Two students arrested and charged with battery and interfering with an institution of higher learning were in court on Wednesday, March 21 for their first hearing.
Ken Barrios and Matt Larson were accused of striking Robin Wagner, Chief Clerk of the Placement Office during an attempted protest on Feb. 28 of a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) recruiting event.
According to Barrios, the two students were asked at the hearing if they wanted to apologize for their actions as a way of mitigating any possible punishment they might receive. Both students refused to apologize or admit to any guilt concerning the incident.
The arrests stemmed from an incident on the afternoon of Feb. 28, when the Placement Office held an event in P.E. 2140 for students interested in working for the CIA. Students from the Campus Anti-War Network (CAN), including Barrios and Larson inquired before the event about protesting the presence of the recruiters.
Dean of Students Michael Kelly sent out an email on Feb. 21 to all student groups alerting them of upcoming military recruiting events and asked students to meet with them about the school’s policy on protests. The CIA event flier mentions registering for the event in advance, but Kelly’s email makes no distinction between job recruiting events in Village Square and the P.E. 2140 recruiting event. The meeting that Kelly proposed did not take place.
Seven people, some members of CAN and others members of the Socialist Club, gathered near the room on Feb. 28 to protest the event. It is here where two very different stories emerge. Barrios and Larson said that they were barred from entering the room, with Barrios arrested immediately after trying to open the door and enter P.E. 2140.
NEIU police reports say that Barrios pushed Wagner with his forearm, “impeding the victim from performing her duties.” Public Safety officers were present from the beginning of the event, and it is unclear why Wagner, a clerk, was performing security for the event instead of the police who were present.
Members of the protest group asked in a statement why Wagner was blocking the door; Larson and Barrios were charged with interfering with a public official performing her duties, apparently indicating Wagner was performing the duties of a Public Safety officer by barring entrance to the room.
Police reports state that Larson also “struck” Wagner in an attempt to open the door, but a statement from the protesters said that Public Safety officers who rushed Larson pushed him into the door, and that “it is highly likely that the flow of officers into the scene were the cause of her getting pushed.”
The police report says that “Unit 93” and the arresting officer were present, although the students say that as many as six officers were at the scene at any point in time, including Lt. Connolly and Officer Rodriguez, according to the protesters.
Public Safety has refused to comment on the situation and has refused to name the arresting officers or which officers were at the scene. Public Safety Director of Public Safety Jim Lyon would not comment on the incident, and Wagner and Kelly also did not respond to requests for comment. Kelly, Wagner, Rodriguez and Connolly were present in court on March 21, according to Barrios.
The university’s only official response to the incident was a message sent out by President Sharon Hahs on March 5. The statement reads in part: “I have been advised that some have disputed the details of what happened; there are both internal and external procedures for resolving these issues. ?These procedures were designed to protect fundamental principles and it is my hope that as a university community there is a shared commitment to these principles. We believe in free speech. ?This includes the right to protest. We reject violence. ?The University must be a safe environment for students, faculty, staff, and visitors.”
Hahs also cited the university’s policy on protests, which can be found at http://www.neiu.edu/DOCUMENTS/Dean_of_Students%20-%20Docs/grades.pdf The policy states that students are allowed to protest in designated areas, which include Village Square and the outside of buildings on the main campus.
A university Free Speech Task Force was convened last year to evaluate the university’s policy on speech and has yet to make their findings public.
Initial recommendations by members of the task force included making the entire campus open to protests, but the fate of that and other proposals of the group are uncertain.
In a late development, the Independent has confirmed from two university employees that an unnamed university Vice-President attempted to convince Wagner to drop the battery charges she lodged against the two students. Kelly signed the complaint charging the two with interfering with a public official in addition to Wagner’s battery complaint.
Barrios and Larson’s next court appearance is Wednesday, March 28, which will be the discovery phase of the trial.
Barrios says he is “not too concerned,” about the charges and expects to be cleared of wrongdoing.