Loading ...Victory! GWU apologizes to student for Palestinian flag censorship — Palestine Legal
Palestine Legal welcomes George Washington University President Steven Knapp’s apology to pre-med student Ramie Abounaja for the college’s discriminatory removal of his Palestinian flag.
In a statement released this evening, President Knapp said, “I have personally apologized to the student for this unfortunate incident and assured him that the university’s actions were in no way a response to his expression of his beliefs or opinions.”
The ‘Warning Letter’ issued by GWU to Ramie has been rescinded and removed from his file. The university has also agreed to revise its policy to ensure that it is applied consistently.
Inspired by many flags he had seen hung outside residential hall windows during this three years at GWU, Ramie hung a Palestinian flag out his window last October. On October 26, a campus police officer came to Ramie’s door, instructed him to remove his flag because of complaints the department had received, and filed a police report. The following week, Ramie received a ‘Warning Letter’ from GWU, threatening future sanctions if his behavior continued. In the following weeks, Ramie attempted to discern what policy he violated, writing the university, and calling and emailing several times.
On December 7, Palestine Legal wrote GWU, explaining that the university’s actions appeared to be based on complaints by other students who disagreed with the viewpoint of his message. In its letter, Palestine Legal requested that the ‘Warning Letter’ be removed from Ramie’s file, that GWU issue an apology and clarify that its policies would not be discriminatorily enforced against students based on the viewpoint of their message or their national origin.
Palestine Legal is pleased with the steps GWU has taken to ameliorate this incident and will continue to monitor GWU’s policies and defend the right of college students across the U.S. to express their views supporting Palestinian freedom.
Source: palestinelegal.org