Florida State University: Florida University System Chancellor Calls for Students for Justice in Palestine Chapters to be “Deactivated”

On October 24, 2023, the head of Florida’s university system, Ray Rodriguez, sent letters to the state’s public universities directing them to derecognize Students for Justice in Palestine chapters. The letter alleged that a Day of Resistance guide, released by the National SJP, constituted material support for the terrorist organization Hamas and that there needed to be a “crack down on campus demonstrations that delve beyond protected First Amendment speech into harmful support for terrorist groups.” FIRE wrote to FSU and four other public universities in Florida on October 25, explaining that communication about campus protests, from a national organization, to its campus chapters does not constitute material support for Hamas’s terrorist activity overseas and that derecognizing SJP chapters unlawfully threatens students’ expressive rights. Florida State responded to our letter on October 27, confirming that no student groups have been de-recognized.