CWRU protesters facing sanctions demand amnesty

Justin Dennis
·2 min read
19

CLEVELAND (WJW) — Case Western Reserve University students who joined a protest encampment calling for the university to divest from Israeli companies amid the conflict in Gaza said the disciplinary measures they now face are intended to “silence” them.

Through its student conduct process, Case Western has opted to withhold degrees from some students who participated in pro-Palestine demonstrations or bar them from campus entirely. Students now facing sanctions are seeking amnesty, spoke out at a media briefing on Friday.

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The university’s graduation ceremonies are set for this weekend, but some protesting students won’t be able to attend, according to a Thursday news release from Palestine Task Force CLE.

“University administrators are inflicting disproportionate and discriminatory punishments on students due to their opposing viewpoints,” reads the release.

Expected to speak on Friday at the Cleveland Public Library Martin Luther King Jr. branch along Stokes Boulevard were several students who were set to graduate; as well as Koby Picker, a Case alumnus and member of Jewish Voice for Peace Cleveland; and Faten Odeh, executive director of the Ohio chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

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According to a Friday statement from the university, 12 of the university’s 2,700 graduating students are “involved in the conduct process,” which officials expect to be resolved “in the next few weeks.”

CWRU’s Office of Student Conduct “worked with students who were living in residence halls, were enrolled in dining plans or had on-campus jobs to ensure they had continued access to all necessary services, regardless of [persona non grata] status,” reads the release.

Of those 12, three have been prohibited from attending commencement or receiving their degrees, “due to their express statements or actions threatening to disrupt commencement activities and their level of involvement in the unsanctioned encampment,” reads the release.

A student group is planning its own commencement ceremony for the sanctioned students who cannot attend their graduation. It’s set for 1 p.m. on Sunday at Wade Lagoon in University Circle, a representative said on Friday.

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