The temporary suspension of a Muslim advocacy group, "Students for Justice in Palestine" at Northeastern University has caused a huge uproar in the campus.

Protesters bearing Palestinian signs and flags argued that the university exerted harsh disciplinary actions against the group when compared to other undergraduate groups on campus. Advocates from Northeastern, Tufts University and Boston University among others said that the suspension is unjustified and a repression of free speech. About 6,000 students signed a petition to restore the group, Boston reports.

In a written statement, the University said that it has suspended the organization for repeated violations of campus policy. The officials said that they issued several warnings to the group before the suspension.

The suspension was probably passed after the group distributed leaflets in dorms without permission. The leaflets disapproved the demolition of Palestinian homes by the Israeli Defense Forces.

Tori Porell, the suspended student group's president, said that Palestine is a third-rail issue on campus. Discussion of the issue is forbidden in the campus.

Max Geller, one of the former leaders of the pro-Palestinian undergraduate student group, has accused the University for singling SJP out.

"They said that we needed to have permission or have our leaflets approved," Geller said. "If that is actually the policy, nobody on campus knows about it. People are distributing leaflets without university approval or flyers or advertisements for whatever it is they are passionate about all the time. These rules only seem to be in force when it's Students for Justice in Palestine who are exercising their speech rights," wbur reports.

In the statement, the University said that it encourages free speech and exchange of ideas within a harmonious and respectable environment.

However, Sarah Wunsch, of the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, feels that the University doesn't follow what it actually preaches.

Wunsch said that they have been working with the group since last year because the university has decided to keep an eye on them. Although the University is a private institution, the right to freedom of speech still prevails, which the school seems to be violating.

According to Boston's NPR news station, the University has suspended the student group until January.