinstatement of the referendum. 642 students signed the initial petition for the referendum to be added to the ballot, almost double the threshold needed for the vote to happen. However, the university unilaterally and arbitrarily canceled the referendum under the guise of legality, citing Tennessee State Bill 1993 (enacted in 2022). The bill prohibits state contracts of over $250,000 from being formed with entities participating in the boycott of companies supporting Israel. VSG’s budget is $200,000, anti-boycott laws have repeatedly been deemed unconstitutional in federal courts, and student governments have passed BDS amendments in New York and California, both states with similarly stringent anti-boycott laws. 

With the support of the Vanderbilt Divest Coalition (VDC), Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) initially protested this violation of students’ right to vote by staging a sit-in at our educational Apartheid Wall display on Rand Lawn- asserting the same demand from the petition and the same demand that would come in the future. Having followed all required university policies for protests, students still received opposition and severe backlash from the administration. School officials cited “construction on Rand Lawn” as a necessity to move SJP’s Apartheid Wall to a different location. The administration first sent an email before students returned to campus at the end of spring break, claiming that VDC could only have the wall up Monday morning. Students occupied the space. The university then told the group that they had until Wednesday. VDC continued occupying. The university gave them until Friday, and finally pushed it to Sunday. We believe that the university’s main goal is to suppress free speech and prevent pro-Palestinian students from exercising their right to protest.

Considering the university’s previous attempts to disenfranchise student voters and limit the capacity, manner, and location in which students could protest, the protestors who entered Kirkland were persistent in seeking the only right answer: “We will reinstate the referendum.” In the university’s statements, the administration claims that a representative “offered a meeting.” However, this alleged meeting was not specified to be with the Chancellor. Additionally, since this alleged offer was not given during the Vanderbilt Divest Coalition’s 155-hour initial peaceful protest, the coalition would not have accepted it. So, the protestors sat in Kirkland. Students occupying Kirkland endured more inhumane conditions than those that the students who were arrested later received from the police detainment center in which they were booked. Over the course of 21 hours, access to food and water arranged by students occupying the steps of Kirkland was denied to them. Additionally, their basic right to medical care and to relieve themselves was only delivered with an ultimatum: give up their right to peacefully protest. And so, they remained. Because of the protestors’ resolute decision, Vanderbilt University exhibited a gross misuse of power. They continued to deny basic rights and eventually arrested 4 students in total, herding the remaining students occupying Kirkland out of the building under the false pretense of arrest, holding the students’ arms behind their backs in the process. This was an effort to force an end to their protest. Students did not relinquish their right to protest; the university forced them to. 

The university did not stop there. The protestors were placed on an “interim suspension,” under which they were barred from campus, their required housing and campus dining, and all university proceedings. Students were told it was a “privilege” to come back to campus or even gain access to the Student Health Center (including the Vanderbilt University Medical Center, unless they were checking into the emergency room). Students were left unhoused. To be clear, the Vanderbilt administration had the opportunity to reinstate the referendum and chose not to. Notably, the university had time to search camera footage, identify students, issue over two dozen disciplinary actions, release multiple statements, and organize arrest warrants for four students, but somehow did not have time to consider how they would reacquaint their students with their First Amendment rights and right to vote. 

Vanderbilt students ask that you stand with student protesters and demand that the university drop all criminal charges and cease all disciplinary actions. Student protesters acted only with the intent to practice their right to free speech and assembly; nothing more. Furthermore, students still demand that the university reinstate the referendum, regardless of the punitive sanctions they have levied against the demonstrators. Students humbly ask you to provide your support. All students have the right to protest and advocate for what they believe in. Students believe amending the VSG constitution to avoid funding companies that directly support Israel’s genocide in Palestine is a first step to giving students an active voice in determining the use of their funds. By signing this petition, you stand with our right to advocate for a free Palestine. Your support is greatly appreciated. 

[On Behalf of The Kirkland Sit-In Students and The Vanderbilt Divest Coalition]