Students relieved, but confused after UChicago drops their disciplinary cases related to protest
CHICAGO (CBS) -- More than three months after student-led protests caused a big disruption at the University of Chicago, the school is dropping disciplinary cases against several students.
An encampment was set up on the Main Quad at UChicago in the spring—in one of dozens of protests at college campuses over the country that condemned the War on Gaza, took up the pro-Palestinian cause, and demanded a cease-fire.
The protest lasted eight days until University of Chicago Police officers in riot gear disbanded the encampments.
The school then refused to give degrees to several students who were involved—but let them take part in graduation.
"My life kind of froze over the past few months, which was really hard," said former U of C student Youssef Hasweh, "and withholding my degree had severe consequences."
Hasweh felt both redemption and relief upon finally receiving his degree from the University of Chicago.
He was among five seniors who learned just before graduation that their degrees were being withheld pending school disciplinary cases that were opened—investigating their roles in the pro-Palestinian encampments that were first erected on campus on April 29.
According to Hasweh, the graduating students—along with six other students who received formal complaints tied to the protests—were in the dark as to why they were filed in the first place when no evidence or specific details were provided.
"There wasn't a single complaint filed against the 11 of us that included any of our individual names," Hasweh said. "I had to go through this process have my degree withheld, and I reviewed the complaints, and my name wasn't in a single complaint."
Despite initially being denied degrees, the students were allowed to participate in a commencement ceremony that was marred with walkouts—and eventually led to some students getting pepper-sprayed by campus police.
Since then, all 11 cases have been dismissed, with the university now being accused by the student coalition group University of Chicago United for Palestine of committing multiple procedural violations—including surveilling a graduate student off campus.
"It's so insane to think that a case can be dismissed, and you still don't know what you did wrong," Hasweh said.
In a statement to CBS News Chicago, while not addressing the claims, a spokesperson for the University of Chicago outlined the university's faculty-led disciplinary system for disruptive conduct—where all complaints are vetted and assessed.
The spokesperson explained that the on-campus protests prompted "multiple formal complaints alleging that students violated University policies. In keeping with federal privacy laws, we do not release information about individual student disciplinary matters."
As for Hasweh, he said even though he is no longer a student at the U of C, he plans still to be affiliated with the ongoing fight against the War in Gaza.
Many students here expected to take part in protests happening next week at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.