UCLA pro-Palestinian protester sues school over disciplinary action

A UCLA computer science doctoral student is suing the University of California over a disciplinary action he faced stemming from the 2024 pro-Palestinian protests, which some Jewish students alleged blocked them from part of the campus. 

Unlike many others involved in the protest, which included a university encampment, Dylan Kupsh, 27, didn't hide his identity under a mask during the demonstrations. He has gone public about the disciplinary action the university took against him, while others have stayed anonymous, the Los Angeles Times reported. 

Kupsh filed a civil rights lawsuit last week in Los Angeles Superior Court against the UC Board of Regents, two UCLA student conduct administrators and a UCLA police captain. 

The lawsuit alleges viewpoint discrimination and due process violations, including the lack of meaningful notice of cases against him, and it asks the court to reverse his two-quarter suspension and release a master’s degree withheld for more than 600 days.

A UCLA spokesperson told the Times that the university will respond to the lawsuit in court. Federal privacy laws bar the university from discussing individual discipline cases or internal deliberations, even when a student goes public with the actions. 

Los Angeles-area civil rights lawyers and attorneys from the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee are representing Kupsh.