The three students who were arrested for demonstrating on an Osmond Building balcony during the National Governors' Conference Annual Meeting will have their hearing before the Office of Judicial Affairs this morning.

A mix of local activists held a rally yesterday in front of the Boucke Building, home of Judicial Affairs, to draw attention to the case.

Two students burned a Penn State flag, and a few others aimed personal attacks at university officials.

The basic thrust of the rally was that Judicial Affairs treats students unfairly. A bigger message centered on free speech, a theme highlighted this week at the First Amendment Festival.

University officials who watched the rally said the judicial hearing would be fair. They portrayed Judicial Affairs as an office that has stood the test of time and has gotten high marks from students in the past.

The three student activists facing charges — Justin Leto, Robyn Stephens and Michelle Yates — were all part of yesterday's gathering.

Students with a range of styles and viewpoints took a microphone to defend them.

Black Caucus President LaKeisha Wolf spoke about the importance of free speech.

"Be active in this community. It's so important. Don't let people speak for you," Wolf said. "Have a voice. Be a voice for your own people, for yourself, for your friends, for your community."

A few minutes later, another student used the same bullhorn to mock Terrell Jones, the vice provost for educational equity, for failing to investigate the Osmond case.

Bob Hyneman (junior-journalism), who is white, called Jones, who is black, "a lackey for the white guy in Old Main."

"Yes Missa Spanier, yes Missa Spanier, whatever you want, Missa Spanier," said Hyneman, raising the pitch of his voice. This comment was a very quick part of Hyneman's speech and the crowd did not respond to it.

Hyneman also accused Penn State President Graham Spanier of violating federal privacy laws by releasing a police report about the arrests. (The report, which a member of the group forwarded to The Daily Collegian, contains no new information.)

The flag burning came about halfway through the speech. Hyneman held up a nylon Penn State flag, and Leto held up a bottle of lighter fluid and a fire extinguisher.

Penn State sociology instructor Sam Richards, a friend of Leto's, said "Justin!" and made a motion of his hand under his neck encouraging Leto not to burn the flag.

Leto and Hyneman took turns squirting the flag with fluid and igniting it. Hyneman warbled "God Bless America" as the flag melted into stringy shreds.

"I know everybody was nervous about that," Leto said afterward. "I don't know why you should be."

Leto, who has demonstrated for a variety of local causes as part of a group called Students for Accountability and Reform, has become a spokesperson for the three arrested students.

He refers to them as the "Osmond 5," adding two more students who were arrested but who wouldn't identify themselves and weren't charged by the university.

The three students aren't accused of a serious crime, and the worst punishment the university could levy against them is probation, said Penn State spokesperson Bill Mahon.

The students and the university both agree on the basic events of July 10. The students stood on a balcony across from the HUB-Robeson Center to promote their protest meeting during the governors' event at Penn State.

It's unclear whether they had permission to be there — yesterday, Leto said they did and Mahon said they did not.

Mahon also said there were many other people who protested in the same area without getting arrested. Police went after Leto's group because they refused to leave an unsafe balcony, Mahon said.

After the arrests, police charged the three students with trespassing. A few days later, a Centre County judge threw out the charges. Then, Penn State accused the students of violating university rules, something that put the case before Judicial Affairs.

And yesterday, the anger some students feel toward Judicial Affairs was apparent in their picket signs.

Several of them said: "Protect Free Speech. Fire Joe Puzycki," naming the Judicial Affairs director.

"I think that's incredibly unfair. Joe's a hard working person," Mahon said.

Even Yates, who has her hearing today, agreed the signs weren't necessarily appropriate.

"I believe Mr. Puzycki is only doing what he's told by the administration," Yates said.

William Asbury, vice president for student affairs, said the protest itself illustrated free speech on campus.

"This is an example of freedom of expression and the kind of thing we were talking about yesterday," said Asbury, referring to the First Amendment Festival.

Asbury also said it has been many years since students have protested the Penn State judicial system.

At a forum on student freedom Tuesday night, Judicial Affairs Assistant Director Bill Huston said the office tries to protect students and is always open to suggestions for how to improve.

"We're not the enemy. We're not trying to anger people," said Huston, answering questions as part of a radio broadcast.

But yesterday, student protesters said the office has to be repaired.

"We believe the system should be perfect," said Brian Ecker (senior-electrical engineering). "You're talking about condemning students and their academic careers."

Earlier, Ecker asked a Collegian photographer to take pictures of two men he suspected were undercover police sent to spy on the rally. An investigation revealed them to be reporters for the opinion magazine Voices of Central Pennsylvania.