Maryam Alwan figured the worst was over after New York City police in riot gear arrested her and other protesters on the Columbia University campus, loaded them onto buses and held them in custody for hours.

But the next evening, the college junior received an email from the university. Alwan and other students were being suspended after their arrests at the “ Gaza Solidarity Encampment,” a tactic colleges across the country have deployed to calm growing campus protests against the Israel-Hamas war.

The students’ plight has become a central part of protests, with students and a growing number of faculty demanding their amnesty. At issue is whether universities and law enforcement will clear the charges and withhold other consequences, or whether the suspensions and legal records will follow students into their adult lives.

  • disguy_ovahea@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    If they’re unable to get a sealed record at trial, they will be required to disclose all charges leading to conviction on any employment or housing application they complete. It’s horribly prejudicial of our system to allow the assumption that those with convictions are unworthy of employment or housing.

    • Cosmonauticus@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      System working as intended. All of this was intended to keep minorities (most black ppl) in a perpetual state of incarceration. Only now the groups deemed undesirable have expanded. We could’ve fixed it decades ago but the majority of this country (white ppl) were fine with it because it didn’t affect them.

      The epitome of its not my problem until it is

    • iAmTheTot@kbin.social
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      6 months ago

      Bernie Sanders was arrested at protests in his youth, iirc. If there is any glimmer of hope in this shit storm, maybe in forty years a few of these students will be leading s political movement together as senators and representatives.

      • disguy_ovahea@lemmy.world
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        6 months ago

        It’s restrictive to working in the private sector and renting an apartment. There is no disqualification for criminal background for a member of government. Trump can be elected if he’s convicted of any or all of the charges he’s facing. He’d just be barred from voting in the election.

        • bassomitron@lemmy.world
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          6 months ago

          Not entirely true. If he were convicted of treason, that’s a disqualifier based on the constitution.

          • jkrtn@lemmy.ml
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            6 months ago

            If you simply gift Clarence an RV the Constitution is no obstacle to committing crimes against America.

          • ✺roguetrick✺@lemmy.world
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            6 months ago

            Actually no. The supreme court’s decision explicitly said that clause was not self executing, meaning even someone convicted of treason cannot be disqualified without an act of Congress. It was one of the dumber decisions to come out of the court and that’s saying something.

          • jkrtn@lemmy.ml
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            6 months ago

            Disliking genocide puts them far above many congressmen already. Disliking it enough to be arrested is a great reason to vote for them.

            Unfortunately criminal arrests are only going to fuck up their lives. It takes a fuckload of money and backing to get into Congress.

        • Wrench@lemmy.world
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          6 months ago

          I thought being a convicted felon prevented him from being on the ballot. Or maybe that was for primaries?

          • disguy_ovahea@lemmy.world
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            6 months ago

            Nope. It just stops him from voting. Treason would exclude him from holding office according to the Constitution, but he’s not charged with treason.

    • NoIWontPickAName@kbin.earth
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      6 months ago

      Not exactly a bad idea for the people doing something like hiring a pharmaceutical delivery driver to be able to check who they’re hiring.

        • NoIWontPickAName@kbin.earth
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          6 months ago

          It’s horribly prejudicial of our system to allow the assumption that those with convictions are unworthy of employment or housing.