CLEVELAND — The academic future is uncertain for some Case Western Reserve students involved in a pro-Palestinian encampment earlier this month. While the university temporarily withholds some diplomas, one group is planning an alternate commencement ceremony.
Friday, graduating students donned caps and gowns and walked through the CWRU campus with their families. Parents Maei Kamhawi and Phil Ogelsby said the graduation festivities brought mixed feelings.
“It’s sad that he’s not attending his own commencement, but I think this is much more impactful and memorable,” said Kamhawi.
The couple’s son, Jad Kamhawi Oglesby, will not be allowed to collect his diploma on Sunday during the official commencement ceremony. The graduating senior has been the face of a pro-Palestinian encampment at the university over the past month.
As campus protests elsewhere around the country turned violent, Jad’s parents said his involvement at CWRU made them concerned for his safety and academic future. The Huron County couple said their perspective shifted when they saw the demonstration in person.
“It kind of calmed our fears and also reinforced our notions that what our son was doing was the right thing,” Oglesby said.
Tents were removed from the Kelvin Smith Library (KSL) oval on May 9, more than a week after protesters first set up the campus encampment. CWRU police briefly detained the first demonstrators but later allowed them to remain if they followed certain ground rules laid out by the university.
Several days later, the university said those rules were not followed, and the encampment was no longer approved. Defying calls from the administration to leave, the group expanded its encampment before eventually disbanding it.
On Tuesday, the university issued persona non grata letters to several dozen protesters, barring them from campus and temporarily withholding diplomas from graduating students.
Friday, a group of students, alumni and community supporters hosted a press conference in response to the letters. They said they worried the uncertainty of the conduct review process could jeopardize eligibility for job opportunities, grad school and the bar exam.
“To be held in limbo like this is stressful, to say the least. And it’s risking a lot of our careers and a lot of our futures,” said Michael Grimm, a graduating CWRU law student.
In a statement issued Friday, the university said of 2,700 graduating students, 12 were still going through the conduct review process. Three students would not be allowed to participate in graduation activities “due to their express statements or actions threatening to disrupt commencement activities and their level of involvement in the unsanctioned encampment.”
According to the statement, decisions on the awarding of degrees would be made once the conduct process was completed.
“Though the timing of the encampment and protests left minimal opportunity before degree conferral to complete investigations and hold conduct hearings, the university’s Office of Student Conduct has moved expeditiously to determine graduating students’ ability to take part in commencement-related activities,” the statement said. “The office also worked with students who were living in residence halls, were enrolled in dining plans or had on-campus jobs to ensure they had continued access to all necessary services, regardless of PNG [persona non grata] status.”
During Friday’s press conference, the group doubled down on calls for the university to cut ties with Israeli interests and grant amnesty to students who participated in the pro-Palestinian demonstrations. Some said they felt as though the administration had been ignoring one side of the conflict raging in the Middle East.
“As a Palestinian student on campus, and for many others who are afraid to speak up, we still don’t feel like the university has actually acknowledged our suffering, our people’s suffering,” said CWRU student Yousef Khalaf.
“It’s clear that the conduct policy is being utilized to harass Palestinian students and to harass Palestinian advocacy here on campus,” Jad Kamhawi Oglesby added. “What is the legacy of Case Western Reserve University? What lessons have we imparted onto our community and to our students?”
His parents said they were disappointed with the administration but did not regret sending their son to Case Western.
“I’ve had conversations with Jad about this - ‘don’t let this spoil your 4 years at university’ because he really loves this university,” Oglesby said.
The university has implemented a variety of security measures for all graduation activities, including requiring advance tickets for many of the events.
The protest group announced Friday it will hold its own alternate commencement ceremony at the Wade Lagoon at 1 p.m. Sunday.
