Professor from San José State suspended for pro-Palestinian activities

A San Jose State University professor who serves as a liaison for students protesting the war between Israel and Hamas has been placed on 60-day leave pending investigation into misconduct, a suspension letter said.

The university accused Sang Hea Kil, a law professor, of violating her duties and responsibilities as a faculty member by “instructing and encouraging students” to violate university policies governing free speech on campus and promoting diversity and equal opportunity.

Officials also accused Kil of “engaging in harassing and abusive behavior and comments toward colleagues.” Among other things, he posted photos of one or more of them with what they considered “inflammatory” comments, thereby “exposing them to danger,” according to the letter seen by The Times.

In a written statement and a telephone interview, Kil denied the university’s allegations.

“I believe my temporary suspension is part of a campaign against me that undermines academic freedom,” she said. “I have been an outspoken critic of the genocide in Gaza and have advocated for faculty rights as a union member and leader of the California Faculty Assn.”

Kil is the second professor at the university to be suspended. In FebruaryHistory professor Jonathan Roth was placed on leave after a video showed him grabbing a pro-Palestinian student and twisting her arm.

University spokeswoman Michelle McDonald said in an email that San José State University does not comment on personnel matters.

The suspension comes as academic staff on UC campuses have gone on strike over free speech violations as university officials called on police to clear pro-Palestinian encampments. The workers want amnesty for academic staff and students who face disciplinary action or arrest for participating in protests.

A day after Kil’s suspension, the CSU Student Divestment Coalition – a group that calls on the system’s colleges to divest from companies that do business with Israel – launched a social media campaign calling on the president of San Jose State University to drop disciplinary charges against Kil.

The professor said the problems with the university began after Roth’s suspension. Kil, who was appointed as an adviser to the university’s student group Students for Justice in Palestine and most recently served as a liaison between the group and the administration, said she received a letter dated April 25 saying she was under investigation.

In the letter, obtained by The Times, officials claimed she attended a protest at Sweeney Hall on February 19 and “behaved in a manner that disrupted the university’s business operations and encouraged students to do the same.”

Two weeks later, she received an email from Mari Fuentes-Martin, interim vice president for student affairs, accusing Kil of instructing students to ignore university policies and march through the university’s recreation center at a May 8 rally. The email also accused Kil of instructing students to set up camp on the lawn.

“That never happened,” she said. “I responded to her without hesitation and said that I categorically deny all these allegations because they are not based on any evidence or facts.”

“There were so many witnesses to what I said, and the fact that the email she sent me didn’t match what actually happened made me worry,” she added. “I thought they were building an academic oppression against me.”

At the core of the university’s allegations is that Kil violated the university’s “freedom of expression and freedom of time, place and manner” policy, which places some restrictions on free speech events on university property. Kil said authorities do not enforce this policy consistently.

“When there are sporting events on campus and people are using noisemakers or shouting at the top of their lungs, the time, place and manner are never respected,” she said. “But when students are protesting a war, genocide or tuition hikes, the time, place and manner are suddenly respected.”

Kil believes she is being targeted by the university because she has spoken out on other issues. She was part of a coalition of student groups and faculty members who wanted to hold school administrators accountable for failing to properly investigate allegations of sexual misconduct against a former head athletic coach who was accused of groping female student-athletes.

The university paid $1.6 million as part of a Agreement with the Ministry of Justice in this case in 2021.

Last Friday, Kil said, she received another letter saying San Jose State’s initial investigation into alleged misconduct was being expanded to include the May 8 incident. That same day, she was placed on paid administrative leave for 60 days.

Kil said she has no contact with students because of the suspension. She also worries about whether she will be able to teach summer classes this year, which she said she depends on for extra money to survive. A scholarship she won is also now in limbo.

“I just want my students to know that I don’t want them to worry about me,” she said. “I want them to protect their moral compass and keep it pointing north, and that I continue to support them even if I can’t speak to them in their fight against this genocide.”