The College Fix

Student association condemns professor, calls for investigation 

University of California, Berkeley Law Professor Jonathan Gould recently quit teaching a class without giving a reason after a dispute with a student wearing pro-Palestinian clothing.

“The confrontation between UC Berkeley Law professor Jonathan Gould and Berkeley Law student Zaid Yousef occurred over Yousef’s crewneck, which depicted three outlines of the British Mandate for Palestine, with designs including a watermelon on March 5. Gould withdrew from the course the next day, not citing a reason,” The Daily Californian reported.

Professor Gould has not yet responded to The Fix‘s email asking why he withdrew from teaching the course.

Students in the class said the professor spoke to them about “free speech and decorum.” Yousef challenged the professor, assuming Gould’s remarks referred to his crewneck.

The student and professor discussed the symbol on Yousef’s sweatshirt for a few minutes, which led to Gould walking out of the class; the professor had “likened the symbols on the crewneck to the confederate flag,” The Daily Californian reported.

“There needs to be a different category that’s looked at, which is now specifically anti-Palestinian racism, in which a professor feels comfortable implying that a flag of national origin is a hate symbol,” Yousef reportedly told the newspaper.

“I think this would be completely unacceptable if, for example, someone were to imply the Mexican flag or the Pakistani flag, or any flag besides Palestine is a hate symbol, that a student should be humiliated publicly for wearing it. So there does need to be some sort of action,” the student said.

During a classroom discussion led by co-instructor Christopher Kutz after the incident, students voiced support for Yousef’s free speech rights.

In an Instagram post last week, the Student Association at Berkeley Law condemned the professor “for engaging in discrimination and public denigration of a student for expressing their cultural identity.”

Gould had also previously reprimanded Zaid over a pro-Palestinian sticker on his phone, labeling it offensive, according to the post.

“We stand in full solidarity with Zaid and all students who face discrimination or harassment for expressing their cultural or national heritage,” SABL stated.

The group urged Berkeley Law administration to act swiftly in response to this issue and launch a detailed investigation into Professor Gould’s behavior. It also called for new safeguards to avoid similar incidents moving forward.

IMAGE CAPTION AND CREDIT: Professor Gould speaks during a Zoom event; UC Berkeley School of Law/Youtube

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