CLEVELAND — In February, nearly 400 people took the Ohio BAR exam and next month a new crop of students will hope to do the same, one of them being Olivia Cobb.
Except there’s one thing standing in her way.
Cobb has spent the last three years at Case Western Reserve University working towards her law degree, and now, with her studies complete, she still can’t move forward with taking the BAR because she participated in the Pro- Palestinian anti-war protests on campus.
On April 29, a group of CWRU students and collaborators joined around 80 university encampments across the nation, all protesting the Israel- Hamas war, and calling for university divestment from any financial interests in Israel.
"Our number one goal was calling for Case Western Reserve University to divest from companies that profit from war and murder," said Cobb.
The Hiram native, who aspires to practice law for prisoner's rights, says the university’s investments are the farthest thing from just and she and dozens of others want to make their stance known.
"I chose to participate because I know that this is wrong, and I know that the money I'm using to get an education to better my community is going towards an incredibly horrible thing," Cobb explained.
After 10 days of protesting, the encampment ended on the 11th day, but Olivia says she is proud of the mark they made.
" We served three hot meals a day to over 200 people for nearly two weeks. We had a medical tent, with a medic on site 24 hours a day. We had teachings where we had to where we had the opportunity to discuss topics that aren't covered in class," she said. " It was truly one of the most beautiful things I've taken part of."
But now, Cobb is facing the consequences of her participation.
"I got an email while I was sitting in jury duty, saying that interim measures had been brought against me to separate me from the university," she said.
3News Reporter Kierra Cotton met with Olivia at Wade Oval because she is also banned from campus, while her case works through the student conduct process. It’s where a mock graduation was held for her and several other students who weren’t allowed to attend the official ceremonies.
Cobb explained, " My family lost their ability to celebrate this achievement."
According to Cobb, she has meet with several advisors about the situation and options for next step, however she says they've been unproductive.
She explains, "The university has left us very few, if not any avenues to express our political certainty that we do not want our tuition money to be used to support a genocide and also continue our lives and our careers...I have a job offer that's dependent on my ability to pass the bar. So that significantly impacts my when my career begins and what my career will look like," she continued.
3News reached out to Case’s communications team and they declined to comment, but University President Eric Kaler shared this statement with the university community last month.
“As I have previously noted, any individual violating university policy will be held accountable through legal action and/or the appropriate conduct process,” his email said in bold letters. “For students, this could include interim suspension, expulsion or removal of degree conferral. Those who continue to illegally trespass and vandalize university property will be subject to criminal charges.”
Despite the current stalemate with the university, Olivia says her and her fellow protestors' efforts will continue.
"They have forgotten that without their students, without their faculty, and without the community that they sit in the heart of, there is no institution, there is no Case Western Reserve University," said Cobb.
With the encampment behind them, Cobb is hopeful the university will one day be open to at least a conversation with those who protested.
"If they continue to push us in this manner, we will have to continue to remind them that they do not exist without us, not the other way around," said Cobb.