Judge to hold hearing Monday on University of Maryland’s cancellation of Oct. 7 vigil

A University of Maryland student organization’s request to proceed with a vigil on Oct. 7 — marking lives lost in Gaza in the conflict with Israel — will be heard by a federal judge during a hearing on Monday.

The lawsuit alleges the student group’s First Amendment rights were violated after it was no longer allowed to hold an “interfaith vigil” Oct. 7, a year after an attack by the terrorist organization Hamas on Israel sparked the war in Gaza.

In its Sept. 17 lawsuit , the University of Maryland Students for Justice in Palestine said the vigil’s purpose was “to mourn lives lost in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza.”

The student group said in a court filing on Friday that the university “summarily cancelled all expressive events from taking place on a day of historical significance, and in a statement issuing this decree, bluntly laid out its unlawful reasons why.”

The principal reason, the student organization said “is because there was significant opposition and because it believed the day should be one of reflection and dialogue.”

Patricia Perillo, vice president for student affairs, said in a court affidavit last week that the group has received permission more than 70 times in the past year to use campus space.

The approval for the Oct. 7 vigil was withdrawn “for safety and security reasons,” Perillo wrote.

The group had submitted a reservation for McKeldin Mall, a 9-acre grassy area in the middle of campus where students can reserve space, in July, and received approval.

On Sept. 1, university President Darryl Pines and the University System of Maryland jointly sent a letter to the campus community announcing that  “out of an abundance of caution,” only university-sponsored events promoting reflection would be hosted.

Monday’s hearing will be overseen by senior judge Peter J. Messitte in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt.