Updated: 11:55 am April 28

Originally published: 11:47 am April 26 

Note: This story has been updated to include a statement from Portland State University about its decision regarding student conduct violations.

Amid a threat from Portland City Councilor Mitch Green to vote against city funding for Portland State University’s (PSU) new performing arts center, students say the university has dropped all code of conduct violations against its chapter of Students United for Palestinian Equal Rights (SUPER). The violations, which had not been publicly disclosed, were headed to a conduct review meeting before being unexpectedly rescinded, according to SUPER Executive Board leaders Khadija Almayahi and Van Lawson.

At a National Day of Action for Higher Ed protest at PSU on April 17, Councilor Green said he would vote against funding PSU’s new performing arts center if the PSU administration did not drop the charges against students who engaged in pro-Palestine protests.

In a statement provided to the Mercury, PSU maintains the decision regarding student conduct wasn't influenced by the councilor's public pressure on the university.

"Student conduct decisions are, and have always been, made independently and are completely unrelated to any comments by Councilor Green or other external political statements," the statement reads. "At Portland State, it is our policy to enforce content-neutral time, place, and manner rules that support and protect free speech for all members of our community. The student affairs professionals in the office of the Dean of Student Life are trusted to make decisions based only on the facts of each specific case and manage student conduct issues independently based on their rules and the best interests of the students and the campus community."

PSU SUPER was placed on probation in March 2024 for actions earlier that year which were deemed as code of conduct violations. The probation is set to last through June of this year. 

Almayahi and Lawson claim SUPER’s probation was based on the actions of a single former board member—specifically the use of “amplified sound” during a PSU Board of Trustees meeting and “collusion” related to posting a flyer on social media. They say the probation of SUPER was unfair and just another method by PSU to limit their free speech. 

The newly alleged violations arose from a “die-in” protest hosted by SUPER in the Karl Miller Center in January 2025, which PSU said violated SUPER’s probation. SUPER was allegedly not notified that the university was pursuing a conduct review meeting until late March. According to Almayahi, while the university never explicitly sent a legally binding notice of confidentiality, emails sent to SUPER started with a statement that the messages were “personal and confidential.”

“It seemed apparent we weren’t to spread the word about this,” Almayahi said. “I definitely think that was used as a fear tactic.”

In response to the code of conduct review, SUPER sought help from a number of organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union, the Oregon Justice Resource Center, PSU Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine, and the National Lawyers Guild, which provided them legal assistance throughout deliberations. 

PSU did not offer specifics regarding penalties assessed to students, but did confirm SUPER's probation, adding that they are still permitted to hold events during that time.

“The probation really does highlight PSU’s continued suppression of student voices and intimidation tactics that have been deployed,” Almayahi said. “This calendar year, 2025, [the university] has absolutely targeted individuals for their work as student activists.”

Green’s comments were met with mixed responses, some drawing comparisons to Trump’s threats to withhold funding from universities, while others have called the move a righteous defense of academic freedom and free speech. 

Councilor Green, whose district includes PSU, stood by his statement from last week’s rally. 

“[My] comments came after a number of students spoke about a climate of repression of their free speech and of what felt like overly punitive responses to the protests last spring,” Green told the Mercury earlier this week. “It was in response to students who the administration has decided to punish for their part in the broad set of protests last year in support of Palestinian freedom.”

It’s unclear how much influence, if any, the city councilor had on the university’s decision to withdraw academic penalties against student protesters.

With their lawyers, SUPER took a position that PSU was failing to communicate effectively, not providing documents in a timely manner for SUPER to access. They also asserted that their protest was peaceful, effective, and within their right to free speech. 

“I believe personally that the university didn’t frankly care about the use of that itty-bitty amplified sound microphone in that space,” Almayahi said in reference to one of the code of conduct violations being for the use of amplified sound. “I think it was the message of what we were saying and not how we were saying it for sure.”

