At least four more students who protested and participated in a Tower sit-in on Nov. 7 were sent notices of disciplinary investigations on Monday, requiring them to meet with University administrators, according to emails obtained by the Texan.
This comes after the office filed similar notices against computer science sophomore Daniel Ramirez and College of Liberal Arts Ph.D. student Áine McGehee Marley on Nov. 17, according to emails obtained by the Texan. The two acted as spokespeople for Students for a Democratic Society, which organized the protest, and met with associate deans of students Aaron Voyles and Kelly Soucy outside of the provost’s office after the brief sit-in.
The sit-in started at a protest against the compact that President Donald Trump sent to nine universities, including UT, asking universities to follow certain requirements in exchange for financial priority. They also protested structural changes in the College of Liberal Arts that could result in combining smaller departments together.
Philosophy freshman Elijah Rivera, biology freshman Madelein Zajicek, history and civil engineering sophomore Parker Oehler and civil engineering senior William Terry all received disciplinary notices on Dec. 1 for their participation in the sit-in, according to the emails.
“I hope, first of all, that our charges are dropped,” Rivera said. “I hope students can understand that it really isn’t a crime to protest, and we did not do anything that was wrong or goes against the guidelines of what the school is about or what we do here at UT-Austin. And I want students to understand that they’re not in danger for sticking up for themselves and for being proactive.”
The notices alleged that around 20 students entered into the provost’s suite inside of the Main Building without authorization, demanding to meet with Provost William Inboden, the dean of the College of Liberal Arts, or other University leadership before they would leave the building. It also alleged that the students who received the notices engaged in disruptive conduct.
While the Texan only counted 14 students who were engaged in the sit-in, everyone else, besides Ramirez and McGehee Marley, exited the Tower after multiple requests from Soucy. The two SDS members exited the provost’s office and attempted to schedule a meeting.
The Office of the Dean of Students did not immediately respond to comment.
Zajicek said a meeting with Natalie Campbell, the senior associate director for student conduct and academic integrity, was scheduled for Monday, Dec. 8. However, since it falls during finals week, Zajicek said the proposed meeting has added stress at a particularly busy time of year. She has not received notice about rescheduling.
“It’s been super stressful and disorienting,” Zajicek said. “It came out of nowhere — weeks after Daniel and Áine got theirs. … I’ve just been stressing over it for hours every single day because we don’t know how this is going to go. We don’t know what the potential disciplinary aspects could be, and as a freshman, I just don’t know what’s going on, and it’s confusing.”