Muslim group is calling on UC Irvine to investigate the arrests of 11 students

Muslim group wants investigation into UCI arrests

The Associated Press

Posted: 02/10/2010 07:17:23 PM PST

Updated: 02/10/2010 07:17:23 PM PST

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IRVINE, Calif.—A prominent Muslim group is calling on UC Irvine to investigate the arrests of 11 students during a raucous lecture where Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren spoke about U.S.-Israel relations earlier this week.The Muslim Public Affairs Council sent a letter Wednesday to UC Irvine Chancellor Michael Drake saying it is unclear what laws the students broke.

The group says schools should not discourage students from expressing their First Amendment rights.

Oren’s speech was interrupted by shouting and protests multiple times Monday night.

Eleven students were cited for disturbing a public event and released.

Earlier, the UCI Muslim Student Union issued an email condemning Oren’s appearance. It was not clear if the arrested students were members of the group.

Daily Pilot: Arrested UCI students face possible DA Prosecution

Published Wednesday, February 10, 2010 7:12 PM PST

Education

Students arrested during Israeli ambassador’s visit to UCI could face disciplinary measures and possible D.A. prosecution.

Eight UC Irvine students and three UC Riverside students were arrested and detained Monday by campus police.

By Tom Ragan

Daily Pilot

Student protesters who were arrested by campus police for disrupting a speech at UC Irvine by Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren could face a host of academic repercussions — from simple warnings, suspensions or all out expulsions, a spokeswoman for the university said Wednesday.

The university, which released the names of the 11 protesters, said that Monday night’s incident, in which the protesters repeatedly interrupted Oren at the UCI Student Center, will now be forwarded to the Orange County district attorney’s office for possible prosecution.

The protesters were cited for “disturbing a public meeting,” said Cathy Lawhon, UCI’s director of media relations.

Campus police ended up detaining them for about an hour before releasing them. No bond had to be posted, Lawhon added.

“I think everybody is entitled to free speech, but this was not that,” said Lawhon of the incident. “In the end, they were preventing him (Oren) from exercising his right to free speech.”

UCI Law School Dean: Hecklers “Were supressing free speech”

Dean: UCI protesters violated free speech

February 10th, 2010, 1:01 pm   ·

posted by Gary Robbins, science writer-editor

OC Register

UCI School of Law Dean Erwin Chemerinsky. Photo courtesy of UCI.

Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the UC Irvine School of Law and an internationally-renowned expert on the Constitution, says that the students who yelled at Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren during a campus lecture Monday were suppressing free speech. (Coverage of protest.)

Eleven students — eight from UCI, three from UC Riverside — were arrested by campus police and cited for disrupting a public event. The arrests occurred while Oren was trying to discuss U.S.-Israel relations before an audience of 500 people in the UCI Student Center.

“They shouted him down,” Chemerinsky said. “Imagine if they had brought their own speaker and that person had been shouted down. There would be no free speech. There is no right to a ‘heckler’s veto’ “.