Last year, PSU students held a number of protests against the war in Gaza. The most notable action took place in May, when protesters, including some students, built an encampment and occupied the Millar Library for several days, leaving an estimated $750,000 in damage, mostly due to anti-war messages scrawled on furniture, walls, and windows. The library occupation was eventually broken up by police, resulting in 30 people arrested, six of which were PSU students, according to police.  

Two more students were arrested during a separate protest about three weeks later, when they allegedly blocked the main entrance to a campus building.

The campus protests were part of a broader movement across the globe calling for justice in Palestine.

On Wednesday, PSU’s Media Relations Manager, Katy Swordfisk, said all student conduct cases related to the 2024 library occupation have concluded, and all fines or sanctions have been assessed. However, some students may still be on suspension or probation. 

While PSU students arrested last year had their criminal charges dropped by the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office over errors with evidence, Green said the university should also cease any academic consequences for those students. 

“When I said drop charges, I think what I was really meaning to say was let these students move on with their lives,” Green says. “The DA dropped charges earlier this year in any kind of criminal sense. And so what's at play now is I would like to see the administration lift the onerous fines that they have on some of these students, lift the holds on their transcripts preventing them from applying to graduate schools and moving on with their academic careers.”

At last week’s rally, Green claimed PSU will need his vote in order to secure funding support from the city. Swordfisk noted city dollars will only fund the city-owned portion of the performing arts center—the larger performance venue—while PSU will utilize bond funding and philanthropy to cover the PSU-owned portion. 

Any funding decision regarding the PSU venue would likely require approval from a policy committee as well as a majority of City Council, but the rest of the City Council had mixed responses to Green’s statement.

Councilors Olivia Clark and Dan Ryan, who are both on the Arts and Economy Committee with Green, did not offer support of Green’s statement.

Clark contended that the “PSU proposal will be evaluated on its merits.” When asked if the city should withhold funding from PSU based on the university’s handling of protests, Ryan said “no, absolutely not.”

The two other members of the Arts and Economy Committee, Councilors Loretta Smith and Jamie Dunphy, could not be reached for comment.

Councilor Angelita Morillo, who’s among the most left-leaning members of Portland City Council, stopped short of cosigning Green’s statement, but conveyed staunch support for students speaking out against the war in Gaza.

“In this moment, as civil rights are being rolled back across the country, we have a moral obligation to protect free speech, especially for students,” Morillo told the Mercury. “The First Amendment is not conditional—it must be upheld in our schools, our streets, and every space where young people are using their voices to speak truth to power.”

It’s unclear when a formal funding request from the university will come to city leaders.

PSU currently faces an investigation from the Trump administration for alleged antisemitism on campus, but also still contends with a Title VI investigation related to Islamophobic and anti-Palestinian activity on campus. 

“PSU has always prioritized a campus environment free from intimidation and hate of any kind including antisemitism,” Swordfisk said. 

However, tensions between students and the PSU administration still appear high.

Before Green’s statement at the rally, Brady Roland, president of the Associated Students of Portland State University, compared the crackdown on protesters last May to the 1970 Kent State shooting. A number of student groups also expressed grievances, commonly stating they feel “unheard” by the university. 

PSU’s relationship with faculty has been up and down as well. PSU’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors ratified a four-year contract with the university on April 23. However, a strike appeared increasingly likely before Councilors Green, Morillo, and Koyama-Lane, as well as Oregon State Treasurer Elizabeth Steiner, sent letters to PSU demanding they negotiate with the union in good faith. 

In a press release responding to criticism of his recent statement, Green questioned PSU’s budget priorities, having laid off faculty and cut programs while wanting to spend $850 million on the new performing arts complex. 

Despite the pushback for his comments, the councilor expressed that PSU is not upholding free speech values and drew comparisons between “Trump-era authoritarianism” and PSU’s treatment of pro-Palestinian voices.

“I would just say that if we're going to survive this period in history, with democracy on the other end of it, that we've got to be willing to stand up for those of us who are putting it all on the line,” Green said. “And that's what I see these students and these professors doing, so I'm going to do the same. I want to have their back every day of the week.”