San Jose State University professor suspended after pro-Palestinian protests

A pro-Palestinian protest camp is seen in front of the statues of Tommie Smith and John Carlos at San Jose State University in San Jose, Calif., Tuesday, May 14, 2024. (Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group)

San Jose State University has placed a professor on leave after he served as a liaison between pro-Palestinian student protesters and the administration.

Dr. Sang Kil, a law professor, received notice from university administration earlier this week that they would not be allowed to contact students, enter their office or conduct work-related activities for at least 60 days, according to a letter the professor shared on social media. The move came after a camp appeared on campus earlier this month to protest the war in Gaza; the camp was voluntarily cleared after about a week.

The letter, written to Kil by Joanne Wright, the school’s vice president of university personnel, said the students were suspended for “repeated violations of university policies,” including instructing and encouraging students to violate policies, harassing and abusive behavior and comments toward colleagues, and targeting at least one colleague for failing to perform their work duties, publicly identifying them, and posting inflammatory comments that posed a danger to them.

However, Kil explained in a press release that his temporary suspension was due to his pro-Palestinian activism on campus, stressing that his actions in support of pro-Palestinian student protesters were part of his duties as faculty advisor to the SJSU chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine.

“All of the allegations SJSU has made against me are completely false,” Kil said in a press release. “In fact, I believe my temporary suspension is part of a campaign to suppress my academic freedom.”

Kil also said they did not believe they were afforded due process because they were not given a report summarizing the evidence against them, which they should have been entitled to under the contract between the California Faculty Association and the California State University system.

The suspension is to last for 60 days or until Kil is notified earlier that her suspension is over. The university’s suspension letter also mentions that Kil is expected to cooperate with any investigations related to her suspension.

A SJSU spokesman declined to comment on the matter, citing the university’s confidentiality policy on personnel matters.

Kil previously chaired the faculty union’s Palestine, Arab and Muslim Caucus and previously served as a liaison between the student camp and university administration. Kil had previously called administration after the sprinkler system was turned on around a pro-Palestinian camp on campus, telling SJSU’s student newspaper that it was “dirty water tactics.” Michelle Smith McDonald, a university spokeswoman, previously said the sprinkler system was set to go on at a specific time and students were warned hours before it was turned on.

After setting up camp on campus for more than a week, protesting students reached an agreement with school administrators on Wednesday to dismantle their tents and awnings.

Kil is the second professor the university has placed on leave for alleged behavior related to pro-Palestinian protests. In February, the university temporarily suspended history professor Jonathan Roth after a video showed him grabbing and twisting a female student’s arm.

Amy Parker, general secretary of the Young Democratic Socialists of America chapter at Cal State Fullerton, said that while she has not met Dr. Kil in person, the professor is “one of the most brilliant voices advocating for student interests,” citing the professor’s work with the student camp and the CFA faction at SJSU.