Kao denied any wrongdoing and plans to appeal the decision.
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The University of California, Berkeley, suspended lecturer Peyrin Kao without pay for the spring semester because he made pro-Palestinian political comments during class.
Kao, a lecturer in the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department, participated in a 38-day hunger strike this fall to protest the use of technology in what he called Israel’s genocide in Gaza. He allegedly told students during class that he was undergoing a “starvation diet” and directed them to his website to learn more about why he was striking.
Also, last spring, Kao allegedly made “off-topic” remarks including about “the conflict in Israel and Gaza, an expression of solidarity with a protest happening outside the classroom, Google’s business dealings with Israel, UC’s investment in companies that themselves invest in companies that ‘supply bombs,’ and calls for solidarity with those in Gaza and to ‘Free Palestine,’” executive vice chancellor and provost Benjamin Hermalin wrote in his letter recommending that Kao be suspended.
Hermalin ultimately determined that Kao violated a Board of Regents policy requiring that instructors only discuss content relevant to the course in session during class time. With his comments and actions, Kao “misused the classroom for the purpose of political advocacy,” Hermalin wrote. Kao will be suspended for six months, starting Jan. 1.
“Mr. Kao drew attention to his hunger strike in class and informed the students how they could find out why he was engaging in it. In addition, the visible physical toll it presumably was taking and the adverse consequences it may have had on the quality of his instruction all represent a form of advocacy, albeit nonverbal,” Hermalin wrote. “In that sense, his actions are no different from those of an instructor who repeatedly wore a t-shirt when teaching that had on it a very visible political symbol or a picture of a political candidate.”
Kao denied any wrongdoing and plans to appeal the decision.
“The timing of my punishment raises serious questions about whether it was a politically motivated decision by the university to appease the Trump administration. My suspension is the latest in a long line of faculty and students disciplined for taking a stance against occupation and genocide in Palestine,” Kao said in a statement distributed by the San Francisco Bay Area Council on American-Islamic Relations, which also denounced Kao’s suspension. “The university is trying to make an example out of me and suppress any conversation about Palestine, because those conversations would expose the university’s investment in genocide. I will not be deterred by this unconstitutional attack on free speech, and I intend to continue exercising my First Amendment right to advocate for a free Palestine.”
Berkeley officials declined to answer Inside Higher Ed’s questions about Kao’s suspension.
“The university does not comment on confidential personnel matters,” a spokesperson wrote in an email. “Speaking generally regarding free speech policy, the university will always take a viewpoint-neutral approach when it comes to supporting freedom of expression and actions that align with policy.”
