On the front porch of United Campus Ministries, community leaders and advocates gathered Tuesday for a press conference to address the arrests of two students during last week’s “Your Disrespect Is Visible” protest.
A press release from UCM said the press conference would also address concerns about free speech and First Amendment rights.
Organizations represented at the conference included Black Panther Party Legacy, Students for Justice in Palestine, Ohio University’s Ohio Student Association, United Campus Ministry, Jewish Voices for Peace and United Academics of Ohio University.
Before the press conference, when asked about the next foreseeable steps with regard to the case, AJ Jones, president of Black Panther Party Legacy, spoke about the legal process.
“We do know there's another meeting happening mid-May for the two students that were detained,” Jones said. “(Ohio University Police Department) was not present today at the initial hearing, so I’m assuming they’re not going to be pushing the case. We’re just hoping it’s a smooth kind of process.”
Henry Turner, a board member of Students for Justice in Palestine, said the two students currently face a fourth-degree misdemeanor charge of criminal trespassing.
“I think (it's) ridiculous as Walter Hall is a space that we pay for with our tuition as students,” Turner said.
He also described what he hoped the press conference would accomplish.
“I hope this press conference achieves unity within the community against the type of oppressive tactics that the university has taken against the students demonstrating, as well as their dismissive and disrespectful conduct towards the union faculty … as well as other student demands,” Turner said.
The press conference began at 11 a.m. Speakers criticized the nature of the arrests and voiced dismay with the university administration’s transparency regarding student and faculty concerns.
“This was a protest that demanded the university administration listen to the voices of students and faculty,” Turner said. “The university responded with repression and dismissal, further revealing their true colors as an institution not interested in representing its community. These arrests are a part of a pattern of dismissal and disrespect by (OU) administration.”
Many of the speeches referenced previously voiced concerns regarding faculty unionization, dismissal of the student referendum passed two weeks ago, Senate Bill 1 compliance and a lack of transparency around student concerns with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Jones questioned the charge filed against the students.
“The charge is criminal trespassing, but how is it criminal to listen to student voices?” Jones said.
Tylar Ayers, vice president of OSA, criticized university leadership.
“Their actions are very telling of the university’s leadership priorities in regard to student dissent,” Ayers said. “Not only is the Ohio University administration complicit in the endangerment of students from ICE through their refusal to accept our ICE out demands, but they are now complicit in silencing and penalizing student voices.”
Matthew deTar, a faculty organizer for UAOU, discussed the case’s next steps.
“The case is now in the hands of Athens prosecutors, and it is time for local elected prosecutors to decide whether they want to support these radical conservative policies of the Ohio State Legislature, or if they want to support the U.S. Constitution,” deTar said.
Turner spoke about the impact of the arrests on the two students.
“There is a feeling that the university is trying to make an example out of student protestors, especially pro-Palestinian student protestors, with these arrests” Turner said.
Joe McLaughlin, an associate professor of English and a member of UAOU, also provided context for events prior to the arrests.
“UAOU had an action at the Board of Trustees on Friday morning and a rally outside afterward,” McLaughlin said. “Before the events on Thursday ever happened, we had arranged for a student speaker at the event. One of the student speakers was one of the students arrested. She showed up on Friday morning and spoke at our event. She was not silenced.”
Organizers said they could not comment on the legal case. They also remained firm that the protest was peaceful and not disruptive.
“There’s a public video of the Board of Trustees meeting,” Jones said. “You cannot hear the protestors outside, and the meeting continued fully.”
