SOAS Palestine Society president vows to challenge expulsion from university

The leader of SOAS Palestine Society has vowed to fight her expulsion from the university following a decision made by a panel on Wednesday.

Haya Adam, a second year law and international relations student, was suspended for breaking the university's code of conduct, including for an allegation of harassment.

The allegation pertains to Adam's criticism of a SOAS Student Union co-president, stating that she "only served institutional oppression", as well as labelling her a "careerist", which was captured on video and placed on Instagram.

Speaking with The New Arab, Adam labelled the allegations "completely false".

"By the legal definition of harassment and their definition of the SOAS dignity policy, I did not actually meet those standards," she said, adding that her criticisms of the student in the video were political and part of holding the institution to account.

"I'm going to appeal the decision, and I'm going to challenge it in any way that I can."

'An authoritarian institution at heart'

Adam's expulsion is the latest action by the university against pro-Palestine protests on campus, with the University of London obtaining an injunction from the High Court that stopped demonstrations on campus.

Additionally, the university removed the student encampment set up to protest Israel's war on Gaza, with the encampment now residing on a pavement outside university grounds. Several other universities in the UK have used the same injunction to stop encampments and protests.

Adam said that as early as October 2023, seven students were disciplined for holding an emergency rally following the outbreak of the war, with a further 15 having been disciplined for their pro-Palestine activism on campus, including some who have been excluded.

"This is a crackdown on our freedom of speech and assembly, but more specifically, it's a crackdown that they are trying to impose on the Palestine movement," she said of the actions.

"The fact that they have expelled me for holding management accountable, in relation to pro-Palestine activities, shows that SOAS is an authoritarian institution at heart."

In a statement to The New Arab, SOAS said that it does not, and has not, expelled students for pro-Palestine activism or views, saying: "While we cannot comment on individual disciplinary cases to respect student privacy, the past 19 months have seen hundreds of peaceful events, vigils, and protests take place on our campus that reflect a vibrant culture of free expression at SOAS."

"In a small number of cases involving serious misconduct - such as vandalism, exam disruption, and threats to staff - we have taken appropriate action to uphold the safety and integrity of our university," it added.

"We remain devastated by the loss of life in Israel on 7 October and the ongoing destruction of Gaza, and we continue to call for an immediate ceasefire, as we first did in 2023."

'Decolonial'

Many have voiced solidarity with Adam, including Research Director at Cage International, Dr Asim Qureshi, who posted a video of himself burning his Masters degree certificate from the university, as well as requesting that the degree be rescinded.

Qureshi told The New Arab that Adam's expulsion felt "like a betrayal of everything I held dear about my time there", citing his visits to Palestine enabled by the university.

"I would rather not be associated with a university that punishes its students for acting in their conscience," he said, adding, "this is particularly so, because SOAS markets itself as a university that will teach decolonial thinking."

"Except decolonisation is a practice, not a product - so they have failed to uphold the very thinking they claim to espouse."

Adam echoed this, saying that the university "markets itself as a decolonial institution, but that lie has fallen, and we've seen that they actually are a tool for empire".

"I've sat in lectures during my first year where I was taught about Edward Said and Frantz Fanon and all of these revolutionary thinkers," she said, but that "when people actually went out, used their theory and put it into active practice, they were silenced and they were disciplined and they were suspended or expelled".

However, she affirmed that the activism of SOAS student body would continue, despite the decision: "It's our responsibility to speak up, and if we are bystanders in the face of this genocide, then we lack any humanity, so all of us need to do and act in any way that we can."