CLEVELAND — A number of Case Western Reserve students held a press conference Friday morning demanding amnesty for pro-Palestine protesters involved in last week's encampment after the school announced they plan to withhold degrees from some involved in the protests.
The group of unwelcome students and alumni met at a public library, blocks away from the excitement of graduation ceremonies that got underway Friday on and around the university’s campus.
“What does President Kaler want to teach students at Case Western University?” Senior Jad Kamhawi Oglesby asked during the press conference.
Oglesby received a notice from the university this week, notifying him that he was unwelcome on campus and barred from participating in his commencement.
“I would simply like to ask, how am I a threat to my own commencement? Why can I not celebrate the four years of hard work, dedication and sacrifice to my institution?” he said.
Law student Michael Grimm’s degree is also on hold.
“Now a temporary hold isn’t the end of the world, except that the Ohio bar is on a tight schedule if we want to take the bar in July,” Grimm said. “To be in limbo like this is stressful to say the least.”
The university says out of 2700 students set to graduate this week, it’s investigating the conduct of 12. Of those, three students are banned from commencement, because of “their express statements or actions threatening to disrupt commencement activities and their level of involvement in the unsanctioned encampment.”
“Case western reserve university has decided to criminalize these students,” said Faten Odeh, executive director at Cair-Cleveland.
“People don’t even feel like they’ve been able to talk about these things on campus and this is what we expected from the university. And sadly, we’ve been disappointed. We’ve learned that they’re only committed to suppressing speech,” said Yousef Khalaf, a Palestinian-American who is junior at the school. “None of my friends and none of us deserve to be punished for simply speaking up against injustice.”
“Is it right to punish individuals for saying what they believe?" said Koby Picker, CWRU alum and member of Jewish Voice for Peace. "Case Western, stop punishing your students. Reverse all disciplinary actions taken against students, staff, faculty and community members. Let these students graduate, and then really listen to what they have to say.”
3News streamed live video of their press conference from the Cleveland Public Library on our YouTube channel, which you can watch in the video below:
Case Western Reserve University officials released the following statement on Friday, May, 17:
On Monday, May 13, Case Western Reserve initiated its conduct process for individuals identified as taking part in the unsanctioned encampment on the university’s private property, vandalism and disruption to campus operations. For some students, this included interim measures of temporary withholding of degrees and persona non grata status.
Though the timing of the encampment and protests left minimal opportunity before degree conferral to complete investigations and hold conduct hearings, the university’s Office of Student Conduct has moved expeditiously to determine graduating students’ ability to take part in commencement-related activities. The office also 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 PNG status.
Of the approximately 2,700 students who are set to graduate this week, 12 of the graduating students are involved in the conduct process, and the university hopes to resolve for these students in the next few weeks. Of these, three students are prohibited from participating in commencement ceremonies, due to their express statements or actions threatening to disrupt commencement activities and their level of involvement in the unsanctioned encampment. All others have been permitted to take part in their degree-conferral ceremonies, among other commencement-related activities. Decisions on the awarding of degrees will be made once the conduct process is complete.
The university looks forward to celebrating its outstanding graduates this weekend and maintaining the focus on their exceptional achievements. As noted in an email to the CWRU community earlier this week, all freedom of expression activity on university property—including protests during commencement weekend—must be reserved and approved in advance. Participation in an unapproved activity will result in referral to the relevant conduct process, even for those scheduled to graduate. The university also has implemented a variety of security measures, including requiring advance tickets for nearly all ceremonies.
The press conference comes just days after Case Western Reserve University announced that some of the students who were involved in the recent pro-Palestine encampment protest will not be welcome on campus.
In addition, school officials said that degrees will be temporarily withheld from some students who are set to graduate.
A CWRU spokesperson told 3News in an e-mail on Tuesday that the university has "initiated its student conduct process" for a "limited number of students who may have been involved in the unsanctioned encampment on private property and other conduct violations."
The situation began on April 29 when CWRU students, faculty and others headed to the oval and vowed to protest until the university "meets their demands to divest from the state of Israel." Twenty of the initial protestors were detained and released, but no arrests were made.
The group later published a list of demands, and Case eventually allowed demonstrators to remain in the space overnight as long as they presented valid student or employee identification. However, three days later, administrators declared the protest was "no longer approved," claiming organizers had violated guidelines by "permitting third parties not currently affiliated with CWRU to remain on campus outside of predetermined hours."
Despite saying the protestors were now "trespassing," the school made no effort to forcibly remove them from the premises, and declared that would not be done unless things became violent. That never happened, although tensions rose on May 8 when organizers published a video showing third-party contracted workers spraying students with paint in front of the "spirit wall" near the Thwing Center.
Kaler said prior to their departure, protesters had threatened to disrupt the university's commencement activities, slated to begin Wednesday. Amid those concerns, he announced a new policy related to "freedom of expression."