Several students arrested during April’s pro-Palestine protests received letters from the University stating they are under investigation for actions taken during the events.
In a letter obtained by the Texan, the University cited sec.11-500 of institutional rules and student services and said the students may have violated UT’s Student Code of Conduct.
Anne-Marie Jardine, who graduated this spring, said prior to receiving the letters, she and other arrested students attempted to contact the University after noticing a hold on documents like their transcripts, but received little help on how to address the issue.
“I tried to get my transcripts the Monday after graduation, and there was a hold,” Jardine said. “Then that next week, I get an email saying I have a hold … Then some other people who I got arrested with were like, ‘did you all just get an email about a hold?’”
Jardine, who is attending graduate school at New York University in the fall, said she started spiraling as she got an email from NYU stating that if she did not provide them with a transcript, she might have to forfeit her spot in their graduate program. She said she finally obtained a copy, only after she and her mother spent almost eight hours in the Main Tower. However, the hold was put back in place after 24 hours, she said.
Students who were arrested during the April protests asked administrators to allow them to walk in graduation last month. The University allowed them to participate, but Jardine said they still have not received their physical diplomas.
“They said that they couldn’t mail my physical diploma and that I also couldn’t get a transcript or anything because of the hold,” Aryel Mejia, a graduate who also received a letter, said.
In an email, a University spokesperson said the letters reflected UT’s commitment to “enforce institutional rules” and the participants of the April 24 and 29 protests “stand in stark contrast” to other on-campus pro-Palestinian events.
“The University of Texas will continue to support the Constitutional rights to free speech of all individuals on our campus and will also enforce our rules while providing due process and holding students accountable,” a UT spokesperson said in an email.
The letter also stated that students could submit a written statement on their point of view of the events that occurred during the April protest.
The students said they are in limbo until the investigation is finished. They were not given an accurate timeline on how long the proceedings may take.
“No one has talked about the timeline,” Mejia said. “The only thing we know timeline-wise is … (we) have to respond by the 18th, but that is it.”
