UC Irvine students who were suspended after pro-Palestine protests sue chancellor, UC regents
IRVINE, Calif. (KABC) -- A new school year is set to start at University of California campuses over the next few weeks. However, the chaos that erupted in the spring at colleges across the state have not been forgotten.
Pro-Palestinian protestors, Israel supporters and police earlier this year clashed over the ongoing war in Gaza.
Now, five UC Irvine students who were indefinitely suspended because of the protests have filed a lawsuit against the university.
"These suspensions were issued without any hearing, they were imposed immediately based on unsubstantiated and unspecified allegations," said Thomas Harvey, a civil rights attorney who represents the students.
The students want to remain anonymous for fear over their safety and retaliation.
"These interim suspensions have had serious impacts on our lives," a male student said. "Four of us who were expected to graduate this spring quarter, this past spring quarter, were unable to do so."
They claim the consequences for protesting violate the university's rules and their constitutional right to due process.
"I was barred from my campus job. I was not able to go back and so those are wages I lost from the university. We also have a lot of classes that we need to take to finish but the university is not allowing us to do so," a female student said.
Harvey added, "The students urgently need a resolution to this suit as classes are about to begin and they cannot complete their degrees because of these indefinite suspensions."
UC President Michael Drake called on leaders of its 10 campuses to ban camping, encampments and unauthorized structures.
The use of masks to conceal identities by protestors, blocking entrances to university buildings and refusing to reveal one's identity when asked to do so by university personnel will also prohibited.
UC Irvine declined to comment on the pending lawsuit.
But in a statement, spokesperson Tom Vasich said, "We do want to take the opportunity to reiterate that from the onset and throughout the course of the unauthorized encampment, any students participating were repeatedly notified that their actions were violating university policy, and that they would face sanctions including disciplinary measures such as interim suspension."
The female student who spoke during a press conference on Tuesday said, "No matter what repressive tactics they take, no matter how much they try to bog down on any students movements, the students are fluid. The students are united."
The university said there needs to be a balance between freedom of speech and the need to protect the safety and security of students and staff.
