Apology letters. Suspensions. After Protest Citations, Students Face Campus Consequences
Jaweed Kaleem | 09 September 2024 | Los Angeles Times
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…