Graduating students who took part in the Gaza Solidarity encampment protest at UC San Diego in May might not be able to graduate with their peers this month.
The university placed their transcripts and degrees on hold pending an investigation for violation of the student code of conduct.
Why it matters
Tazheen Nizam, executive director of the Council On American Islamic Relations, San Diego, said the community is shocked that the school would penalize students for exercising their First Amendment rights.
"The arrest happened over a month ago," she said. "The university waited for a month, 10 days before graduation, to put a hold on their records, not allowing them to graduate at this time."
A rolling strike by unionized academic workers upset about the University of California's response to pro-Palestinian protests at various campuses has also impacted UCSD for several weeks.
On Friday, members of United Auto Workers 4811, the union representing more than 48,000 academic workers across the state, including at UCSD, held a rally in support of students' right to free speech.
“I think it's absolutely horrific that the university claims to be doing all these things to protect safety and protect education," said Maya Gosztyla, a graduate student researcher at UCSD and one of the rally organizers. "Clearly, all of us here in this crowd today think that this is unacceptable, and they need to let these students graduate.”
Rally attendees also marched to UCSD Chancellor Pradeep Khosla's home to demand justice and amnesty for the students affected, as well as his ouster.
Also on Friday, an Orange County Superior Court judge ordered academic workers at the University of California to put their strike on pause.
Closer look
Seven of 40 students arrested at the Gaza Solidarity encampment protest in May were set to graduate this month.
In a statement, the university said the administrative hold is standard procedure.
“The Board of Regents and the UC President have instructed campuses to ensure that all students who are arrested on campus for violating the law must go through the applicable student conduct process.”
UCSD said it can’t comment further because of student privacy laws.
