Students arrested on May 1 face denial of degrees, suspension and other legal charges – THE MERCURY

The nine students arrested on May 1 at UTD’s Gaza Liberation Plaza camp face academic and postgraduate challenges as UTD seeks denial of degrees, suspension reversal proceedings, and academic and disciplinary hearings, jeopardizing the academic careers of the arrested students.

On August 6, three months after the arrests, UTD's Students for Justice in Palestine and the DFW branch of the Palestinian Youth Movement organized a press conference to discuss the status of those arrested from UTD 21. Arrested students graduating in spring 2024 face the possibility of graduation, while arrested students returning in fall 2024 face the possibility of deferred suspension. The conference featured Dan Sullivan, an attorney representing UTD 21, Imam Omar Suleiman, president of the Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research, and some of the UTD students arrested on May 1 as keynote speakers.

“These students have decided to take a stand because some of the tens of thousands of victims in Gaza are their relatives, acquaintances and ultimately human beings,” Suleiman said. “They have only planted the spirit of truth and justice under the dark cloud of genocide that this university has unfortunately [UTD] is complicit.”

A UTD spokesman said in a statement to The Mercury that UTD cannot comment on the specifics of disciplinary proceedings against students or faculty. In a July 17 meeting of the Academic Senate, Rafael Martín, vice president and chief of staff, said that Office of Community Standards and Conduct disciplinary hearings are considered confidential and are only shared with third parties when required by law. The spokesperson said encampments — including tents, barricades and other structures — are not permitted under UTD's free speech and assembly policy UTDSP5001.

“Participants of the May Day encampment at UTD were not arrested for their protest,” the UTD spokesperson said. “They were arrested for trespassing after failing to comply with orders to vacate the barricaded encampment set up in the early hours of May Day.”

Three of the nine arrested students agreed to The Mercury. UTD alumnus and former SJP president Mousa Najjar said that while UTD mailed him a physical copy of his diploma, university representatives told him during his academic hearing that the university would respond to questions from programs, employers or third parties about his degree status by saying that he does not have one until at least December 2024.

The Mercury has granted anonymity to the other two students because they will be enrolled at UTD in the fall semester and are currently facing ongoing disciplinary proceedings conducted by the OCSC, led by Dean of Students Amanda Smith, as well as a trespassing charge. The anonymous students both said they were facing a deferred suspension, which they said would lead to an immediate suspension if the university finds that they violated a UTD or UT System policy.

During the press conference, Suleiman said that although every university in Gaza has been bombed, universities like UTD have failed to reject the genocidal actions targeting their partner institutions. On January 24, Al Jazeera reported that all universities in Gaza had been damaged or destroyed by the Israeli military. United Nations experts expressed “deep concern” over the destruction and damage of over 80% of all schools in Gaza on April 18.

“What we have noticed over the last 10 months is a complete neglect of responsibility by the very institutions that used to speak out against and condemn hatred,” Suleiman said. “They have neglected their moral responsibility to condemn a genocide that is being broadcast live on social media.”

Sullivan, a member of the National Lawyers Guild, the nation's oldest progressive bar association, said the association represents all “UTD 21” in both criminal and disciplinary student cases. Sullivan said the 21 peaceful protesters arrested at UTD were met by police officers deployed across the state to suppress supporters of Palestine.

“The arrest of UTD 21 is part of a campaign of aggression,” Sullivan said. “Many of these arrests have already been ruled illegal by the courts. We are, of course, familiar with the situation in Austin, where dozens of people arrested were immediately put on trial by a judge because the judge did not see sufficient cause for the arrest.”

UTD's student body largely supports pro-Palestinian activism. Since 2023, SJP has focused on pushing UTD to divest from five major weapons manufacturers, which resulted in a successful student government resolution calling on UTD to divest. According to the Texas Jewish Post, UTD President Richard Benson said in response to the resolution that “UTD leadership does not share the same view as the Student Senate.” Sullivan said it was their “commitment to human rights” and divestment that brought “UTD 21” into the ire of police, the courts, and the university.

“It is a very dangerous attack on free speech in the United States,” Sullivan said. “I want to emphasize that those arrested are ordinary students, teachers and community members. These people are setting themselves apart from their community only through their commitment to human rights.”

Sullivan said the criminal charges filed against the UTD 21 are simply trespassing charges that could be dropped if the accusing witness, UTD, withdraws its charges. Sullivan said if UTD does not want to prosecute its own students and faculty, it can easily drop the cases, and UTD has even more control over the disciplinary process because it is conducted entirely by the university itself.

A spokesperson for the OCSC said the Dean of Students has primary authority and responsibility for administering student disciplinary actions and that Smith has assigned the OCSC to adjudicate student disciplinary action cases. The spokesperson said general information about disciplinary hearing procedures can be found in UTD policy UTDSP5003. Smith did not respond to The Mercury when you are asked for a comment.

“Any attempt to downplay or dismiss UTD's actions and pretend that this is normal is simply misleading,” Sullivan said.