Seven Illinois State University students have sued the university for what they say is an infringement of their First Amendment rights.
Jomareun Richardson, Kevin Dion, Rebekah Mangels, Aidan Marcikic, Steven Lazaroff, Joseph Bloom-Boedefeld and Daniel Kimball, who self-identify as the “ISU 7,” say they were unjustly suspended and arrested for protesting the war in Gaza and demanding ISU disclose and divest from donors and contractors with ties to Israel. The May protests took place amid a nationwide outcry from college students, who set up encampments on university campuses protesting the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
A group of students gathered outside ISU President Aondover Tarhule’s office on the morning of May 3. A previous WGLT report states representatives from the university’s Demonstration Safety Team informed the students at approximately 5:40 p.m. that they would be arrested for trespassing and face suspension if they did not leave by 6 p.m. The seven plaintiffs were arrested, suspended and barred from university housing and activities. Peaceful protests continued in Hovey Hall during business hours and on the ISU Quad for several days, disbanding shortly before graduation with no further police involvement.
The lawsuit cites numerous instances of protests taking place in and around Hovey Hall, including the March for Queer Rights and a AFSCME Local 1110 march for higher wages in 2022, and an anti-racism rally in 2019. ISU declined to confirm whether any previous protests at Hovey Hall took place after hours or resulted in arrests.
At the time of the arrests, the students told WGLT they were willing to face arrest and suspension. The lawsuit states they were issued interim suspensions and no-trespass orders with no warning. A ruling on their criminal trespassing cases is scheduled for Sept. 4.
The students further accuse Dean of Students Andrew Morgan of being a Zionist and infringing their First Amendment rights by “punishing the Plaintiffs for their pro-Palestinian protest.”
Morgan joined ISU as assistant vice president and dean of students on Jan. 17, 2023. He was previously dean of students at Indiana State University, with more than 25 years in student affairs. He declined to comment for this story.
On Oct. 9, 2023, Morgan added an Israeli flag to his Facebook profile photo, without comment. The lawsuit claims he additionally encouraged students to protest in favor of Israel and has posed with students holding the Israeli flag. WGLT reached out to Sheryl Weikal, the attorney acting on behalf of the students, to request further evidence of a bias toward Israel affecting Morgan's decision to involve police in the May 3 sit-in. Weikal declined to comment on pending litigation.
On May 14, Weikal posted a photo of the case file’s first page on Instagram with the caption: “It is categorically unacceptable for a public college to punish students who peacefully protest at a public forum against an ongoing genocide whilst the Dean of Students posts the Israeli flag on social media. Today I filed a lawsuit for First Amendment Retaliation against Illinois State University on behalf of seven brave students wrongfully suspended.”
Through the lawsuit, the group seeks to be reinstated at the university and compensated $50,000 per plaintiff, plus legal fees. Illinois State University declined a request for information about the terms or timeline of the students’ interim suspension or a proposed course of action to reinstate their enrollment and access to campus facilities and housing.
It does not appear that ISU has filed a formal response to the lawsuit in court. A hearing is set for Nov. 6.
