UM students suspended for sit-in
By BETSY COHEN of the Missoulian
A three-day suspension from the University of Montana: That's the consequence for seven of the eight UM students who staged a sit-in protest in the Office of the President earlier this month.
On Tuesday, seven of the student protesters who were arrested on April 16 for trespassing and disorderly conduct met with UM Dean of Students Charles Couture to determine what their punishment would be for violating the school's Student Conduct Code.
The eighth student will meet with Couture on Wednesday, but the penalty will be the same, said Ella Torti, a UM sophomore who was the last student to meet with Couture on Tuesday.
Earlier in the day, Couture handed down a five-day suspension for some of the students who protested UM's refusal to support an anti-sweatshop policy, but by late afternoon the sanctions changed.
“He said everyone will get three days because he wants to be consistent,” Torti said.
Because of confidentiality issues surrounding the matter, Couture said he could not talk about the specifics of the meetings. However, the students' punishment won't become part of their academic record, he said.
Kendra Kallevig, the only graduating senior among the activists, said her meeting went well.
“Couture was very amicable. He let me pick the days so I don't have to worry about missing finals and that it doesn't infringe on graduation,” Kallevig said. “It's more symbolic on the university's part. They have to ensure there has to be some repercussions.
“I think that's fair.”
The students got sideways with campus administrators and UM regulations when in the name of civil disobedience, they took over the office of UM President George Dennison while he was on a trip to Asia.
Their goal was to bring awareness to an anti-sweatshop policy called the Designated Suppliers Program, which Dennison won't support until the U.S. Department of Justice rules the program doesn't violate antitrust laws.
The students, who belong to Students for Economic and Social Justice, want UM to join dozens of other prestigious American universities in supporting the program, which would enforce certain codes of conduct and monitor factories that are being paid to manufacture university apparel.
Several of the students have already appeared in Missoula Municipal Court, pleading guilty to the charges. They were fined $50 for trespassing.
Prairie Wolfe said she is still mulling over the three-day suspension she was handed on Tuesday.
“I'm not really sure what to make of this. We do still have the ability to appeal,” said the 21-year-old ecology major. “I'm not sure how I feel about the suspensions at this point.”
At times in her meeting, Wolfe said, she was frustrated by Couture's patronizing tone.
“He was trying to get us to admit that we were at fault and that what we did was not a mature decision. He was inferring that we weren't mature enough make our own decisions,” she said. “To me, that is personally insulting. To us, this was an adult, mature decision.
“In our country of democracy, this is how things get changed. You have to bring attention to injustice and if people don't listen to more diplomatic ways, then you have to step up your action.”
Members of Students for Economic and Social Justice have been working to change UM's stance on the anti-sweatshop program for about a year, and have met several times with UM's top administrators to discuss the matter.
Although none of the students want to be suspended from UM, they won't stop working to end human rights violations around the globe, Wolfe said.
“We don't plan on fading into the background,” she said. “However, we didn't expect a liberal arts university to suspend students for thinking critically and having the motivation to take change into their own hands.”
Torti had her own take on the day's outcome: “The dean made it clear that while we are passionate about a cause, we still need to abide by the Student Conduct Code.
“But I am of the mind that the university has a purchase code of conduct it signed onto, and they need to be held accountable for that. There is a moral code of conduct we need to be responsible for.”
Kallevig said she's concerned the story has become more about the students' arrest than the issue that prompted the activism.
“We want this community to know what workers' rights are all about and to continue standing up and getting in trouble for the people who can't stand up for this issue,” she said. “We need to stay focused and make sure the campus doesn't turn its back on this.”
Couture said he was impressed with the students, all of whom were articulate and thoughtful during the day's meetings.
“I thank the students for talking about their caring passion for their fellow man,” he said. “I think they are well intentioned and I think they deserve to be credited for being well intentioned and giving so much of their time to a very important cause around the world.
“However, I certainly don't condone the violation of the Student Conduct Code. We have to maintain reasonable behavioral standards, otherwise we couldn't continue as a university.”
