University Of Florida Doles Out Suspensions Of Up To Four Years For Arrested Pro-Palestinian Protesters

The University of Florida (UF) suspended six students ranging from three to four years on Tuesday due to their alleged behavior at an anti-Israel protest, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

Chris Summerlin, UF’s dean of students, overruled sentencing recommendations by university hearing bodies that examined each case and suggested lighter punishments such as probation or shorter suspensions, according to the Tampa Bay Times. The protesters were first arrested in April due to allegedly defying university guidelines prohibiting disruptive and violent behavior in a campus demonstration in protest of the war between Israel and Hamas.

Four of the students — Keely Gliwa, Tess Segal, Roseanna Bisram and Augustino Pulliam — were arrested for allegedly failing to obey police officers, with Gliwa, Bisram and Pulliam also being charged with resisting officers without violence, according to the Tampa Bay Times. Another student, Parker Hovis, was charged with trespassing, while UF student Allan Frasheri was charged with felony battery on an officer.

Frasheri was suspended for four years, while the rest were suspended for three. Gliwa, a master’s student who was expected to graduate in May, also had her diploma withheld, according to the Tampa Bay Times. All of the students will need to reapply to the university if they intend to continue their education following the suspension.

Three others were arrested at the protest but were not current students, including Charly Pringle, a student at the nearby Santa Fe College, who was suspended from her school over the incident, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

UF is one of many universities that clashed with protesters following Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel and is part of a growing number that have issued harsh punishments to protesting students. Yale, Columbia and New York University all saw mass arrests following violent protests and encampments, and Vanderbilt University suspended multiple students who allegedly assaulted a police officer at a protest.

“People don’t get to spit at cops, you don’t get to barricade yourselves in buildings — you don’t get to disrupt somebody else’s commencement. We don’t allow protests inside,” UF president Ben Sasse told CNN in May about the protests. Sasse made the university’s stance on protesters clear in a memo released prior to the arrests that outlined prohibited behavior and potential consequences, including issuing trespasses and suspensions.

UF did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.