Executive board members of the Boston University Young Democratic Socialists of America student group say they were informed by the Student Activities Office April 11 that the group is suspended as an active organization until Dec. 31, according to an Instagram post on the group’s page.
On April 3, a walkout organized by several student organizations and promoted by YDSA on its Instagram, began at Marsh Plaza and continued to the George Sherman Union where participants staged a sit-in outside the Dean of Students office demanding BU declare itself a sanctuary campus.
The sit-in was cited as one of the reasons for YDSA’s suspension.
“The student organization was suspended following documented violations of university policy, including unauthorized posting of materials on and off campus, and for organizing an unapproved sit-in that disrupted operations in the GSU,” BU Spokesperson Colin Riley wrote in an email to The Daily Free Press.
The suspension followed a meeting between YDSA leadership and University staff April 9, discussing and reviewing the organization’s violations of University policy, Riley wrote.
YDSA said it was “repeatedly” questioned on its role in the sit-in during the April 9 meeting, according to a statement YDSA sent to The Daily Free Press.
“In a meeting with an administrator, YDSA leaders were repeatedly asked what they thought their own responsibility for the sit-in was, but were never explicitly accused of being involved in the planning [of the sit-in],” the statement from YDSA reads. “After this meeting, the official suspension letter from BU also doesn’t accuse YDSA or its leaders of any wrongdoing.”
In the letter informing YDSA leadership of its suspension, SAO wrote it “received reports outlining potential violations of university policy by members of the [YDSA],” according to YDSA’s Instagram post.
These potential violations include individuals posting fliers in unapproved locations on behalf of YDSA and participation in a sit-in that “disrupted university business” and required “significant clean-up by the Facilities team.”
Since BU did not “explicitly” accuse YDSA leadership of any “wrongdoings,” the group views the “suspension [as] baseless,” YDSA wrote in its statement.
YDSA said the suspension appears to be “entirely political in nature,” rather than based on violations of University policy.
“The Sanctuary Campus initiative pressures the university into opposing the Trump administration,” YDSA wrote. “Boston University is so averse to this that it would rather silence its community than protect it.”
YDSA said it is concerned about the precedent this suspension sets for other student organizations in the future.
“The University is punishing YDSA because ‘individuals’ not sanctioned by YDSA posted fliers ‘on our behalf,’” YDSA wrote in its Instagram post. “If this is cause for suspension, what prevents the targeting of any club by posting flyers under their name?”
Riley said that BU does not punish students for advocacy, only for violations of University policy.
“The University does not punish students or student organizations for their viewpoints, political beliefs, or peaceful advocacy,” Riley wrote. “The suspension addresses behavior and conduct—not content.”
