Margaree Little '09, one of the two audience members who threw pies at New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman during a lecture last month, has been suspended by the University for the upcoming fall semester.
Little said the University found her April 22 actions against Friedman to be in violation of its standards of student conduct, which stipulate that although "protest is a necessary and acceptable means of expression," it is not acceptable "when it obstructs the basic exchange of ideas." The guidelines specifically prohibit "directly or indirectly preventing a speaker from speaking - even for a brief period of time - (and) seizing control of a public forum for one's own purposes."
Seconds into Friedman's Earth Day lecture in Salomon 101, Little and an unknown male accomplice leapt from their front-row seats and threw pie dishes filled with green whipped cream at the author. Only the male's dish made direct contact with Friedman, who blocked it with his hand, but some of the contents of Little's dish also splattered on Friedman's head and clothing.
The two dashed out of the building after tossing pamphlets into the crowd attacking Friedman's views on climate change, but Little was stopped by Assistant Professor of Biology Stephen Porder, who told The Herald last month that he made "a citizen's arrest."
The incident has since brought Little attention on campus and nationwide, some welcome and some not. Though Little said her exploits "opened up a lot of dialogue," she added that she was unimpressed by many of her peers' reactions.
"I've seen some pretty disgusting comments on the Daily Jolt," Little said of the forum where Brown students can anonymously sound off on campus issues. "Most of those people are too cowardly to confront me in person."
Little said her punishment, which was handed down last week, is "clearly disproportionate" to her actions. She said she will be eligible to petition for readmission next spring.
She also pointed a finger at what she feels is Brown's skewed agenda.
"The University does nothing to hold people accountable for the real problems, like sexual assault, that happen everyday," Little said. "To issue such a severe punishment to an act of civil disobedience is an indication of what the University's priorities are."
Associate Vice President of Campus Life and Dean for Student Life Margaret Klawunn said she could not comment on Little's case specifically, but added that Little's comments were off the mark.
"The individual circumstances of any case are taken into account," Klawunn said. "Without knowing the individual circumstances of each case, you can't be in a position to make that kind of judgment."
She said the accusation of inadequate response to sexual offenders is "just not true."
After a violation of the code, Klawunn said, students wishing to petition for readmission to the University must "indicate some reflection on the incident."
"What we're looking for more generally is some reflection about how the original behavior violated our code of student conduct," she said.
Little, who plans to continue at Brown in the spring, said she has no regrets about the incident. "It was a successful action," she said. "I'm glad we did it."