Event organizer calls punishment ‘slap on the wrist’
A handful of Northwestern University students have been fined for their disruptive behavior during a campus speech by former Attorney General Jeff Sessions in November.
In early November, Northwestern University made national headlines after protestors disrupted Sessions and then its student newspaper apologized for covering the protest.
This month the school announced it issued civil disciplinary citations to some of the students involved.
“[A] small number of individuals have been issued citations by NUPD for disorderly conduct and interfering with the duties of a police officer. Each citation carries a maximum fine of $125. The citations are civil actions and do not create a criminal record,” reads a statement released last week by the private, Chicago-based university.
Video put out at the time of the incident showed protestors clashing with police as they attempted to storm the lecture hall to disrupt it. Posted by Young America’s Foundation, it shows campus police struggle with a small group of protesters. One activist repeatedly yells “Don’t touch her!” At one point a young woman loudly declares: “Black and brown lives have never fucking mattered to this university!”
The university statement reads the citations “were issued for conduct directed toward police, such as pushing, grabbing or kicking police officers as they attempted to perform their duties and secure the building.”
A representative for the Northwestern College Republicans, the organization that hosted the event, likened the measures taken by the school to a “slap on the wrist.”
“We’re grateful that the university administration has taken steps to discipline disruptive and uncouth protesters, but regret that the penalties levied are nothing more than a slap on the wrist,” NUCR chapter vice president Dominic Bayer told The College Fix in a Facebook message.
MORE: ‘WE ARE FIGHTING FOR OUR LIVES’: Protesters crash Jeff Sessions campus speaking event
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