A student representing Students for Justice in Palestine filed a Title VI lawsuit against NC State. After settling its first Title VI lawsuit in July, the University has received another.
Third-year political science student Nathaniel Dibble filed the complaint in April, alleging racism and Islamophobia. If a person believes they were discriminated against based on race, color, or national origin, they can file Title VI charges under the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
In February, NC State Police detained Dibble at a demonstration when he distributed brochures at the Engineering Career Fair. The charges were dismissed. May saw police arrest a non-affiliated person at a pro-Palestinian march.
The NC State Young Democratic Socialists of America announced the complaint on Instagram, citing Dibble’s claim that these arrests are disproportionate police use.
“Police arrested a student, which is excessive force when these are students accessing open campus areas,” Dibble added. There was no vandalism again. There’s no violence. Because there is no judge at protests, police can legally use excessive force, which they regularly do. You and the cop have no lawyer or judge informing you your rights.”
A University spokeswoman, Mick Kulikowski, said the University does not discuss legal topics.
NC State Police Chief Daniel House said University police officers must take constitutional law training during basic law enforcement training and must complete case law, Fourth Amendment, and First Amendment training annually. Every training includes de-escalation, he added.
Social media reports indicated the complaint was filed by Students for Justice in Palestine, but Dibble said he filed it because unjustly arresting a student is discriminatory. House claimed every arrest was legal.
“Whether the district attorney dismisses charges or student conduct decides not to proceed, which both have happened, those would be out of our control,” House said. “We need probable cause to believe someone committed the crime. They did with these. I support all of them.”
Students for Justice in Palestine and the Young Democratic Socialists of America want anonymous discriminatory testimonies to use against the University. Dibble said the complaint is an excellent starting point, but Palestinian and Muslim student opinions are crucial. This also shows campus discrimination, they believe.
Our public statement was about reaching out to students to get further testimony and evidence to prove that this is not simply a one-time arrest and the only incident of discrimination, Dibble added. This systemic issue affects every student, whether they realize it or not, in explicit or implicit ways. This is meant to demonstrate that.”
Dibble said the federal government should notice and address the discrimination in the complaint, but the complaint is more about making a public statement than acting against NC State.
“We don’t have too much faith in that to be honest,” Dibble said of the federal government. “We and many students across the nation are filing these complaints, gathering evidence, making it public, and then publicly shaming NC State to change. Because our experiences alone won’t alter NC State, publicly calling them out for how they’ve treated us is, because public universities rely on a good reputation to acquire financing, students, and money.
The lawsuit also alleges “discriminative discussions and meetings amongst Student Government leaders,” alluding to an April meeting by student senators on a proposed resolution calling for a Gaza truce and University money divestment from Israel.
Dibble said Student Government is still a platform for student opinions, despite tensions with Students for Justice in Palestine and Young Democratic Socialists of America.
“That is why we so urgently need Student Government support, because who else represents students?” Dibble said. Marching in the street represents students, but it’s considered as illegitimate. So Student Government is our only institutional legitimacy.”
Student senate president pro-tempore Taquan Dewberry was investigated by pro-Palestinian students for the unannounced meeting. Lack of communication caused “confusion” over the ceasefire resolution, Dewberry added.
“Much of our work in Student Government centers around the ability to talk to each other and then to community members, and that just wasn’t running as well as it could have at the beginning,” Dewberry said. “A new session had begun. We all rushed to adjust to our new jobs and made mistakes.”
Student Government passed the ceasefire resolution, which Students for Justice in Palestine praised on social media, and a Dewberry-sponsored resolution calling for institutional support for students affected by worldwide crises. Dibble said the lawsuit and student movement want the University to divest from Israel as the ceasefire resolution requires.
Dewberry believes Student Government’s recent action can help the organization go forward, even though he doesn’t speak for it.
“I just want to make sure that we’re very clear that we intend for [the ceasefire resolution] and [the institutional support resolution] to be a way for us all to move forward together and hopefully bridge the campus divides,” Dewberry said. I’m delighted we’ve been informed and can help solve their problem.
While Dewberry has his own opinions, the resolution is Student Government’s method of supporting pro-Palestinian, Muslim, and Arab students’ safety and campus speech. Dewberry advised Student Government to assist Dibble with her Title VI complaint.
Next, Dibble added, the complaint will await a US Department of Education response.
“The next step would be seeing what the Department of Education finds and then publicizing that, like I said, so we can publicly shame NC State,” Dibble added. Because we feel public humiliation is the only way to alter the chancellor’s and Board of Governors’ minds.”
The Board of Trustees maintained institutional neutrality in April, preventing the University from taking political positions. In March, Chancellor Randy Woodson told Technician that the University must promote discourse.
“Since I’ve been chancellor, I’ve been asked to take all sorts of positions on many different issues affecting the country and the world,” Woodson remarked. “At the end of the day, our job is to provide an environment where students and faculty can freely exchange and teach.”