Students for Justice in Palestine Win Historic Lawsuit
For over two years, five Fordham students have waged a legal battle against Fordham University to establish a Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapter at the Lincoln Center campus. On Aug. 5, the students landed a victory in court when Justice Nancy Bannon annulled the university’s decision to overrule United Students Government (USG) vote to grant club status to SJP. SJP has faced resistance from the University to attain full club rights and privileges since 2015. In December 2016, Keith Eldredge, dean of students, said that the group’s presence on campus would be “polarizing,” and made a final decision to permanently ban the group. The university’s decision resulted in The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) listing Fordham University as one of the 10 Worst Colleges for Free Speech in 2017. The ranking has been bemoaned by students on both sides of the political aisle, and is frequently used as an argument against the University involving itself in student demonstrations…