Student organization files lawsuit against University of Missouri President
Jazsmin Halliburton
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
An organization will be announcing a lawsuit against University of Missouri President Mun Choi over the removal of Mizzou Students for Justice in Palestine from last year’s homecoming parade.
The Council of American-Islamic Relations will be announcing the lawsuit in a press conference at 1 p.m. Wednesday on the corner of Elm Street and South Ninth Street in downtown Columbia.
The CAIR is the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization and will be holding Wednesday’s press conference after Mizzou Students for Justice in Palestine was barred from participating in the 2024 Mizzou homecoming parade.
CAIR also successfully sued the University of Maryland in early August after the school prevented UMD SJP from hosting a vigil for Palestinians who died in Gaza. The school settled with UMD SJP for $100K.
According to court documents, MJSP’s application to join MU’s Homecoming parade was approved by both the 2024 Parade Committee and the Mizzou Alumni Association. For their float, the group planned to show Palestinian culture through a traditional dance and by passing out Palestinian candy to the crowd. They also planned to have two banners that said “Ceasefire Now” and “Stop the Genocide.”
The MSJP was then asked to meet with University of Missouri officials to explain their plans for the float. Members of the meeting included Michelle Froese, the then Interim Dean of Students, representing University Chancellor Dr. Mun Choi. MSJP claims the university did not schedule similar meetings with other student groups.
“A University of Missouri official told MSJP leadership that its application would be subjected to a unique review process. Unlike every other student organization, Chancellor Choi had the final say on whether MSJP would be allowed to participate in the Homecoming Parade,” according to court documents.
Three days before the parade, Choi emailed the group notifying them that he personally denied their application. In the email, Choi mentioned the behavior of students at other universities.
“Chancellor Choi further states in the email that he made this decision based on ‘[a] review of SJP events around the country’ and ‘[e]nsuring the safety of members of the MSJP and homecoming participants and spectators,'” according to court documents.
“They reviewed SJP events around the nation and found significant disturbances and violence, which we reject and believe is irrelevant reasoning because we have no affiliation to any sort of national organization,” former MSJP President Isleen Atallah said.
The documents allege that several political and cultural organizations later participated in the parade, including local candidates running for office, Mid-Missouri Pride Fest and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. Two unnamed MU fraternity and sorority floats also allegedly promoted President Donald Trump’s candidacy.
The CAIR and Mizzou SJP are announcing the lawsuit, which alleges that Choi’s decision to exclude them from the parade violates the First Amendment.
“The homecoming parade was a forum that was open to not only students, but community organizations and specifically political organizations so that they could join and express their messages,” Ahmad Kaki, staff attorney at CAIR said. “When President Choi personally denied the Students for Justice for Palestine from being able to participate in the parade, they engaged in viewpoint discrimination by saying we’re allowed some viewpoints and some messages to be expressed and not others.”
“Chancellor Choi’s safety concerns were pretextual; he had no specific information that MSJP’s participation posed a safety risk to anyone and instead sought to exclude MSJP because he opposed the view they expressed,” according to court documents.
In a statement from University of Missouri spokesperson Christopher Ave, he said that the University’s decision to bar MSJP from the parade was made to ensure safety during the parade.
“The university will defend its decision in any lawsuit that is filed. Ensuring a safe environment for our campus community is a top priority,” Ave said. “Significant disturbances had occurred across the country at other campus events involving Students for Justice in Palestine groups that helped in informing our decision.”
The statement also adds that a senior leader from MSJP was showing “concerning actions” on campus around Homecoming last year and was trespassed on campus for verbal abuse and stalking following Homecoming.
CAIR told ABC 17 News the lawsuit is straightforward. If they win the case, CAIR is looking for confirmation from the courts that the University’s actions were unconstitutional, compensation for the money spent by MSJP preparing for the parade and to allow MSJP into the 2025 homecoming parade.
“We think it’s very obvious that the president engages in viewpoint discrimination and violated the First Amendment by denying the students free speech rights and their ability to protest in their own country,” Kaki said.
The MJSP has applied to participate in the 2025 homecoming parade with the same plans as last year. Student organization float applications close on Wednesday at 11:59 p.m.