During a Special Meeting of the University Senate on May 20, 2024, a resolution was passed, comprised of two motions, related to the recent student protests and encampment on the UConn Storrs campus, and the university’s response to these events.
Overview of Motions passed:
- To urge the President to send a letter to the Office of the State’s Attorney for the Judicial District of Tolland: 1) stating that the arrests and the judicial processes to date have been punishment enough for the students’ alleged actions, 2) conveying concern that a lengthy judicial process would constitute undue punishment, and 3) therefore urges the State’s Attorney to drop all criminal charges against the students arrested at the encampment; and, to issue a public communication stating that she will refrain from pursuing any disciplinary actions or retaliatory measures against any student, staff, or faculty member solely for participating in the protests, or for supporting the students.
- To form an ad hoc committee that will investigate and report back to the University Senate by the third Senate meeting of the 2024-2025 academic year, on: (1) the terms and mechanisms by which the police were authorized to arrest students at the encampment, (2) the processes by which police are deployed into university spaces (including meetings of the University Senate) and at what cost; and, (3) a potential process for gaining greater transparency around the University’s and the UConn Foundation’s investments in the interest of faculty governance and feasibility of divestment.
The full resolution can be read in full here.