(NewsNation) — A San Jose State University tenured professor was fired last month over her participation in pro-Palestinian protests, and now she’s contesting her dismissal.
Sang Hea Kil, an associate professor in the SJSU justice studies department in California, was the first tenured faculty member of a public university to be fired over protests related to the war in Gaza.
The university accused Kil of being present during a physical altercation between student protesters and another faculty member who was filming, claiming she “disrupted the university’s business operations and encouraged students to do the same.”
Kil is fighting for her reinstatement through arbitration, represented by the California Faculty Association, which said it was “outraged” at her dismissal, according to reporting by The Guardian.
“You can’t fire people for their beliefs and expression,” said V. Jesse Smith, a union representative, to The Guardian. “It’s an infringement on free speech and academic freedom, and as a faculty union, we cannot let this happen.”
Kil said she planned to sue the university should the arbitration fail.
“All faculty should be able to protest all genocides without targeted punitive actions,” Kil said at her public appeal hearing.