GWU's Law Dean Apparently Withholding Information About Crimes

WASHINGTON - Nov. 25, 2024 - PRLog -- It appears that Jason Belk, the Dean of Students at the George Washington University Law School, may have "threatened" - or at very least tried to "intimidate" - officials of law school's student government to stay silent and not share any messaging about reports of violations of crimes undermining free speech on campus, and that he may be intentionally withholding valuable evidence of these crimes, reports public interest law professor John Banzhaf of GWU.

At a recent meeting of the GWU SBA, its president and vice president discussed reports that flyers posted  around campus "have been deliberately and consistently taken down by others without authorization," and that Dean Belk may be withholding evidence of which students committed these offenses.

The organizations whose flyers were improperly removed include Lambda Law (a group focused on LGBTQ+ community and issues) and Law Students for Justice in Palestine (LSJP, which supports Palestinian rights.).

The leadership of the SBA reported that, despite their requests and even a face-to-face meeting, Belk does not plan to even check the security footage.

Failing to protect the free speech rights of those who support Palestine is especially serious since it adversely affects the free speech rights of GWU organizations with a controversial purpose and philosophy.

Banzhaf, who is not a sympathizer of the Palestinian cause, but does respect the rights of organizations to voice views which may be offensive to others, nevertheless notes that this is not the first instance in which GWU appears to have acted inappropriately, if not illegally, with regard to its students supporting Palestine.  He notes, for example, that GWU reportedly:

■ Ordered a student to stop displaying a Palestinian flag from his dormitory window when other students complained about it, although many other students were permitted to fly other non-controversial flags and pennants.

■ Ordered students to stop projecting pro-Palestinian slogans at night onto a campus building, although it appears no rule then in place prohibited such exercises of free speech.

■ Charged a pro-Palestinian student group of wrongdoing related to a peaceful protest on public sidewalks - only to later fully exonerate them based upon knowledge which GWU allegedly had in its possession all the time that at another campus group had been responsible.

■ Employed a professor, who was charged in a formal Title VI complaint with allegedly targeting Jewish students, who was then forced to resign to teach in Qatar.

Members of the SBA discussed reporting Belk, but another law student suggested that a complaint had already been filed against him.

http://banzhaf.net/   jbanzhaf3ATgmail.com   @profbanzhaf