Photo credit: Emily Paris/The Panther
(LOS ANGELES, CA – 1/28/2025) – The Greater Los Angeles Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-LA) today condemned Chapman University President Daniele Struppa for his recent schoolwide email criticizing an award given to the university’s Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) group by the Chapman Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) during its 3rd Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Awards event and distancing the school from the decision.
SEE: Email From Chapman University’s President Daniele Struppa
On Tuesday, Jan. 21, Chapman’s DEI office presented the Student Organization Award to SJP Chapman during the MLK event to “recognize a Chapman University faculty, staff, and student organization making strides in the areas of diversity, social justice, and community empowerment.”
The following day, on Jan. 22, President Struppa sent an email to the university’s students, faculty, and staff expressing disagreement with the decision, stating, “The award does not represent the official position of Chapman University … some of the actions taken by SJP over the last several months are largely incompatible with the spirit of Dr. King’s approach.” President Struppa concluded the email by offering his sincere apologies to the school’s Jewish students and families for the award.
SJP released a statement in response to President Struppa stating that his actions “contradict the requirements of a university president: impartiality and fairness to foster a safe and productive learning environment for all students.” Their statement also noted that, although they received the award alongside Chapman’s South Asian Student Association, President Struppa’s statement only condemned SJP’s award.
In a statement, CAIR-LA Legal Director Amr Shabaik, Esq., said:
“Chapman’s commitment to fostering free speech on campus does not, and should not, end when its leadership disagrees with the topic. By condemning the award presented to SJP Chapman, President Struppa not only undermines the rights of students to express their views but further promotes the nationwide pattern of hostility against them for their advocacy in support of Palestinian human rights.
“President Struppa’s criticism of the award as being ‘incompatible with the spirit of Dr. King’ is misplaced and unfounded. Dr. King’s philosophy to confront injustice is embodied by the students who are exercising their fundamental rights to speech and assembly on campus to peacefully protest Israel’s 15-month-long genocide in Gaza and illegal occupation of Palestinian land.”
In May 2024, CAIR-LA sent a letter to Chapman President Struppa and Vice President Norma Bouchard calling on the university to take immediate action to protect pro-Palestinian student protesters on campus after a man reportedly followed and aggressively brandished a knife at SJP members.
The letter also called on university leadership to not engage in any heavy-handed use of law enforcement to intimidate, harass, and crack-down on peaceful student protesters.
CAIR’s national office recently launched its UnHostile Campus Campaign, a project aimed at fostering a campus environment where Palestinian, Muslim, Arab, Jewish, and other students, faculty, and staff opposing the genocide of the Palestinian people in Gaza enjoy free speech and academic freedom and are not subjected to state force or university discipline due to their viewpoints. Students, staff, and faculty are encouraged to report campuses targeting them for expressing anti-genocide views.
CAIR-LA is Southern California’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice and empower American Muslims.
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CONTACT: CAIR-LA Digital Communications Manager Enjy El-Kadi, (714) 851-4851 or eelkadi@cair.com; CAIR-LA Communications Coordinator Madi Morse-Hameed, mmorse-hameed@cair.com
