ST. LOUIS — Valencia Alvarez didn’t receive her master’s degree during her graduation in May. Three months later, she’s not sure if she ever will.
Alvarez is one of the 23 Washington University students who were arrested at April protests against the war in Gaza and are still dealing with the legal and academic repercussions. Her degree was withheld pending the outcome of school disciplinary proceedings, and the hearings have yet to conclude. Others are still waiting to find out if they’ll face criminal charges that could impact future job searches.
“I want that degree,” Alvarez said. “I worked four jobs throughout my two years at Wash. U. to be able to afford tuition without pulling out any loans.”
About 3,200 people were arrested this spring at colleges across the country during a wave of pro-Palestinian tent encampments protesting the war in Gaza. While some colleges ended demonstrations by striking deals with the students, or simply waited them out, others called in police when protesters refused to leave.
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Washington U. warned demonstrators of the potential for arrests within an hour of their arrival on campus. A hundred people were later arrested and threatened with charges.
Nationwide, many students have seen charges dismissed. But cases have yet to be resolved for hundreds of people at campuses that saw the highest number of arrests, according to an analysis of data gathered by The Associated Press and partner newsrooms, including the Post-Dispatch.
Out of the 67 colleges where protesters were arrested between April 18 and June 10, Washington U. had the 10th-most total arrests.
And while many university protests across the country lasted days or weeks, the April 27 protest in Ƶ lasted about four hours.
Shortly after the Washington U. protest, Chancellor Andrew Martin warned that “everyone arrested” faced criminal charges for trespassing and, for some, “potentially” resisting arrest and assault. To date, no such charges have been filed against any of the Ƶ protesters.
ArchCity Defenders attorney Maureen Hanlon, who represents several of the arrested students, doubts they’ll be charged.
“Usually at this point, we would know,” Hanlon said.
Academic futures
Along with the legal limbo, the students involved are unsure how their academic futures will be affected.
Two students who were arrested at an April 13 protest that disrupted an admissions event were suspended for the upcoming fall semester, according to Hanlon. Conduct hearings for arrested students began recently, but many are still waiting for decisions.
In June, the university gave students two options: They could face a hearing with the Office of Student Conduct, or they could “accept responsibility,” go on probation and forgo further investigation.
Alvarez took the first option.
“I don’t really plan on being quiet about this, and I think that’s the goal of the second option,” Alvarez said.
Incoming senior Andrew de las Alas said he took the probation option. If he attends an unsanctioned protest this coming year, he’d be guilty of “reoffending” and face a one-semester suspension.
“Anything I do is subject to be scrutinized more, and in addition to that, the punishment will be more severe,” de las Alas said.
Others who spoke with the Post-Dispatch questioned whether they would stay enrolled at Washington U.
Rising junior Penny Thaman, an activist with “Resist WashU,” the self-described collective that helped organize the protests, said it wasn’t an easy decision to stay in Ƶ.
“I’ve had thoughts of like, ‘Is this a moral institution to continue at?’” Thaman said.
Protest investigations
Washington U. employees and administration remain divided on whether police and university administration overreacted.
In June, faculty members voted to form an investigative committee of faculty, staff, administrators and students to look into the response and suggest changes to the university’s “demonstrations and disruptions” policy. While an overwhelming majority of voters supported the move, Board of Trustees Chair Andrew Bursky nixed the idea, saying only the board could conduct such an investigation.
“It is imperative to ensure that any investigation is conducted with the involvement of qualified individuals who can review evidence without bias or preconceived notions,” Bursky wrote.
A small group of faculty strongly disagreed. In a letter sent to the Board of Trustees in late July, more than 100 signatories argued the faculty’s “world-class experts” in social and historical research, legal scholars, philosophers and ethicists were qualified and that the board’s response “blocked a collaborative and cooperative way forward.”
“This is a problem and a mistake,” said drama professor Pannill Camp, one of the faculty members who formed the letter. “This is a really important moment in Wash. U. history, and it gives administration and the board an opportunity to get out of this sort of confrontational and standoffish moment.”
Camp said the board has not responded to the letter, but he doesn’t believe the decision is final and conversations are ongoing.
Seven law enforcement agencies, including Washington U.’s campus police, confronted protesters in April. Video of the arrests showed protesters pulled from chained arms. Some were dragged by police, and one man suffered multiple broken bones.
An “executive summary” of the campus police investigation into the protest, which was did not explain what led administrators to believe protesters intended to “do harm,” as Martin, the chancellor, described in a statement after the protest.
The summary, however, notes that protesters ignored police orders to leave. Students and parents also reported they were worried about campus safety in calls to police.
Six officers were injured during the protest. One went to a local hospital to receive stitches above his left eye after suffering a “severe concussion.” Other injuries were mostly bruises. The summary did not specify whether the injuries occurred before or during the arrests.
The fall semester
As students return this fall, many are unsure of what protesting on the university’s campus will look like.
But as the death toll climbs in the Middle East — Israel’s offensive has killed more than 39,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities — students say they are unlikely to stay quiet.
Thaman said she’d “absolutely” participate again.
Though Alvarez is no longer a student at Washington U., she said she had no regrets and would continue to protest.
Camp, the drama professor, doubts administrators would risk additional negative attention.
“I’m cautiously optimistic they won’t immediately mobilize security and use police,” Camp said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.