Jaweed Kaleem | (TNS) Los Angeles Times
LOS ANGELES — Elizabeth Howell-Egan, a third-year USC law student, avoided arrest while taking part in two pro-Palestinian campus encampments in the spring. But more than four months after police cleared the camps, she said she is facing repercussions worse than a misdemeanor court charge: She is banned from campus and classes as part of a suspension that could last through next spring.
Howell-Egan is in the midst of a university “resolution process” for allegedly violating USC codes of conduct during protests — obstructing campus safety officers, failing to comply with officer instructions and disorderly conduct.
At the launch of the fall term, universities are still grappling with the aftermath of a tumultuous spring. More than 3,000 students nationwide were arrested as police broke up encampments where pro-Palestinian protesters demanded universities divest from financial ties to Israel. In many of those cases — including hundreds in California — low-level misdemeanor charges were never filed or have been dropped.
But it’s a different situation on campus, where administrators say protesters endangered safety and broke conduct codes, including vandalizing property, blocking pathway and building access, and defying orders to disperse. Discipline proceedings continue as students deal with ongoing suspensions and holds on their records, uncertain of the consequences on their education.
USC and other campus officials contacted by The Times said they could not discuss details of student conduct cases, citing the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act. Amid widespread calls for amnesty in the spring, the University of California regents affirmed that protest violations without consequences were “inconsistent” with UC guidelines.
“USC’s really leaning into the idea that the process is the punishment,” said Howell-Egan, also charged with being a leader in USC’s protests, although she described her role as a public liaison to police. “I don’t know if their intention is to make me regret our activism, but what it really does is strengthen my beliefs.”
Letter of contrition
As part of the process, the university’s Office of Community Expectations has directed her to craft a four-page reflection essay about her behavior.
Other students have received similar assignments, due in late September, to write “personal thoughts, experiences, and insights” from the protest and “how you might make different decisions in the future.” The papers “may not serve to justify your own actions or evaluate the actions of others,” and must be “double-spaced, 12-point Times New Roman font with one-inch margins,” according to a copy of the instructions shared with The Times.
Howell-Egan said she didn’t expect protests to be consequence-free. “But this is all absurd,” she said. A hearing date has not been scheduled, and she is applying for leave to avoid missing more classes.
“People are being killed in Gaza,” she said. “That’s why we protested. Is that wrong?”
What happens in a conduct hearing?
Unlike court cases, student conduct proceedings can vary widely by school in style and timeline and are shielded from public view by privacy laws. Officials at USC and other California universities said they are committed to a timely and …read more
Source:: The Mercury News – Entertainment
