Charles Anderson/The Mossy Log
Following two separate incidents of vandalism on Oct. 7, 2025 of a display memorializing Israeli hostages taken by Hamas two years prior, two students have been suspended. In response, on Dec. 7, 2025 the unofficial student group Students for Justice for Palestine on Palatine Hill (SJPPH) published a statement denouncing the decision, calling for the public to sign an online petition to reverse the suspensions and email the dean of students, the Office of Community Accountability and Conflict Resolution (CACE), President Robin Holmes-Sullivan and other members of the Lewis & Clark community to reverse the suspensions.
The memorial was made up of laminated photos of the 48 hostages who were still being held in Gaza on Oct. 7 2025, each staked to the ground and ornamented with yellow flowers symbolizing hope for the return of hostages. The display was officially approved by the college, and according to Isaac Babus ’26, a member of LC’s chapter of Hillel, the memorial was both sponsored and put together by the organization.
In their petition statement, SJPPH alleges that the suspensions were in response to two incidents. One involved the removal of the staked, laminated photos of the hostages from the ground. The second involved the two students placing photos of Palestinians killed in the ongoing genocide onto the stakes with painter’s tape. Because this matter concerns a private disciplinary process protected by the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act, the college has not publicly confirmed the details of these incidents and The Mossy Log was unable to independently verify this account of the events leading to the suspensions.
The incidents resulted in varied reactions, both within LC’s community and outside of it. On the day of the incidents, Ben Meoz, vice president for student life and dean of students, condemned the students’ actions in an email titled “Vandalism is an unacceptable response to disagreement.” Members of the Jewish Student Association criticized this email in an interview with The Mossy Log last semester, noting the charged, polarizing emotions around the display and condemning Meoz’s language.
The vandalism also received coverage in The College Fix, a conservative-leaning news outlet covering higher education, on Oct. 13, 2025. The article alleges that the Jewish students involved in the memorial were harassed and verbally threatened. In a written statement to The Mossy Log, Babus denied that the students were threatened.
“Jewish students that intervened to stop the student from destroying the display were screamed at, insulted, and physically intimidated, but there were no verbal threats made against them,” Babus wrote.
The suspensions of the two students triggered significant backlash both within and outside of campus. Flyers appeared across campus titled “Students of Color Targeted with Discriminatory Suspension” containing an explanation of the incident and two QR codes — one for the petition and the other to directly email Holmes-Sullivan demanding the suspensions be lifted. SJPPH’s first Instagram post on the suspensions garnered 1,925 likes and 41 comments, many from accounts outside of LC’s community.
LC Director of External Affairs Lois Leveen issued a statement to The Mossy Log on the email volume resulting from SJPPH’s campaign. According to Leveen, the college will not be responding to the petition.
“Lewis & Clark has a clear and fair process for reviewing issues involving student conduct, which includes the option to file an appeal. The College does not reverse decisions made through that process in response to email campaigns or online petitions. Thus, Lewis & Clark has not tallied emails or other communications from individuals or groups expressing a belief that the College should change this policy,” Leveen wrote.
SJPPH did not respond to requests for comment.
SJPPH’s petition statement further outlined their opposition to the suspensions, condemning the decision against “students of color who engaged in non-destructive, non-violent, and carefully-calibrated activism on the Lewis & Clark College campus.”
The statement goes on to allege unfair treatment by college administration, describing it as “overly punitive” and “deeply unjust.” According to SJPPH, both students requested an ombudsman to mediate in disciplinary hearings and were denied. Additionally, they were denied their request for the disciplinary meetings to include staff members of color. They further claim the administration considered separate incidents involving the students that were not in violation of policy, but were found to be objectionable. SJPPH stated that the suspensions contradicted the college’s values and were “wildly disproportionate” to the alleged offense.
One of the suspended students, a first-year, provided The Mossy Log a written statement regarding their suspension under the condition of anonymity.
