At the University of Denver faculty senate committee’s final meeting of the quarter on Friday, opinions were divided among professors as to whether students who were disciplined during last month’s pro-Palestinian encampments should be pardoned.

Several faculty members argued that the around 20 students should not be punished for exercising their right to freedom of speech.

“Their academic lives are at stake,” said one faculty member, who wondered if it was worth holding back a student’s degree just because a student, for instance, refused to show identification at the encampment when asked.

At immediate issue is whether that group would be able to get their semester grades or even be allowed to graduate this week.

The University of Denver graduation ceremony is Friday after finals are Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

The protests emerged in response to civilian Palestinian deaths at the hands of Israeli forces following an unprovoked attack by Hamas — an Islamist militant group labeled a terror organization by several countries, including the U.S. The group had killed 1,200 people in Israel and took roughly 250 others hostage. Retaliatory strikes by Israel and the ground offensive killed roughly 35,000 people so far, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza.

A vote and feedback on an encampment resolution policy was taken at the conclusion of the three-hour Zoom, but the results were not immediately available.

A Freedom of Expression Committee will take feedback from the faculty and construct a permanent report.

Some faculty were critical about the fact that they only have the summer to come up with the policy, but “we don’t have a ton of time to get that through,” said University of Denver Provost and Executive Vice-Chancellor Mary Clark, emphasizing that faculty comment was important to consider no matter when it is considered.

At issue included the clarification of I.D. checks, whether to have faculty marshals to be present at future demonstrations and whether the Denver Police department should get involved. There was concern about whether counter-protesters should be punished for damaging buildings and injuring people.

“What if someone is assaulted?” one member asked.

One said that a resolution won’t heal the feeling division  on campus.

Another remarked, “We wouldn’t want to see a KKK demonstration treated the same way as a Pride demonstration.”

Faculty names were not available because of the virtual format of the meeting.

Though faculty will make recommendations on the policy, the Chancellor will decide what the final policy will look like, according to Clark.

Also discussed at the meeting was the fact that though some Jewish students took part in the demonstration in support of Gaza, many others and also Jewish faculty fear for their safety because “the precarious environment” on campus. Some students, according to their professors, were considering transferring from the university due to feeling unsafe there.

Central to these concerns are the fact that enrollment for the coming year may be down by at least 300 students by the time summer enrollment decisions are in, according to DU Chancellor Jeremy Hefner. At $38,000 per student, this translates to $9 million in lost tuition money.

More vandalism

The vandalism which occurred on campus last month has now spread off-campus to the homes of some faculty. In an email sent to staff by Chief of Safety Michael Bunker, someone splashed red paint and graffiti on the homes of two deans.

“In addition, the Cable Center, Community Commons, Sturm Hall, and Knudson Hall have al been vandalized over the past few days,” Bunker noted in the June 5 email.

No one has been arrested or cited in the vandalism and Bunker is asking anyone with information on the multiple incidents to report them to the Campus Safety emergency line at 303-871-2334.