CWRU students pay $350K to end criminal case, but fallout continues
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The "CWRU 11" speak at a press conference. Photo: Sam Allard/Axios
The 11 Case Western Reserve University students and activists indicted for pro-Palestinian vandalism on campus last year have paid more than $350,000 in restitution to the university to clear their names.
Why it matters: The payments are part of a legal agreement with the Cuyahoga County prosecutor's office under the pre-trial diversion program. If all stipulations are met, the defendants' criminal records will be cleared.
Driving the news: The students spoke publicly about the case for the first time Saturday, arguing the university has sought to make examples of them to quash pro-Palestinian activism.
- Three of the students still face expulsion via university conduct proceedings running parallel to the legal case.
State of play: The university alleges that the incident on Nov. 8, 2024, in which the defendants smeared gallons of red paint over walkways, buildings and other campus infrastructure, caused $400,000 in damage.
- CWRU has not provided a breakdown for these costs. The students and their supporters contend the number was punitively inflated.
What they're saying: "I hope Case can now afford a better pressure washer," said Shereen Naser, a leader in the Cleveland Palestine Advocacy Community, "because I'm still racking my brain to figure out where that $400,000 in damages is coming from."
Reality check: $400,000 is enough to purchase 100 high-end industrial pressure washers.
Zoom in: Senior Ben Mullin-Vanneste, who was arrested the night before his final semester was set to begin, said the students have worked in good faith to negotiate solutions that would let them complete their degrees.
- Many of them have taken on new debt and worked multiple jobs to help make payments, and are also fundraising online.
- "But the university seems intent on retribution and in derailing our academic paths permanently," he said.
Zoom in: Mullin-Vanneste said he was offered his diploma in exchange for "full cooperation," meaning identifying the people involved in the incident.
- "When I rejected this, they shut down negotiations completely. It doesn't seem to just be about policy or accountability. This is about making an example of us to stifle any dissent, and about silencing the movement for Palestine."
Another defendant, Amir Wilson, was not a CWRU student but, he said, the university filed a complaint against him at his school, jeopardizing his future there.
The other side: A spokesman for CWRU told Axios that the university would not comment on an ongoing legal case.
Between the lines: Students centered their remarks on Gaza, saying while they can lament their own struggles, they want to use their education to hold power to account, and to stand with marginalized people around the world.
- They said that includes the young Palestinians who will never get to study and learn as they have.
- Every university in Gaza has been destroyed, per the U.N.
Editor's note: This story has been corrected to reflect that Amir Wilson was not a CWRU student.