Sophia Baltodano | Staff Writer
More than three months after a silent protest during an event featuring FIU President Jeanette Nuñez and former Major League baseball player Alex Rodriguez, seven Florida International University students appeared before a conduct hearing panel on June 19 to challenge Student Conduct and Honor Code charges filed against them by the university.
The hearing, held at the Student Health Center on Modesto A. Maidique Campus, stems from a March 13 demonstration organized by members of Young Democratic Socialists of America at FIU and ICEBreakers FIU. The protest was part of a broader campaign opposing FIU Police Department’s participation in the federal 287(g) program, which authorizes trained local law enforcement officers to perform certain immigration enforcement functions like detaining individuals suspected of being undocumented.
The three-hour hearing took place on June 19 included testimony from university officials, FIUPD and student witnesses. Andrew Caro, one of the seven students facing charges, described the hearing as thorough and said both sides were given an opportunity to present evidence and question witnesses.
“Overall, I believe that the conversation and the actual hearing went very well,” Caro said. “I believe the panel was very empathetic and very receptive to what we were doing.”
According to students involved in the demonstration, approximately 15 to 20 protesters entered the event and sat among audience members attending the conversation between Nuñez and Rodriguez. About 40 minutes into the event, the students stood up simultaneously and revealed shirts reading, “ICE OFF FIU,” which had been concealed beneath jackets and outer layers of clothing. After standing silently for roughly two to three minutes, the students left the auditorium and continued their demonstration outside.
Although organizers estimate that roughly 15 students participated in the action inside the event, only seven students later received notices from FIU’s Office of Student Conduct and Academic Integrity informing them that they had been charged under university conduct policies.
Kaitlyn Daley, a junior studying psychology, said the timing of the charges added additional distress during a demanding part of the semester, “The charges came out during finals weeks. I was stressed out of my mind, I had five classes, I was working and I was like, oh my god. Now I have to worry about this.”
The students were notified weeks after the protest and have spent the spring and summer semesters preparing for the conduct process.
Much of the hearing focused on whether the students’ actions disrupted the event and whether university officials gave clear instructions to demonstrators before they left the auditorium. Gatto said students challenged testimony presented by witnesses and pointed to evidence reviewed during the hearing.
“According to the police body cam footage, and according to all reports that were listed, that was not the case,” Gatto said. “We were never told anything from any university official or personnel to do anything. We left of our own volition.”
Gatto also said students questioned testimony from a witness who had previously written that the demonstration was not disruptive during the protest, yet said otherwise during the hearing. Students argued that the protest remained silent throughout its duration and that the event continued after they exited the room with no interruption.
Tania Cepero Lopez, an assistant teaching professor with the English department, who attended the March event and testified at the hearing, said the students remained silent during the demonstration and were not instructed to leave the auditorium before exiting on their own.
“When we were inside the building, we were just in the audience for the event,” Cepero Lopez said. “A group of students stood up, and they showed shirts that said ‘ICE OFF FIU.’ Everything was silent.”
Cepero Lopez said the students exited the auditorium and later moved to an outdoor area for more demonstrating.The purpose of the action was to raise awareness rather than disrupt the event, she said.
Adam Saper of the Community Justice Project, who represented the students during the hearing, argued that the demonstration constituted protected political expression under longstanding Supreme Court precedent governing student speech.
“What the students engaged in was political expression,” Saper said. “Moreover, it was a silent political expression.”
Saper cited the standard established in Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, a 1969 Supreme Court case involving student protest to show how student expression is generally protected unless it materially and substantially disrupts school operations; he stated that the March 13 demonstration did not meet that threshold.
Beyond the legal arguments, several students said the conduct process has affected their academic and personal lives. Months passed between the demonstration and the hearing, leaving students uncertain about the outcome while continuing their coursework and campus involvement.
“It has affected my grades as well, to be honest,” said Katya Trapathi, a sophomore computer engineering student by. “I haven’t been able to pay attention to my classes because there’s been so much to think about with the conduct case.”
Caleb Dean, a freshman political science major, said the experience has been particularly challenging as a new student at FIU and new to Miami.
“It was really disheartening to see that an institution that prides itself on diversity and inclusion would allow the deputization of officers at an international university,” Dean said.
The conduct hearing panel will make a decision in 14 days from the end of its hearing.
Additional reporting by Candela Maceda.
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