"The 17 students arrested for trespassing at Madison Hall after staging a sit-in protest last month were found guilty in an open University Judiciary Committee trial yesterday.

All of the students were found guilty of violating three sections the UJC Standards of Conduct: unauthorized entry into or occupation of University facilities, intentional disruption of University activities and failing to comply with the directions of University officials acting to enforce any of the other Standards of Conduct.

The students must write a letter of apology and thanks of at least 250 words to the University Police Department, another letter of at least 250-words to the five employees whose work was interrupted during the sit-in and a 500-word letter to the administration thanking them for “their willingness to facilitate dialogue during the sit-in.”

The letters must be completed by May 15. Vice Chair for Sanctions Gavin Reddick will read the letters before forwarding them on, UJC Chair Raleigh Anne Blank said.

The convicted students staged a four-day sit-in in the administrative building last month in the hopes of having the University implement what the protestors term a “living wage” of $10.72 an hour for all employees at the University.

According to Fourth-year College student Hannah Rubenstein, the protestors were told by Vice President for Student Affairs Pat Lampkin they could stay in Madison Hall.

“I think we were as non-disruptive as possible,” Rubenstein said during the trial for guilt.

Fourth-year Carmen Costi said during the trial that the regulations set forth by the administration kept changing.

“They complained about those rules shifting and changing,” Dean of Students Penny Rue said. “They wanted to see written rules and we don’t have a detailed playbook. We were good people trying to use our best judgment.”

Rue said when it became clear negotiations had broken down on the afternoon of Saturday, April 15, Leonard Sandridge, executive vice president and chief operating officer, offered the students the option of leaving, signing a summons or being arrested.

Some students expressed confusion at exactly what a summons entailed. “We didn’t really know what a summons was and we asked if we could speak with our lawyers,” Comsti said.

Fourth-year College students Shawn Casey, Carmen Comsti, Lauren Cruickshank, Lauren Jones, Sam Kroiz, Hannah Rubenstein, Katrina Salmons, and Khalial Withen; third-year College students Sean Butterfield, Seth Croft, Zack Fields and Jillian Villars; and second-year College students Teresa Daniels, Andrew Mausert-Mooney, Nina Robbins, John Salidis, and Kevin Simowitz all face the same sanction.

Blank said that any appeal the students wish to make must be submitted within 14 days to an impartial judicial review board comprised of administrators and students. If the board deems the sanctions to be inappropriate they can remand the case back to the UJC which will conduct a trial for evaluation of sanction.

The case was first initiated by fourth-year College student Blake Marvin.

“U.Va. bends over backwards to allow its students to protest and campaign and the students in this case went beyond the realm of constitutionally protected free speech,” Marvin said during the trial for sanction. “The University must not allow these actions to become precedent.”

Marvin also said the protestors broke rules they agreed to uphold as University students.

Assistant Dean of Students David Bynes also filed similar charges. Bynes was a dean on call the weekend of the arrests and said filing the UJC charges was protocol.

Bynes added that he was “satisfied” with the proceedings.

“This doesn’t change anything in terms of the [Living Wage] Campaign,” Simowitz said. “We are still meeting with the administration and we are still committed to everyone making enough money to live in the City of Charlottesville and until that happens we’re not going away. The campaign is not about us; it’s about workers being underpaid.”

Additionally, Mausert-Mooney and Simowitz were found not guilty of causing substantial damage to property. Mausert-Mooney was also found not guilty of disorderly conduct on University-owned property." (Maggie Thornton, The Cavalier Daily, May 3, 2006)