San José State Prof Sues Over “Gross Violation” of Rights

A week after an arbitrator ordered that she be reinstated, San José State University Professor Sang Hea Kil announced she is suing California State University “to vindicate the gross violation of her civil rights,” according to a news release. 

“I am relieved that this long, grueling ordeal has come to an end for me. I am happy the arbitrator found in my favor, and I get my job back,” Kil said in the release. “I am bringing this lawsuit to get justice after this targeted repression by SJSU and CSU for my pro-Palestinian activism in protesting an ongoing genocide.”

San José State fired Kil, a tenured full professor, in 2025 and she has contested the decision since. In the lawsuit, she alleges that CSU violated rights guaranteed by the California Fair Housing and Employment Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, and the First Amendment by punishing her for “speaking out in solidarity with Palestine and members of the Muslim and Arab communities,” the release states. Kil is working with civil rights lawyers at the Pasadena, Calif.–based firm Hadsell Stormer Renick & Dai LLP. 

CSU spokespeople did not respond to a request for comment Monday.