ATHENS, Ga. — The University of Georgia is facing more criticism for its handling of students arrested in anti-Israeli protests Monday.
Students said many of the 16 protesters arrested Monday were college students and that they were also suspended from classes at UGA.
"We were not preventing any students from attending class. We were not being disruptive," said Zeena Mohamed, who was among the organizers of Monday’s protest at UGA.
She said she was among the 11 students arrested while protesting the war in Gaza.
Mohamed said that when she got out of jail, she learned the university had suspended her from her classes and from all campus activities.
"Personally, I did not expect to be suspended," she told 11Alive.
Mohamed said the suspension from school adds an unknown challenge to her legal challenge as a defendant in a trespassing case.
"It doesn’t make any sense for their academic activities to be affected in this way," said UGA psychology associate professor Janet Frick. She said the suspensions were heavy-handed and unnecessary.
"Immediate suspension is not normal. And it doesn’t make any sense to me why students who are engaged in political protest are receiving a harsher punishment than a student would have if they cheated on a final exam in my class," Frick said.
"My professors have reached out to me to say the same thing, that they do think this is overly aggressive measures taken by the university," Mohamed said.
The UGA communications division did not respond to questions about the suspension of students.
