AMHERST, Mass. (AP) — Since her arrest at a protest at the University of Massachusetts, Annie McGrew has bounced between two sets of hearings: one for the misdemeanor charges she faces in court and another for violations of the college’s code of conduct. .
This prevented the graduate student from working to finish her dissertation in economics.
“It has been a very difficult few months for me since my arrest,” McGrew said. “I never imagined this would be how UMass (administration) would respond.”
About 3,200 people were arrested this spring during a wave of pro-Palestinian camps protesting against the war in Gaza. Although some colleges have ended demonstrations landmark businesses with the students, or simply waited for them to leave, others called the police when the protesters refused to leave.
Many students have already seen these charges dismissed. But cases remain unsolved for hundreds of people on campuses that have seen the highest number of arrests, according to an analysis of data collected by The Associated Press and partner newsrooms.
Along with legal limbo, these students face uncertainty in their academic careers. Some remain steadfast, saying they would have made the same protest decisions even if they had known the consequences. Others struggled with the aftermath of the arrests, harboring doubts about whether they should remain enrolled in college.
Louis, Valencia Alvarez is waiting to learn what will come of the possible charges she and 99 others could face for an April 27 protest that lasted less than half a day at the University of Washington.
Twenty-three of those arrested were students. In June, the university gave them two options: They could face a hearing with the Office of Student Conduct or they could “accept responsibility” and waive further investigation. Alvarez chose the first option.
“I really don’t intend to stay quiet about this and I think that’s the point of the second option,” Alvarez said.
The manifestations swept public and private universities, on large and small, urban and rural campuses. As students return this fall, colleges are preparing for more protests against Israel’s military and Hamas, and strategizing about tactics, including when to call law enforcement — decisions that have had lasting repercussions.
Some university leaders said calling the police was the only option to end the protests that were disrupting the graduation ceremoniesdisrupted campus life and included cases of Anti-Semitic signs and language.
Student groups and some faculty members have criticized university leaders for inviting police into their gates. In his opinion, police actions often trampled on peaceful demonstrations with unnecessary levels of force.
What charges are worth pursuing?
The vast majority of cases against protesters — from students and faculty to people with no ties to the colleges — involve misdemeanors or lower-level charges. Examples include trespassing, failure to disperse, disorderly conduct, and resisting arrest.
More serious charges were filed against protesters who occupied a Columbia University campus, where some were initially detained on criminal trespassing charges. These were reduced to misdemeanors, and dozens of students had their charges dropped. In a decision criticized by Jewish groups, prosecutors stated that there was a lack of evidence linking them to acts of material damage and that none of the students had a criminal record.
Prosecutors in several cities are still evaluating whether to pursue charges. But in many cases, authorities have indicated they do not intend to pursue low-level violations, according to an AP analysis of data on campuses with at least 100 arrests.
In upstate New York, the Ulster County district attorney asked judges to dismiss 129 cases stemming from arrests at the State University of New York at New Paltz.
“I have concluded that it is best to dismiss these charges now and relieve all involved and the courts of any additional burdens, expenses and expenses of scarce public and judicial resources,” District Attorney Emmanuel Nneji wrote in June.
The New Paltz students said they were sitting with their arms intertwined when officers took them away on May 2.
“It was treated very brutally,” said Maddison Tirado, a student whose trespassing charge was dismissed. Tirado said protesters were treated as if authorities saw them “like little terrorists running around.”
One student protester, Ezra Baptist, said he was taken to a hospital with a concussion and a cut after being thrown forward and hitting his head during his arrest by state troopers. He was supposed to avoid looking at screens because of the injury and was unable to complete a class he needed to graduate in May.
State police said if anyone believes officers acted inappropriately, they should file a complaint so they can be investigated. Another law enforcement agency at the scene, the county sheriff’s office, said officers showed restraint and that one officer was injured when protesters threw bottles.
Tensions have risen on college campuses since October 7, when Hamas militants attacked southern Israel and killed 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and took around 250 hostages. Israel’s offensive has killed more than 39,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities.
Prisons put student diplomas on hold
For some students, the impact on their academic careers affected them more than any legal danger.
At the University of Washington, hearings for arrested students recently began but have not yet resulted in disciplinary decisions. However, Alvarez does not have the master’s degree in public health that he would have already obtained if not for his arrest.
Alvarez, who hopes to pursue social justice and community organizing, said he has no regrets. But that doesn’t mean the protest didn’t come at a cost.
“I want that degree,” Alvarez said. “I worked four jobs throughout my two years at Wash U so I could pay my tuition without taking out any loans.”
At Emerson College in Boston, 118 people were arrested when police were asked to enforce a city ordinance against camping on public property. All were charged with disturbing the peace and received “pre-charge diversion,” meaning no charges will be filed in exchange for 40 hours of community service, prosecutors said.
Owen Buxton, an Emerson student, said he suffered a concussion when police pushed him against a bronze statue. It was his second arrest of the semester for protesting the war in Gaza. The experience made it difficult for him to concentrate or participate in class.
“It stifled all my creativity – I didn’t do anything for months, which is not like me,” said Buxton, a filmmaker.
Emerson allowed students to pass and fail the semester after protests over the arrests.
A spokesperson for the Boston Police Department said anyone concerned can file a report with internal affairs. The department previously said there were no injuries during the Emerson arrests.
A reckoning over inviting police to campus
On the UMass campus in Amherst, students recalled a peaceful demonstration with singing and dancing before police arrived. It was the second tent the students set up that week. UMass Chancellor Javier Reyes said he ordered the sweep after discussions broke down with protesters.
“Let me be clear: Involving law enforcement is an absolute last resort,” Reyes wrote to the campus community.
The response from authorities, including 117 police vehicles on campus, disturbed protesters. McGrew remembers seeing police in riot gear attacking the crowd of students. A total of 134 people were arrested.
As those arrested were processed at the university’s sports arena, student Charles Sullivan, who is transgender, said he felt humiliated by campus police. One officer, Sullivan said, forced them to loudly describe their genitalia to gain access to a bathroom.
Sullivan has since decided to leave university to continue his studies, in part because of his arrest. Completing his master’s degree in anthropology, Sullivan will move to Ohio in the fall to pursue a doctorate rather than continue at UMass.
“I think I’m ready to get out of this place,” Sullivan said.
Many university organizations rebuked Reyes for deploying police, including the UMass faculty senate, which passed a vote of no confidence against the chancellor.
In June, Reyes announced a task force to review campus policies regarding demonstrations, including the land use policy that many inmates have been accused of violating.
The group is just beginning its work, said Anthony Paik, a member of the faculty senate and co-chair of the task force. He would have more information by the end of August, he said, just before the start of the new school year.
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Associated Press education coverage receives financial support from several private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find APs standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas on AP.org.
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Associated Press writers Jake Offenhartz in New York, Michael Hill in Albany, New York, and Michael Melia in Hartford, Connecticut, contributed to this report.
