On Saturday morning, some students affiliated with the encampment received a disciplinary email from the Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards alleging that the students have violated five specific statutes in the Student Code of Conduct.
The University alleges that students have violated five distinct codes of prohibited conduct, including “disruption of community,” “disruption of University activities,” “failure to comply,” “unauthorized entry or use of space” and “violation of operational rules.”
Brown has previously communicated with approximately 180 students as part of preliminary outreach from OSCCS, according to University Spokesperson Brian Clark. The University followed up on more specific steps in the conduct review process with the vast majority of those students, specifically ones without previous code of conduct violations, he wrote in a message to The Herald.
Some of the students who are not sleeping in the encampment say they have also received the letter. Clark wrote that students’ “presence at the unauthorized encampment is participation.”
This communication comes after the University notified approximately 130 students that they were facing active student conduct review cases.
The University did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The letter allows students to voluntarily accept responsibility for these violations and disaffiliate from the encampment. They would then be restricted from “non-essential, non-academic activities” through May 17 and placed on probation through Aug. 31.
If the student chooses not to accept responsibility, they will be required to undergo an Administrative Review Meeting. In this meeting, the students’ reviewers may escalate the charges to “separation from the University,” a longer probationary period, denial of off-campus housing permission or a delay to degree conferral for graduating seniors, the letter reads.
The letter also warns that as the encampment continues, compounding violations of the Student Code of Conduct may result in more severe disciplinary action, potentially including separation from the University.
The students have until Apr. 29 at 5 p.m. to accept the charges or proceed to an Administrative Review Meeting.
Such escalations in disciplinary actions have been common at other universities that have also seen encampments on their campuses. Barnard College originally suspended 53 students for their participation in an encampment at Columbia, but they have since reached a resolution with most of them. Seven protestors at George Washington University have been suspended. Cornell has suspended four students.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Story last updated April 27 at 12:55 p.m.
Owen Dahlkamp is a Section Editor overseeing coverage for University News and Science & Research. Hailing from San Diego, CA, he is concentrating in political science and cognitive neuroscience with an interest in data analytics. In his free time, you can find him making spreadsheets at Dave’s Coffee.
