Dear Boston College Administration and Student Conduct Board,

We, the undersigned––including alumni, faculty, staff and students of Boston College (BC), as well as concerned community members––are writing to you in solidarity with two Boston College Master of Social Work graduate students placed on disciplinary probation for expressing solidarity with Palestine.  

On February 15, a multiracial, interfaith group of undergraduate and graduate students gathered to grieve the calculated and catastrophic destruction of life in Palestine––a genocide that has affected the families and loved ones of many Boston College students, faculty, and staff. The gathering, held on City of Boston property, was moving and appreciated by students who attended, many of whom voiced feeling alone and isolated in their grief due to the sheer silence and inaction of Boston College.

Students silently walked from BC’s Carney Hall to the public Boyden Park as a precautionary measure for Palestinian students and allies who have reported fearing for their safety for showing support for Palestine on campus. University administrators constituted this expression of collective care as an alleged violation of the Student Code of Conduct and, in turn, summoned a Palestinian student and another BIPOC student for alleged violation of student conduct. Both students scheduled Administrative Hearings and, following those hearings, were placed on disciplinary probation, under which students are subject to special rules that may result in more severe discipline such as suspension or expulsion if violated. The Palestinian student sought an appeal process and was denied. 

While the gathering was multiracial and interfaith, only BIPOC students were summoned for alleged violation of student conduct. The Office of the Dean of Students claims to invest in restorative justice practices, a broad set of principles rooted in indigenous practices across the globe. In pursuing punitive measures and failing to explore the tremendous lack of safety that Palestinian students and their allies experience in walking across campus, Boston College administrators have also failed to live into the University’s values of cura personalis (care for the whole individual).

In his October 13, 2023 letter to the Boston College community, President William P. Leahy wrote, “The situation in Israel and Gaza distresses all at Boston College and highlights the need for compassion and dialogue as well as remembering the beliefs, values, and bonds we share as a Jesuit, Catholic university.” However, in the time since this letter was sent, BC has only endorsed a small handful of events that police the rhetoric of students under the guise of “engaging in dialogue.”

These events perpetuate a false, decontextualized narrative of dual responsibility––impossible in a genocide where one side has complete control over the land, resources, aid, and force. Boston College has centered the voices of non-Palestinians in events on “dialogue” while punishing students for creating genuine spaces of healing and solidarity. An institution preaching Jesuit values exists in vain if it makes no effort to educate students on the history of occupation and ethnic cleansing in Jesus’ birthplace.

We sincerely hope that BC will prioritize taking care of Palestinian students, rather than making an example out of them. We demand that BC drops disciplinary actions against its own students, and instead seek to collaborate with them to see how Boston College can improve its response to this horrifying reality. 

We call on the Boston College administration to publicly commit to:

• Dropping the disciplinary probation against Palestinian and BIPOC students;
• Affirming safety, respect, and dignity for Palestinian students and workers;
• Condemning Islamophobic, anti-Palestinian, racist, and xenophobic rhetoric; and
• Ensuring academic freedom for students, faculty, and staff to discuss, teach, and protest the ongoing genocide in Palestine.

Want to get involved? Follow BC Buddies for Palestine on Instagram.