September 1, 2024
Following plans by Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) to hold an October 7th rally on campus at the university of Maryland – which caused a lot of concern in the Jewish community, the school has released a statement that on for that one day, permits for special campus events will be limited to students university sponsored events and not events sponsored by other organizations.
“Therefore, on Oct. 7—and only on Oct. 7—the USM will limit special campus events (those requiring approval or permitting) to ones that support a university-sponsored Day of Dialogue. University-approved events sponsored by organizations will resume on Oct. 8.”
Full statement below:
The University System of Maryland on Marking October 7
For several months, expressive activity related to the war in Gaza has been taking place on our USM campuses—as it has on college campuses across the country. As classes have resumed this fall, so, too, have protests and demonstrations. This isn’t surprising, and our USM presidents have long been preparing for these events, working closely with their executive teams, with student groups, and with their campus communities as a whole.
Our universities are doing everything within their power and within the law to protect students’ right to free expression while also protecting their safety—their right to access an education free from harassment, threats, and violence. It’s a difficult balance, but a vitally important one.
Of course, the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7 massacre is quickly approaching. It’s a day of enormous suffering and grief for many in our campus communities.
Therefore, on Oct. 7—and only on Oct. 7—the USM will limit special campus events (those requiring approval or permitting) to ones that support a university-sponsored Day of Dialogue. University-approved events sponsored by organizations will resume on Oct. 8.
From the beginning of the war, we have come together as a University System to urge that we use this moment to encourage conversation, compassion, and civility; to engage with one another across our differences and draw on our shared humanity and our shared values to bridge what divides us. Certainly, Oct. 7 offers every university within the System an opportunity to do just that.
The intent is not to abridge students’ right to free expression; the intent is, instead, to be sensitive to the needs of our students. Our university communities may use this day to safely come together to reflect and to share, to learn and to listen, and, yes, to challenge one another. That’s the premise—and the promise—of higher education.
These dialogues aren’t new. Many of our universities have been hosting this kind of programming for several months. Reserving Oct. 7 gives us a chance to continue these urgent conversations and to mark this solemn anniversary in a way that gives students—all students—the time and space to share and to be heard.