Disciplinary proceedings against the 13 student protesters that were arrested at a sit-in last year at Wellington Square were dropped by the University on Wednesday, Cherwell can exclusively reveal.
The students were facing suspensions of “indefinite length, fines, and formal warnings,” as stated in a letter seen by Cherwell sent to the protesters by the Proctor’s Office in late April. The letter accused the protesters of “colluding” to “cause significant disruption” to University “activities and members of staff”.
The chair of the Student Disciplinary Panel (SDP), barrister Laura Hoyano, who was tasked with deciding whether or not to uphold the Proctor’s recommendations for disciplinary measures, announced on Wednesday afternoon that the case would be dropped on “procedural grounds”.
Cherwell understands that the statutory deadline between the initial hearings, which were held in early October, and the referral to the SDP is six months, but it was exceeded by 22 days. The chair of the SDP also noted that the case initiated by the proctors lacked the expected procedural rigour, and that the students’ reputation had been damaged as a result.
The Senior Proctor initially in charge of the investigation, Thomas Adcock, was notably removed from the case after allegations of conflict of interest were made against him. He had co-signed a statement authored by Irene Tracey condemning the sit-in on 23 May 2024. The University declined to comment on this matter.
Irene Tracey, the Vice-Chancellor of the University, was cross-examined by two King’s Counsels, Bryan Cox and Henry Blaxland, who were representing the students under investigation at the hearings this morning.
A University spokesperson said: “The student disciplinary process is confidential and the University will not comment on ongoing procedures or their outcome.”
