University of Wisconsin students Dahlia Saba and Vignesh Ramachandran will face disciplinary charges due to their involvement with the pro-Palestinian encampment that occurred last spring semester on Library Mall, according to Madison 365. UW has accused them of “planning and carrying out an encampment on university lands.”
These charges come after Saba and Ramachandran co-authored an opinion article published by the Cap Times. In this story, they criticized Chancellor Mnookin’s response to the protester’s demands and they called for UW to divest from assets linked to the war in Gaza. This article prompted the charges the university set against them, according to Madison 365.
Palestine Legal, a nonprofit organization providing legal advice to those who speak out regarding Palestinian issues, is defending the students. In an Instagram post by Palestine Legal and two others, they argue that UW’s investigation against Saba and Ramachandran lacks significant evidence and is based solely on the criticism presented in their op-ed article.
The cases against these students are a part of a nationwide trend of universities infringing on students’ right to freedom of speech, according to the Palestine Legal website.
Ramachandran’s Saba’s and Saba’s non-academic hearings will be held on Sept. 30 at 1 p.m. and Oct. 4 at 1 p.m. respectively, according to Madison 365. They both chose to make their hearings public. Additionally, they have signed FERPA waivers, which will allow for the disclosure of their student education records.
The location of hearings will be disclosed as the dates approach, according to Madison 365.
