AUSTIN, Texas — A University of Texas at Austin student is asking for a temporary restraining order after learning he was suspended for his involvement in pro-Palestine protests earlier this spring.
UT senior Ammer Qaddumi filed the restraining order on Oct. 24 after receiving a letter of suspension the day before.
In the filing, Qaddumi said the university suspended him for three semesters, from Aug. 21 of this year until Aug. 15, 2025.
“My plan was to graduate in May 2025, and hopefully attend law school in the Fall of 2025,” Qaddumi wrote in the filing. “A suspension from UT through the summer of 2025 will seriously interfere with my academic future.”
Who is Ammer Qaddumi and why was he suspended?
Qaddumi -a leader of the Palestine Solidarity Committee (PSC)- is one of the 57 protestors arrested back in April after a series of protests erupted on UT Austin grounds.
In July, he said he first learned of the three-semester suspension. The following month, Qaddumi sued the university, UT president Jay Hartzell and previous provost Sharon Wood after he was threatened with suspension, which he said violated his right to free speech.
Qaddumi claimed he appealed the university’s decision to the Student Conduct Board, which held a hearing on Aug. 23 and Sept. 6 respectively. Then on Sept. 26, he said the board changed his possible penalty to a deferred suspension.
Earlier this month, he stated the University Prosecution appealed the board’s decision, which was granted on Oct. 23, meaning the suspension could be retroactively reinstated.
“It is my understanding that I am now barred from entering campus, receiving credit for coursework, or registering for upcoming semesters,” Qaddumi wrote in the recent filing.
In response to Quaddumi’s filings, the university claims it informed him the April protests were not permitted to happen on campus.
UT stated that Quaddumi “disregarded these repeated directives and held the event anyway, resulting in a multi-hour disruption in the heart of campus while other students prepared for final exams.”
The school said a temporary restraining order is not justified, and it’s asking for the court to deny the second motion.