Arizona State Suspends Students for Some Coronavirus Violations but Not Protests
“You cannot stop us, you cannot block us, we will not be silenced”
Things like parties, socializing and other average activities can get you thrown out of school, but not attending big protests. That’s different.
Campus Reform reports:
ASU suspends students for parties but not protesting
Arizona State University reportedly suspended six students for COVID-19 related violations after taking no disciplinary action against an approximately 100 to 200 person protest.
The Multicultural Solidarity Coalition planned an August 30 march against racial injustice, titled, “It’s a Movement, Not a Moment.”
Prior to the event, Arizona State University reported 161 positive cases of COVID-19 within the community out of 32,000 who were tested. ASU President Michael Crow issued a statement further clarifying university policies related to social gatherings after a spike in cases: “Students engaged – whether hosting or attending – in social gatherings on or off-campus that do not adhere to public health protocols will be subject to suspension”
Organizers of the protests planned to march regardless, however: “You cannot stop us, you cannot block us, we will not be silenced,” a statement from the Multicultural Solidarity Coalition said.
According to Arizona Central, approximately 100 to 200 marchers were in attendance and no arrests were made. The university confirmed to Campus Reform that no suspensions were made either. Days before the protest, the Tempe Police Department issued nine party citations, six of which were student-related. It is not clear whether the university took punitive action against students who were in attendance.
According to a report from ABC15, Arizona State officials said they would suspend six students for COVID-19 related infractions. The details of the suspensions are not known, but four of the students were suspended for off-campus violations while the remaining were suspended for on-campus violations. Crow submitted a letter to the Arizona Department of Health on the same day as the ABC15 report about these six suspensions, citing the four “apparent violations” for off-of COVID-19 restrictions at local establishments. That’s the same number of students who were reportedly suspended for off-campus COVID-19 violations.
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Comments
At least ASU now has responsibility to quarantine the students at the demonstration, so that it doesn’t spread Covid among other students who chose to follow the rules that day too.