On February 8th, 2010, the UC Santa Cruz judicial affairs office sent approximately 45 emails to various undergraduate and graduate students. The emails present a list of ten of the university codes of student conduct that had been allegedly broken by these students; these emails were identical, all including allegations of theft, destruction of property, disorderly or lewd conduct, among other codes said to have been broken at the November 2009 occupation of Kerr Hall at UCSC. The letter requested that the student in question meet with the judicial affairs officer, Doug Zuidema, to discuss the allegations.

Then on April 7th, 36 students received a resolution stating that they were each responsible for breaking all ten codes and would need to pay restitution. Of the 36 students, including a journalist and a negotiator, seven are faced with not only a restitution of $944, but other sanctions as well, including being immediately barred from campus, at least one suspension, and an expulsion. Nine of the students that originally received a judicial summons in February were not found responsible for breaking the codes. The university offers an appeal or a formal hearing process and has given these students a week to respond. The students are required to pay $944 each to Kerr Hall by June 30, 2010.

The Kerr Hall occupation that had started on a Thursday and ended on a Sunday saw hundreds of individuals pass through its doors, ranging from students, teachers, community members and media. However, sanctions have targeted a small amount of students handpicked by the administration. Many students have requested to be given evidence that they were responsible for the charges, such as theft and property destruction. The judicial affairs office told these students they would be contacted and shown evidence of their crimes, only later to indiscriminately fine them without producing any evidence.

Read More | Why the University is Trying to Expel Me | Friday April 16: EMERGENCY RALLY Against Student Repression | SUA Resolution Against Student Sanctions at UCSC | Support Requested for UCSC Students, Faculty and Staff | Students rally, demand end to UC’s kangaroo court system | Over 100 UCSC Faculty Sign Letter Protesting Campus Judiciary Process | UCSC Faculty Press Conference

See also: SFSU: Eleven Students From Budget Cut Protests Face Fines of $744.25 Per Student | UC Berkeley Rally in Defense of Students Facing Suspension