Activists at universities across the nation are finding themselves in similar situations as the 31 Penn State fair labor activists who are officially facing charges for a sit-in.
Kendra Kallevig, the northwest regional organizer of United Students Against Sweatshops (USAS), said she and eight other students at the University of Montana were arrested for a similar sit-in protest on April 16. One of the students arrested was from the University of Washington, she said.
Kallevig said the students staged a sit-in inside a campus building for more than six hours.
“We were fined $100 and the $50 court fee, but we’re all choosing to do 30 hours of community service instead,” Kallevig said. “We’re all threatened with suspension and we meet with the dean of students tomorrow.”
Billy Schweig, of Appalachian State University, said he was arrested with five other individuals on April 11 for sitting in at the chancellor’s building for 56 hours straight.
“We were charged with first-degree trespass and disorderly conduct, both misdemeanors,” Schweig said.
Schweig said the group is hopeful that the university will not follow through with the charges.
“The administration has had a lot of [public relations] problems around just these arrests. Our thought is they’re trying to save face,” Schweig said. “We’re hoping they’ll tell the [district attorney] to drop charges.”
The longest sit-in in USAS history has been going on for nearly two weeks at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said Salma Mirza, a protestor and UNC senior. The protest includes a sit-in inside a campus building, which has been going on since April 17, she said.
“Due to our sit-in, the chancellor was originally saying he wasn’t going to consider the DSP at all, and he has reversed his decision,” Mirza said. “An administrator asked us if there is any way to get us out of here without arresting us and adopting the DSP. We said ‘no.’ ”
Mirza, who hasn’t been to class since she began the sit-in, said the students are under non-stop police watch.
“During the weekdays, students are allowed to come and go,” Mirza said. “Over the weekend, no one’s able to bring us food. We don’t expect it to be a hotel room; the lights don’t turn off.”
But Mirza said the students are committed to their goal despite the conditions.
“It’s tough. People are tired. People are sick,” Mirza said. “But you know, people suffer much worse conditions on our campus supply chain.”