“This has been one of the most disorienting and painful personal experiences of my life, not because I regret caring deeply about human suffering, but because, for a minute, I believed I was attending an institution that valued courage, critical thought, and student expression,” the student wrote. “I was not accused of harming anyone. I was not accused of violence or threats. The conduct at issue centered around protest, political expression, and disagreement over public messaging on campus. Suspension, a sanction that removes a student from their education and community, is an extraordinary response to political expression. That reality should concern anyone who cares about academic freedom.”
CACE’s formal adjudication process entails two pathways when the conduct is not related to academic issues. The most common consists of Administrative Hearings, which involve a single administrative hearing officer designated by the assistant dean of students. The second is a College Review Board Hearing, which is made up of three college staff members who hold an investigation and private hearing to resolve severe cases of potential policy violations. According to the Student Code of Conduct on LC’s website, students facing potential suspension typically go through the College Review Board process.
According to an interview with Jessica Carron, assistant dean of students and head of CACE, students involved in a disciplinary process are allowed to bring an advisor to the hearings, including faculty members, lawyers and friends so long as CACE is informed in advance. However these individuals are not a part of the decision-making process outside of providing counsel to the student. Students are unable to select specific staff to be members of the College Review Board, though they are able to request removal of a member if the student believes there to be a conflict of interest. When asked if students could request an ombudsman, Carron said that students are typically allowed to, but the position is currently vacant.
Carron elaborated on the factors that lead to a verdict of suspension. She said that while the college does not have set outcomes for particular behavior, when the formal hearing process occurs, CACE is considering suspension. Factors include the severity of an event, the history and the impact to the community, alongside what the board thinks will help the student most.
“Sometimes the thing that’s going to help them flourish long term is taking a break from the community and then coming back in, after some time has passed,” she said.
Carron stated that hearings focus on the specific incident at hand rather than factoring in outside behavior or other offenses unrelated to the incident under consideration.
“I would say most of the time we’re really focused on, ‘What is the thing that happened here? And what was the impact of that behavior?’ I can’t think of a particular reason why we would use an outside behavior, even if we found it objectionable,” Carron said.
The SJPPH statement notes that the students had no prior disciplinary infractions. Carron said that previous offenses are not factored into CACE hearings and that each instance is looked at on its own, though she noted that there might be multiple incidents happening simultaneously that need to be factored into one hearing.
In their written statement, the suspended student outlined their concerns about the verdict’s implications for future student activists. The student connected the suspensions to the recent crackdown on pro-Palestine protests at colleges across the nation, following President Donald Trump’s executive order titled “Additional Measures to Combat Anti-Semitism.”
The student noted that their suspension was an example of disproportionate punishment towards pro-Palestine activism.
“Universities are meant to be a melting pot of ideas. But a melting pot only works if politically ‘inconvenient’ voices are permitted to speak without fear of disproportionate punishment. Throughout history, student movements have been disruptive to the status quo. That is often the point. Protest has never been comfortable and it has rarely been welcomed by institutions in power,” the student wrote. “What has been most troubling to me is how colleges respond to activism related to Palestine, POC identity, and Muslim identity. Across the country, we are seeing students face heightened scrutiny when engaging in certain forms of political speech. Even when policies are framed as neutral, their application can feel uneven. This is a scary reality as an Arab Muslim.”
The student further elaborated on their motivations behind the incidents.
“My actions came from a place of heartbreak and conviction, as well as a belief that Palestinian humanity deserves recognition, mourning, and dignity too. Whatever people think about the method, I hope they do not forget the reality that compelled it: an ongoing genocide that too often feels ignored by western institutions,” the student wrote.
The student’s statement, in closing, called on LC to uplift students of color who decide to challenge broken systems.
“I still believe in justice. I still believe in solidarity. And I still believe that young people have the right — and sometimes the responsibility — to challenge systems that are broken and harmful. Even in moments of fear, institutions cannot allow students of color to bear the brunt of standing up to these narratives and then face the consequences of our conscience alone. If Lewis & Clark truly values diversity and equity, that commitment must extend beyond some marketing language and into how they can uplift the very students they like to showcase before we are all gone.”
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