Sophia Baltodano | Staff Writer
Six Florida International University students have been found responsible for violating the Student Conduct and Honor Code following a silent protest held during a March 13 event featuring FIU President Jeanette Nuñez and former Major League Baseball player Alex Rodriguez.
The protest, organized by members of Young Democratic Socialists of America at FIU and ICEBreakers FIU, involved students silently standing inside the event while revealing shirts reading “ICE OFF FIU” before leaving the auditorium and continuing the demonstration outside. Seven students were subsequently charged with disruption or obstruction of university activities and failure to comply with the directions of university officials..
The decision came a week after six of the seven students appeared before a conduct hearing panel to challenge the charges. While all seven students were originally charged, only six participated in last week’s hearing; the seventh student, James Kuhlman, missed last week’s hearing due to work, so his trial was postponed. No information is available yet on whether he will be found responsible.
According to the students, they were notified by email and instructed to complete a two-minute reflective video about FIU’s student standards by July 10. They said the decision letter states that failure to complete the sanction could result in a Student Conduct hold on their accounts, preventing them from registering for classes, receiving financial aid and accessing other university services necessary for enrollment.
Daley said she was disappointed by the panel’s ruling despite what she described as a thorough hearing.
“It feels like we went through this whole process, presented everything we had, and were still found responsible,” Daley said. “Then the outcome is making a two-minute video.”
Reinier Luna, another student found guilty, said he was not surprised by the university’s decision but was discouraged by it.
“I was let down when I saw the verdict,” Luna said. “After everything that was presented during the hearing, I hoped for a different result.”
Despite the ruling, both students said they plan to appeal the decision.
“We’re going to try to appeal,” Daley said. “We don’t really have high hopes, but we don’t want this to end here.”
Luna said the group is also exploring additional options if the appeal is denied, including seeking further legal action.
“We don’t want FIU’s decision to be the end of the story,” Luna said.
Edit: PantherNOW’s previous article, “Seven FIU students defend spring protest during conduct hearing” stated that all seven charged students participated in the conduct hearing. In fact, only six students appeared before the panel. The seventh student’s hearing was postponed because of a work conflict.
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