A San Jose State University professor who served as a liaison for students demonstrating against the war between Israel and Hamas was placed on 60-day administrative leave amid a misconduct investigation, according to a suspension letter.
The university accused Sang Hea Kil, a professor of justice studies, of violating her duty and responsibility as a faculty member by “directing and encouraging students” to violate university policies that regulate free speech on campus and promote diversity and equal opportunities.
Officials also accused Kil of “engaging in harassing and offensive behavior and comments directed at colleagues,” including posting public photographs of one or more of them with what they considered “inflammatory comments and creating a risk of harm to them.” , according to the letter reviewed by The Times.
In a written statement and a telephone interview, Kil denied the university's allegations.
“I believe my temporary suspension is part of a campaign to suppress academic freedom against me,” he said. “I have been an outspoken critic of the genocide in Gaza, as well as an advocate for teachers' rights as the California Teachers Association. union member and leader.”
Kil is the second professor at the university to be suspended. In FebruaryHistory professor Jonathan Roth was placed on administrative leave after video showed him grabbing and twisting the arm of a pro-Palestinian student.
Michelle McDonald, a university spokeswoman, said in an email that San Jose State does not comment on personnel matters.
The suspension comes as academic workers on UC campuses went on strike over violations of the right to free speech that occurred when university leaders asked police to remove pro-Palestinian encampments. Workers want an amnesty for academic employees and students who face discipline or arrest for participating in protests.
A day after Kil was suspended, the CSU Student Divestment Coalition, the group demanding that the system's schools divest from companies that do business with Israel, launched a social media campaign and called on the state president San José to drop the disciplinary charges against Kil.
The professor said problems with the university began after Roth's suspension. Kil, who had been assigned as an advisor to the university's Students for Justice in Palestine group and was most recently serving as a liaison between the group and administrators, said she received a letter dated April 25 indicating that she was under investigation.
In the letter, reviewed by The Times, officials claimed that on Feb. 19 she participated in a protest held inside Sweeney Hall and had “engaged in behavior that disrupted the business operations of the university and encouraged students to do so.” same”.
Two weeks later, he received an email from Mari Fuentes-Martin, interim vice president of student affairs, accusing Kil of ordering students at a May 8 rally to ignore university policies and march through the university's recreation center. . The email also accused Kil of ordering students to set up camp on the grass.
“That never happened,” he said. “I felt very comfortable emailing him and telling him that I categorically deny all of these allegations because they are not based on any evidence or facts.”
“There were so many witnesses to what I said and the fact that the email he sent me doesn't line up with what actually happened was concerning to me,” he added. “It made me think that they were going to build academic repression against me.”
At the center of the university's allegations is that Kil violated the university's “Freedom of Speech and Time, Place and Manner” policy, which imposes some limitations on free speech events held on university property. . Kil said officials do not apply the policy equally.
“If there are sporting events on campus and people are using noisemakers or screaming at the top of their lungs, the time, place and manner never apply,” he said. “But if there are students protesting against a war, against genocide, against rising tuition, then suddenly time, place and manner apply.”
Kil believes the university is attacking her because she has talked about other issues. She was part of a coalition of student groups and faculty members that sought hold administrators accountable for failing to properly investigate allegations of sexual misconduct against a former head athletic trainer who was accused of groping student-athletes.
The university paid $1.6 million as part of a according to the Department of Justice in that case in 2021.
Last Friday, Kil said he received another letter saying San Jose State's initial investigation into alleged misconduct would be amended to include the May 8 incident. That same day, she was placed on paid administrative leave for 60 days.
Kil said she has been isolated from students because of the suspension. She also worries about whether she will be able to teach summer courses this year, which she depends on for extra money to survive. A grant she won is also now in limbo.
“I just want my students to know that I don't want them to worry about me,” she said. “I want them to protect their moral compass and keep their moral compass pointing north and still support them even though I can't talk to them in their fight against this genocide.”
