At least 13 students and one staff member are facing disciplinary action following the early morning LAPD sweep of the anti-war encampment at Alumni Park, a media liaison with USC Divest from Death told Annenberg Media.
According to the liaison, the 13 students were notified via email that they had been placed on interim suspension from the university. Two of the students were also told that they would need to move out of their USC housing by 5 p.m. tomorrow. The staff member, who is also a USC alumnus, is facing disciplinary action.
“The disciplinary action process has been vague and feels intentionally drawn out,” the media liaison told Annenberg Media. “It feels like an effort to intimidate protesters.”
“Interim protective measures” can be taken by the university after it has received reports of student conduct violations but before it has made a final decision on discipline, according to the USC Student Handbook. Interim suspension includes exclusion from all classes, a prohibition on participating in university-sponsored activities and an exclusion from university premises. There are three days left of finals.
The letter, signed by Emily Sandoval, the associate vice provost for student life, read that suspended students may complete their final exams if their instructor approves them to do so remotely or virtually. The only condition under which they may enter campus is if they are seeking urgent medical treatment at a healthcare facility.
Another version of the letter obtained by Annenberg Media was sent to a student who had been detained earlier in the week.
Prior to today’s sweep in the early morning hours, students who had been arrested for criminal trespassing during the April 24 sweep were notified in an email from the university that “any further violations of university policies … [would] result in further discipline up to expulsion as well as an immediate ban from campus.”
The email specified that violating university policies against camping, vandalism and defying DPS directives, among others, would be grounds for disciplinary action.
It was not immediately clear whether those facing the disciplinary actions were at the encampment during either the April 24 or this morning’s sweep. According to the liaison, the suspensions were “not consistent.”
Members of the USC Divest from Death Encampment previously told Annenberg Media that Folt said the protesters were not at risk of facing academic consequences for their participation in the protests during the first day of negotiations on April 29.
The meeting was recorded by USC Divest and Folt’s legal team, the liaison said. At one point during the meeting, protest organizers said Folt told them she “would never” impose academic consequences on the student protestors.
The university did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Annenberg Media.