Of the nine University of Florida students (UF) arrested at anti-Israel protests on April 29, six have now been suspended for breaking campus rules -- five for three years, and one for four years.
All six of them are appealing the administration, but Emily Sturge, a Campus Reform correspondent and a student at the University of Florida, does not think these justified repercussions are "too groundbreaking."
"I'm glad to see my university standing up to this," she tells AFN.
As she has followed the anti-Israel protests since they started breaking out after the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks, Sturge says administrators at her school have been "very clear" about the rules, and students knew they would face consequences if they failed to follow university policies.
"Young adults are learning the hard way that they're going to be held accountable for their actions," Sturge relays. "The University of Florida … gave them guidelines when it came to these protests. These students were allowed their freedom of speech; they were allowed their right to protest, but there were clearly prohibited actions, such as threats, harassment, violence."
The university did not step in, she says, until the protests escalated to that.
After the suspensions are served, the students will have to apply for readmission to finish their degrees at UF.
