Purdue Senate's support of pro-Palestinian student protestors fails for lack of a quorum

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue University administration informed four pro-Palestinian protest leaders last month that they were charged with violating the university’s code of conduct, which could result in suspension or expulsion.

The Purdue University Senate, comprised of faculty, students and staff, authored a resolution last week calling on the administration to refrain from disciplinary action against the students, but the resolution died Tuesday for lack of a quorum.

“Forty-six senators arrived prepared for the special session meeting. Quorum is 53. Given the shortfall, we were unable to call the meeting to order,” Brian Leung, president of the Purdue University Senate said in an email.

The Purdue University Senate has 104 members.

The senate’s resolution stated that the university’s action to reprimand students who were practicing their right of free speech is contrary to the university's commitment to prioritize and promote freedom of speech.

However, the letters addressed to the protest leaders did not state that students were being reprimanded for protesting. Instead, the letters accused the students of violating the rules governing the use of university property and destruction of property.

The senate’s resolution criticized the administration’s reasoning for punishing students.

“Using the University Code of Conduct in this heavy-handed and arbitrary manner is entirely unjustified," the resolution stated. "This excessive response is an affront to the very spirit of civic engagement that university education is meant to instill among students.

“The actions for which the student leaders are being charged are all collective actions and singling these individuals, even though they are in leadership, is punitive. Furthermore, singling out these individuals while most of the participants in the encampment are white will have a chilling effect on students of color.”

The Purdue University Senate is not expected to meet until September unless the senate calls another special session during the summer term.

It’s unclear if the university will decide the academic status of the four students by the time the senate convenes.

The Journal and Courier emailed Purdue University spokesman Tim Doty asking about the status of the students’ cases. Doty noted that the university did not have any updates at this time.

Noe Padilla is a reporter for the Journal & Courier. Email him at Npadilla@jconline.com and follow him on X at 1NoePadilla.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Purdue Senate fails to support pro-Palestinian protesters