Members of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) partnered with the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee, Twin Cities Coalition 4 Justice (TCC4J) and members of University of Minnesota staff representing Educators for Justice in Palestine (EJP) on Friday, Feb. 28 to protest the disciplinary trials of five SDS members who participated in the Oct. 21 Morrill Hall occupation.
Last week marked the end of the University’s disciplinary hearings for five students involved in SDS’s occupation. SDS members said they have reduced certain conditions the University outlined in an informal resolution in December 2024 by petitioning and protesting.
The University originally ruled that the SDS members who participated in the occupation would serve suspensions of up to two and a half years and pay a restitution of over $5,500. However, according to SDS members, University officials may look to drop these students’ suspensions and decrease restitution payments.
Rahsaan Mahadeo, a faculty member and speaker for EJP, commended the students on trial for standing up for what they believe in, despite the University’s rulings.
“It’s very clear that the University is highly effective at punishing truth-tellers and many freedom fighters and leading us to believe right is wrong and wrong is right,” Mahadeo said in his speech. “So, what’s really important to remember is that, regardless of the decision of this hearing, the students have already been vindicated, and it’s us who’s going to vindicate them.”
According to SDS member Rowan Lange, who is among those involved in the disciplinary trials, the University is weighing the decision to drop the suspensions, with certain administrators now pushing for a restorative justice approach. Restorative justice is an approach often used for minor crimes such as vandalism and assault, which focuses on getting those charged to think critically about their actions and repair the harm done to victims through community service.
Lange said this would likely mean spending time with the administrators who were in Morrill Hall as the occupation began, but what exactly that may look like is unclear.
Additionally, Lange said the University may be reducing the restitution fine by roughly $2,050 per person after Lange said official damage estimates found the cost of damage to be less than previously expected.
Despite the sentencing changes, the group is still pushing for the University to drop the charges completely.
“The response to our act of protest from administration has been brutal,” Shae Ross, another member of SDS’s occupation, said in a speech. “Despite the University posturing as progressive, heralding the bravery of past organizers, we were met with arrests, suspensions, eviction and fines.”
The protest saw many speakers, including community members outside of the University. Noah Schumacher, a member of TCC4J, said he is skeptical of some of the claims the University made about police and protesters’ interactions during the occupation.
“I don’t buy for a second that these upstanding and principled students destroyed property or assaulted Rebecca Cunningham’s cops,” Schumacher said. “I believe the students who talked about how aggressive these cops were, as someone who experienced police brutality from the MPD.”
Despite Schumacher’s claims, the University ruled SDS members committed several acts of vandalism during the occupation, along with disruptive behavior and causing harm to others. In addition, one member of the protest, Robyn Harbison, is awaiting trial in the Hennepin County court system for fourth-degree assault of an officer for his actions during his arrest.
