7 students arrested during May 1 protests will not face disciplinary action on campus

UB will not charge the seven students who were arrested during the incident The pro-Palestine demonstration last week with violations of the student code of conduct, said university spokesman John Della Contrada The spectrum Thursday evening.

The seven students — plus eight protesters unaffiliated with the university — were arrested on May 1 after refusing to disperse at sunset. The UB administration claims that the demonstrators violated the rights of the university Picket and assembly politicsthat prohibits “overnight gatherings.”

In one opinion On the day of the protest, the university announced that it could not “confirm or comment on disciplinary actions taken against specific UB students” due to federal educational privacy law, but left open the possibility of taking disciplinary action against arrested students.

“Generally, the university has an on-campus judicial process to address suspected violations of the university’s student code of conduct,” the statement said. “Should a student’s action be determined to be a violation of the Student Code of Conduct, a variety of sanctions may be imposed on the student.”

Della Contrada said the arrested students “were advised that as UB students they must follow the guidelines for picketing and demonstrations as well as the UB Code of Conduct.”

Those arrested were charged with “a variety of charges” under New York state law, including loitering, trespassing, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, according to a statement University statement dated May 2nd. All individuals arrested were released with appearance tickets to Amherst Town Court.

It remains unclear whether any of these criminal charges and violations of state law have been dropped. A spokesman for the Erie County District Attorney’s Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday evening.

The picket and assembly policy was last changed in April 2020. Since then, UB administrators have not used them to remove protests that continued beyond sunset, including protests against it Michael Knowles’ And Allen Wests Speeches on campus in 2023 and 2022. Both protests lasted well past sunset, and Knowles’ speech drew traction Hundreds of demonstratorsincluding Western New Yorkers not affiliated with the university.

According to UB, 15 protesters were arrested and one protester and two police officers were injured during the May 1 pro-Palestine march. A protest organizer from the UB department “Students for Justice in Palestine” reported The spectrum that 18 people were arrested and two demonstrators were injured.

Protesters had tried to set up camp outside Hochstetter Hall earlier in the evening, but they tore down their tents after police ordered them to do so. The UB policy expressly prohibits “indoor and outdoor storage.”

The arrests and police response on May 1 led to several demonstrations in the following days. Hundreds marched on Friday, May 3, on campus to call for UB to withdraw from Israel and to protest police treatment of demonstrators. Different groups held pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel rallies on Sunday, Monday and Thursday this week.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Sol Hauser contributed to this story.

Grant Ashley is the Editor-in-Chief and can be reached at [email protected]

GRANT ASHLEY

Grant Ashley is the editor-in-chief of The spectrum. He has also reported for NPR, WBFO, WIVB and The Buffalo News. He enjoys going on long bike rides, baking with his parents’ ingredients, and recreating Bob Ross paintings with colored pencils. He can be found on the platform formerly known as Twitter as @Grantrashley.