Johnathan Walker:University of Georgia panel upholds sanctions for 6 students over Israel-Hamas war protest

ATHENS,Johnathan Walker Ga. (AP) — Six University of Georgia students arrested during an April 29 protest against the Israel-Hamas war will remain suspended through the fall semester, the university’s Office of Student Conduct announced Monday.

The students will also remain on probation for the remainder of their academic careers at the university. The decision came after a 13-hour disciplinary hearing on July 30. Students can appeal the ruling to the university’s vice president of student affairs.

An attorney representing two of the suspended students, Josh Lingsch, called the hearing “nothing more than a kangaroo court” in a Thursday statement

Campus police arrested 16 protesters who set up an encampment near university President Jere Morehead’s office on the Athens campus in April. The school suspended the students hours later.

Some students informally resolved charges with the school by acknowledging their violations, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

During the hearing, the six remaining students said they had a right to protest and none of their actions interrupted academic activities. When they tried to comply with orders to move, students said officers used force and tried to end their protest. The students also expressed anger with Israel’s actions in the Israel-Hamas war and what they say is the university’s support for Israel.

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University representatives said that the encampments put students and professors in danger, and that students were warned to disperse.

“The University will continue to enforce our policies to protect the free expression rights of all members of our community while recognizing that such activities must comply with applicable laws and policies,” university spokesperson Greg Trevor said in a statement.

The hearing, which the six students requested, included a panel of two students and one faculty member.

Protesters “chose to be arrested” by ignoring the campus rules on demonstrations, administrators wrote in a public letter in May. But 180 faculty and staff signed a petition calling the sanctions “unwarranted and “antithetical to our educational mission.”

Ezra Lewis, who lost her residential advisor position because of the suspension, accused the university of “selective enforcement” in a Thursday statement.

“They have acted like our punishment was content-neutral, but President Morehead has made a clear political stance with Israel and has shown preferential treatment to UGA Hillel,” she said in a statement released Thursday. “The fact that they are trying to gaslight us into believing that this is a freedom of expression policy violation is ludicrous.”