He’s ‘suffered from hunger and homelessness for months’
A student who participated in an anti-Israel demonstration late last year is suing the University of Chicago for kicking him out of campus housing and placing him on an “involuntary leave of absence.”
In his lawsuit, senior Manuel Rivera accuses UChicago, Interim Dean of Students Michael Hayes, and “two unidentified UCPD officers” of “Unlawful First Amendment Retaliation” and “Unlawful Eviction in Tort,” according to The Chicago Maroon.
Chicago Municipal Code 5-12-160 “regulates landlord interference with tenants’ access to dwellings,” and 42 U.S.C. 1983 allegedly allows Rivera to sue police officers for “participating in the deprivation of his civil rights by carrying out his removal from housing.”
Rivera’s complaint claims that “on or about October 11, 2024 … he observed a group of students peacefully protesting against the ongoing genocide of Palestinians in Israeli-Occupied Gaza.”
Rivera (pictured) then allegedly “participated in the protest as it was peaceful and occurring in a public place.”
The Maroon notes that during the UChicago United for Palestine protest, photos show Rivera kicking a Chicago PD officer “in the back of the leg.”
The student paper earlier had reported the officer said Rivera also “shoved” him and “str[uck] him with an open hand to the left side of the face.”
According to Campus Reform, the UChicago United for Palestine demonstration had “blocked entry to the university, defaced a sculpture on campus, and damaged police cars.”
The activist group put the blame on law enforcement saying it engaged in a “drastic escalation of police violence,” and referred to campus police as “the university’s agents of brutality.”
MORE: UChicago magazine says Israel committing ‘genocide,’ calls for ‘liberation of Palestine’
UChicago’s student housing contract states it “shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Illinois, without regard to its choice of law principles.” However, the Chicago Residential Landlord and Tenant Ordinance, which Rivera cites in his complaint, “provides several exemptions.”
One of these is “student housing accommodations wherein a housing agreement or housing contract is entered into between the student and an institution of higher learning.” UChicago Law School professor Jeff Leslie said it’s “pretty clear” the university’s dorms “are exempt” from the tenant ordinance.
Rivera claims he was “made homeless” and “suffered from hunger and homelessness for months.”
Rivera is seeking “not less than $50,000 per Plaintiff, plus costs, attorney fees, and whatever additional relief th[e] Court deems appropriate,” according to the suit. (Note: Since Rivera is the only plaintiff in the suit, it appears “Plaintiff” should be “Defendant” in the quoted segment.)
MORE: Academics wants U. Chicago to silence critics of pro-Israel classes
IMAGE: Chicago P.D.
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