In the third-floor women’s restroom of New Cabell Hall, a poster taped to the door reads: “Free Our Students. Five Students Face UJC Trial on 9/15. UVA continues retaliating against student protestors with disciplinary charges.” The sign includes a QR code linking to a petition supporting these students. Tucked away in a little-noticed corner of campus, the poster represents a question that has lingered in the minds of many at the University of Virginia: what will happen to those who protested the war in Gaza last spring?
The protests last May shocked much of the student body with its sudden escalation. What began as a small group of students sitting on the grass outside the chapel quickly evolved into chants demanding that the university divest from Israel, or, at the very least, disclose its investments. The National Guard intervened to break up the encampment, leading to community backlash and chants of “why you wearing riot gear? I don’t see no riot here!”
A total of eleven student protestors were arrested for trespassing, although the charges were quickly dropped by the court. The university, however, seemingly disagreed with the court’s leniency and referred the students to the University Judiciary Committee (“UJC”), a student-run disciplinary body, for violating the school’s standards of conduct. In the process, the university withheld the degrees from four students set to graduate.
Following public backlash, UVA Student Affairs proposed a compromise: if the students met individually with representatives from Student Affairs, they would not have to face trial. Six students accepted the offer, but five refused, arguing that the discussion should take place collectively, rather than one-on-one. Oliver Nicholson, one of the students, wrote to Student Affairs, explaining that a joint meeting “will allow for a more comprehensive understanding of the situation.” Additionally, there was concern that individual meetings could lead to further disciplinary issues, with students unable to support one another during these private conversations.
Initially, Student Affairs rejected the request, but as tensions escalated, and with increasing media and student backlash, they reconsidered their decision. In late August, Student Affairs agreed to a joint meeting with Nicholson and the other four protestors. In a shocking turn of events, they rescinded this offer days later and informed the students they would need to do it individually. Student Affairs released no official statement as to why they made this decision, but one can assume that it is due to a lack of consensus among decision-makers. The internal disagreements became evident when they reversed course once again, ultimately approving the joint discussion to be sufficient. This last-minute decision, likely influenced by fear of backlash and the looming trial date, enabled the students to avoid facing the University Judiciary Committee.
Last Wednesday, the five students, each with a faculty member to represent them, read their prepared statement demanding that the university disclose to its students how they invest and to divest from any war-related firms. “Disclosing investments is about ensuring that UVA’s financial dealings align with the ethics that this university claims to champion,” reads the prepared statement. The UVA Investment Management Company, in response, announced last Friday a refusal to disclose or divest any of its holdings. Many consequences of the protests conducted last May still remain on the student body’s mind especially with the introduction of new policies regulating campus protests, but the fate of the five students arrested in May has been resolved: they will not face trial with the UJC.
It’s bad enough that those protests are, without doubt, indicative of – at least – antisemitism in the student body, the faculty and implicitly in the administration. Worse, perhaps, is level of English language proficiency evidenced by the doggerel chant “why you wearing……. , I don’t see no….”. I’m no expert on Strunk & White, but, really? Dr. Day would not be amused.