UChicago will withhold degrees from four fourth-year undergraduate students due to their involvement in the pro-Palestine encampment on the quad earlier this month, according to UChicago United for Palestine (UCUP), one of the groups that organized the encampment
In an email reviewed by the Maroon, which was sent to a student from Associate Dean of Students in the Center for Student Integrity Jeremy W. Inabinet on May 24, the affected individual was told that the University would not confer degrees to students currently involved in the “Disciplinary System for Disruptive Conduct,” as their cases will not have been resolved before graduation on Saturday, June 1.
In the email, Inabinet wrote that the University initiated disciplinary proceedings after receiving “multiple complaints regarding the quad encampment.” The students whose degrees will be withheld were “identified as [individuals] that may have been involved in the matter,” according to Inabinet’s email.
Inabinet noted that the students will be allowed to participate in graduation ceremonies and Senior Week activities. The student will not have any other restrictions on their student privileges.
A petition calling on the University to award degrees to the four students has gathered more than 5,200 signatures as of May 30. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Illinois also issued a statement on May 30 “encourag[ing] the University to move swiftly to conclude any investigation related to student protests so that the students under investigation are not unnecessarily delayed from taking the next step in their lives.”
On their Instagram page on Wednesday, UCUP announced a rally during the University’s convocation ceremony on June 1.
“Graduation can’t go on as usual when it isn’t graduation for all of the class of 2024—and when there is NO graduation in Gaza,” the post reads.
In a statement published on UChicago News on May 26, the University outlined the disciplinary process for protest-related complaints.
“When such complaints are referred to the Disciplinary Committee, degrees may be withheld until the case is resolved in order to allow a complete process,” the statement reads. “However, as with many situations, for example when certain degree requirements are still being completed, students may participate in Convocation. Degrees can be conferred expeditiously, depending upon the resolution.”
Scott / Jun 3, 2024 at 6:03 pm
Why would these anti-colonial protesters that despise U Chicago and everything American even want their degree? Wouldn’t keeping their degrees expose them as hypocrites of the highest order?
Alum / Jun 3, 2024 at 10:47 am
It’s important to root out the notion that “activism” should come at the expense of serene and peaceful education. Anybody defiling our temple of the Muses should be kicked out. UChicago is where we peacefully bury ourselves in the library, and then intently discuss philosophy. It is not a 1960s recreation of cosplay activism and anybody importing that foul culture should find another school.
Ugh. / Jun 15, 2024 at 2:28 pm
Do people anywhere else deserve a serene and peaceful education, or is it just you and me? God forbid young people try to spark an informed dialogue about their uni’s role in depriving Palestinians of that. It’s tragic that you associate UChicago with hiding from challenging or uncomfortable ideas. It’s tragic that after all your time as a student here, you emerged as someone whose scrutiny is reserved for “kids these days”, while giving a pass to overpaid administrators and to pilots dropping US-made bombs on children. I can think of no better evidence of liberal arts being a failure and a farce, purporting to enlighten society while too often just producing anti-intellectuals of a wealthier and more arrogant strain. Thanks for the reminder I guess.
Matthew G. Andersson, 96 Boith / Jun 1, 2024 at 9:49 am
It may be noteworthy that the withholding action is directed at undergraduates only. The University corporation would refrain from doing so against professional school graduates because that is where the money and status are. An MBA, MD or JD student along with certain Ph.D graduates would never be subject to such discriminatory treatment, or risk, but under only the most extreme circumstances and then the corporation would still likely look the other way (as they do for themselves) as these graduates are linked to commercial benefactors and their network. The undergraduates are the least powerful group of constituents in institutional social and commercial standing, and in labor law, and represent the lowest long term financial yield for the corporation. They are treated accordingly. This speaks of course more to administrative weakness, while creating breach of their own contracts, and tort actions in part from deliberate retaliation versus an actual merit claim such as failing grades.
Observer / Jun 3, 2024 at 11:42 am
Can you share any evidence you have of this bias? Are there graduate protestors who have allegedly violated school policies of a similar or worse nature who have not been subject to these same actions?
If not, you are just speculating and showing your own bias.
indran / Jun 3, 2024 at 4:05 pm
Observer, first, how are we to determine what’s “similar or worse” when CSI declined to specify the allegations? the onus is on CSI to be more specific, not on Andersson. More importantly, the question of whether fourth-year undergrads are being singled out on the basis of their year risks distracting from the overarching question here: have Alivisatos and his administration dealt with student critics in ways that are consistent with Alivisatos’ professed dedication to institutional neutrality and free and open inquiry? As the ACLU and local officials have recognized, this withholding of critics’ degrees reeks of “punish first, investigate later”. It is part of a pattern of abuse of authority for political purposes, which includes responding to inconvenient ideas with force rather than reason, and using platforms like campus-wide emails & the Wall Street Journal to misrepresent critics’ demands and actions and give a PR makeover to the administrators’ reactions.
indran / May 31, 2024 at 11:02 am
Expeditiously? It took six months for a conclusion to be delivered from CSI re: the November sit-in! Why should these students and their families trust a promise of expeditiousness when the record shows the opposite? How ironic, too, that having their degrees withheld is not an official but a de facto sanction, yet it may do more material harm than even higher official sanctions like suspension. This is the latest escalation resulting from students wanting transparency to have free and open inquiry about their uni’s investments, and Alivisatos and his administration pushing back in increasingly political and anti-intellectual ways, since free and open inquiry is only tolerated here til it comes into conflict with Alivisatos’ higher priorities. I also find it telling that pro-Israel people I’ve talked to seem unbothered by the prospect of investment disclosure, and in fact some are eager to engage in debates about why this or that weapons manufacturer is a good investment. It’s Alivisatos and his administration who are most anti-sunlight because sunlight – and truly free and open inquiry – is the best disinfectant