Seven of the eight students charged for their roles in a heated protest of the October meeting of the Corporation received minor punishments Wednesday from a University Disciplinary Council panel. One student was exonerated of all charges.
The students, all members of the group Students for a Democratic Society, will be placed on probation for up to three semesters and will be required to perform 50 hours of community service each. Additionally, their parents will be notified of the charges and punishments, according to SDS members.
Four of the students must write a research paper on University governance, and another will have to write an additional paper about privacy. Each student will have the disciplinary action recorded on his or her internal University file, but the entry will be removed upon graduation.
Mike Da Cruz '09, one of the disciplined students, said he considered the punishments "a slap on the wrist." The only available punishment less serious than what the SDS members received would have been a letter of apology, he said. "I think we made it pretty clear that we felt that there was nothing to apologize for," he added.
The eight SDS members faced disciplinary action after members of the group tried to enter a closed University Hall during the Corporation meeting. They met resistance from Department of Public Safety officers and others, three of whom, administrators said, sustained minor injuries during the encounter. Partway through the Saturday morning meeting in October, protesters charged the building with an extension ladder, hoping to enter the building through a window, and others rushed the door. Eight made it inside University Hall and up the stairs to just outside the room where the meeting was being held but were not permitted to enter. Chancellor Thomas Tisch '76 stepped out of the meeting and accepted a petition from the students enumerating their concerns about the Corporation's exclusive decision-making procedures and lack of transparency.
All seven of the students were found guilty of Offense IX of the Standards of Student Conduct, which proscribes a "violation of operational rules governing various offices, departments and facilities of the University." Six were also found guilty of Offense II.a, which prohibits "actions that result in or can be reasonably expected to result in physical harm."
The students had also been charged with other violations, including failing to present identification and interfering with the rights of others and educational functions of the University, but they were cleared of those charges by the disciplinary panel that heard their case last week.
The eighth student, James Stefano '11, was found not guilty on all counts after he was able to produce witnesses who verified that he had been on the Main Green while the protest was occurring and had not attempted to enter University Hall, Da Cruz said.
The case was heard by a UDC panel, which consists of students, faculty and administrators. The panel was scheduled to hear the case from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Dec. 9, but ended up continuing proceedings late into the night and reconvening the next morning, said SDS member Chantal Tape '09, who was one of the charged students. The hearing concluded early that afternoon after 19 hours of proceedings. The UDC panel then deliberated, and the students received its verdicts Wednesday afternoon.
According to University policy, students may appeal any disciplinary action if they believe there has been a procedural error in the handling of the case or if there is new information pertaining to the case that was not available at the time of the hearing, said Vice President for Campus Life and Student Services Margaret Klawunn. Appeals are handled by the Office of the Provost.
Though they had not reached a final decision Thursday, the SDS members may appeal on procedural grounds, Da Cruz said. The students have expressed concerns that the University barred some of their witnesses from testifying.
"In any hearing, the chair and hearing officer can make decisions about the inclusion of witnesses," Klawunn said. "In this case the chair reviewed information and made some decisions about the value of certain testimony for the charges being considered."
Now that the disciplinary proceedings have concluded, SDS members look forward to refocusing their efforts.
"I'm glad we can get back to the serious work of making Brown a better, more responsive place," Da Cruz said. "It's unfortunate that we had to go through this draining and lousy process to get (the University) to give us the consideration they are supposed to."
SDS members will meet with University officials next semester, Klawunn said, "to help provide some constructive channels for their questions and concerns about University governance."
"I think it's definitely a step in the right direction and I don't doubt that we will have those conversations with administrators next semester," Tape said. "But I'm not going to be satisfied until we have the dialogue with the Corporation that we have been trying to have for eight months."
