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AMHERST, Mass. (AP) — Since her arrest at a protest on the University of Massachusetts, Annie McGrew has needed to shuttle between two hearings: one for the minor misdemeanor charges against her that she faces in court and one other for violating the university's code of conduct.
This prevented the doctoral student from working on completing her dissertation in economics.
“It's been a really rough few months for me since my arrest,” McGrew said. “I never imagined the UMass administration would react like this.”
In the spring, around 3,200 people were arrested during a wave of pro-Palestinian encampments against the Gaza war. While some colleges ended the demonstrations by making agreements with students or just holding them out, others called the police when protesters refused to depart.
Charges have been dropped against many students, but cases remain pending for a whole lot of individuals on the campuses where many of the arrests occurred, in accordance with an evaluation of information collected by The Associated Press and partner newsrooms.
In addition to the legal gray area, these students also face uncertainty about their academic careers. Some remain steadfast, saying they’d have chosen to protest even in the event that they had known the implications. Others are scuffling with the aftermath of the arrests and are doubtful about whether or not they should remain enrolled at university in any respect.
In St. Louis, Valencia Alvarez is waiting to listen to the final result of possible charges against her and 99 others in reference to an April 27 protest at Washington University that lasted lower than half a day.
Twenty-three of those arrested were students. In June, the university offered them two options: they may face a hearing before the Office of Student Conduct or “accept responsibility” and forgo further investigation. Alvarez selected the primary option.
“I don't really intend to remain silent on this, and I think that's the goal of the second option,” Alvarez said.
The demonstrations took place at private and non-private universities, on campuses large and small, in the town and the countryside. When students return in the autumn, colleges are preparing for more protests against the Israeli military and Hamas and considering strategies corresponding to when to call within the police – decisions which have had lasting effects.
Some college administrators said calling the police was the one option to end the protests, which disrupted graduation ceremonies, disrupted campus life and included anti-Semitic signs and language.
Student groups and a few faculty members have sharply criticized the university administration for allowing police into its premises, saying peaceful demonstrations were often crushed with unnecessary violence.
The overwhelming majority of cases against protesters – from students and college to individuals with no connection to the colleges – involve misdemeanors or lesser charges, corresponding to trespassing, failure to disperse, disturbing the peace and resisting arrest.
More serious charges were brought against protesters who occupied a Columbia University campus constructing. Some of them were initially arrested for trespassing, but those charges were reduced to minor misdemeanors and charges against dozens of scholars were dropped. In a call criticized by Jewish groups, prosecutors said there was no evidence of property damage and not one of the students had criminal records.
Prosecutors in several cities are still considering whether to file charges, but in lots of cases officials have indicated they don’t intend to pursue minor violations, in accordance with an AP evaluation of information on campuses with at the very least 100 arrests.
In upstate New York, the Ulster County district attorney asked judges to dismiss 129 cases related to arrests on the State University of New York at New Paltz.
“I have concluded that it is best to dismiss these charges now and relieve all parties involved and the courts of further burden, expense and use of scarce public and judicial resources,” District Attorney Emmanuel Nneji wrote in June.
New Paltz students said they sat with their arms crossed as officers led them away on May 2.
“It was very brutal,” said Maddison Tirado, a student whose trespassing charges were dropped. Tirado said the protesters were treated as if authorities viewed them “like little terrorists running around.”
One student protester, Ezra Baptist, said he was hospitalized with a concussion and a cut after he was thrown forward and hit his head during his arrest by police. Because of his injury, he was told to avoid screens and was unable to finish a course he needed to graduate in May.
State police said if anyone believes officers acted inappropriately, they need to file a report so the case could be investigated. Another local law enforcement agency, the county sheriff's office, said officers showed restraint and one officer was injured when protesters threw bottles.
Tension has been high on university campuses since October 7, when Hamas militants attacked southern Israel, killing 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and taking about 250 hostages. According to local health authorities, greater than 39,000 Palestinians were killed within the Israeli offensive.
For some students, the impact on their academic careers was more serious than any legal risks.
Washington University recently began conduct hearings for arrested students, but no disciplinary decisions have been made. Alvarez also doesn’t have the master's degree in public health that she would have received by now had she not been arrested.
Alvarez, who plans to work in social justice and community work in the longer term, said she has no regrets. But that doesn't mean the protest didn't come at a price.
“I want that degree,” Alvarez said. “I worked four jobs during my two years at Washington University so I could afford tuition without having to take out loans.”
At Emerson College in Boston, 118 people were arrested when police were called to implement a city ordinance against camping on public property. All were charged with disturbing the peace and received a “pre-arraignment plea,” meaning no charges might be filed in exchange for 40 hours of community service, prosecutors said.
Owen Buxton, a student at Emerson University, said he suffered a concussion when police pushed him right into a bronze statue. It was his second arrest this semester for protesting the war in Gaza. The experience made it difficult for him to pay attention or attend class.
“It stifled all my creativity. I didn't do anything that wasn't typical of me for months,” said Buxton, a filmmaker.
After an outcry over the arrests, Emerson allowed students to finish the semester pass or fail.
A Boston police spokesman said anyone with concerns can file a criticism with the interior affairs office. Police had previously said there have been no injuries in Emerson's arrests.
At the UMass campus in Amherst, students recalled a peaceful demonstration of singing and dancing before police arrived. It was the second tent camp arrange by students this week. UMass Chancellor Javier Reyes said he ordered the eviction after talks with protesters failed.
“Let me be clear – involving law enforcement is an absolute last resort,” Reyes wrote to the campus community.
The police response, including 117 police vehicles on campus, unsettled the protesters. McGrew recalls police in riot gear charging toward the group of scholars. A complete of 134 people were arrested.
While the arrestees were being processed within the university's sports arena, they felt humiliated by campus police, said transgender student Charles Sullivan. One officer, Sullivan said, forced them to loudly describe their genitals with the intention to gain access to a restroom.
Sullivan has since decided to depart the university to proceed his studies, partly due to the arrest. Having just accomplished his master's degree in anthropology, Sullivan will move to Ohio in the autumn to pursue his doctorate quite than proceed his studies at UMass.
“I think more than anything I'm just ready to get out of here,” Sullivan said.
Numerous campus organizations have reprimanded Reyes for the usage of police, including the UMass Faculty Senate, which issued a vote of no confidence within the chancellor.
In June, Reyes announced the creation of a task force to review campus policies on protests, including the land use policy that a lot of those arrested are believed to have violated.
The group is just starting its work, said Anthony Paik, a member of the college senate and co-chair of the duty force. More information might be available by the tip of August, just before the beginning of the brand new school 12 months, he said.
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