AUSTIN, Texas — At least one student is under investigation by the University of Texas at Austin for her role in pro-Palestinian protests on campus.
Anne-Marie Jardine said she got a letter from UT's Office of Student Conduct and Academic Integrity on Friday after claiming the university is withholding her transcripts and diploma unfairly. She now faces formal disciplinary action for her role in the April protests.
Jardine worried about how it could affect her academic future before learning the university started conduct proceedings. The letter states she violated university policies by failing to disperse during the protests. The university also said in the letter that she engaged in disruptive conduct, which included a copy of her arrest affidavit.
"Right before I'd gotten arrested, DPS, like, threw their bike at me. And actually, I have two scars on my thighs because the bike gears got stuck in my legs," Jardine said. "That man ... was grabbing me, like, twisting me, throwing me into the ground and then grabbing me by my hair and just pulling me through the lawn."
The letter doesn't say how long UT's conduct proceedings could take or what the resolution would be, despite the Travis County Attorney's Office dropping charges against Jardine and all the other protest-related cases from that day.
KVUE reached out to UT for more information on the investigation. A spokesperson said federal law prohibits the university from sharing information on specific student conduct cases, but sent the following statement:
“The University has made clear that we enforce institutional rules, and the conduct notices sent to students who violated our rules during protests on April 24th and 29th reflect that commitment. The actions and stated intentions of those participating in these protests stand in stark contrast to no fewer than 13 previous pro-Palestinian free speech events on our campus since October, which took place largely without incident. The University of Texas will continue to support the Constitutional rights to free speech of all individuals on our campus and will also enforce our rules, while providing due process and holding students accountable.”
Jardine said the arrest itself was traumatizing, but it's what's happening now that's angering her.
"I was going to order my transcript because I have to send it to NYU for like, my spot to be held," Jardine said. "And I was like, 'I need to get this now before they try to do anything.' And it said I had a hold. So I was like, 'Now what?'"
Jardine said the university put a hold on her transcripts and diploma due to a "compliance" issue but said officials won't tell her what it's for or how to resolve it, only telling her to call the Office of the Dean of Students. So Jardine went to the office in person. She said that's where things got confusing.
"The student who was like ... 'Oh, I see you have a $0 hold,'" Jardine said. "I was like, 'What does that mean? How can I have like a $0 financial hold? It's $0.'"
Jardine claims her compliance hold was changed to a financial hold with no balance. A UT spokesperson said that compliances or behavioral-type holds show up in the system as $0 financial holds, but they couldn't reveal how those holds typically get resolved.
Jardine said UT gave her a 24-hour window to get copies of her transcripts sent to NYU, but the status of her diploma is still unknown.