Third time's a charm. I finally got to have a proper hearing after a month, and everyone was present. 

It was strange how I wasn't able to directly question the opposing witness, everytime I tried to, it was reiterated and paraphrased by the host, so it was a bit unfair at times. (So whenever I asked a question, the host would repeat it in their own way to the witness. The process was really weird.)

What was crazy was that even though there was clear video evidence of what happened, the opposing witness claimed that I wrestled with the man that attacked me.

Overall the hearing ended successfully, and was told that I will be informed in up to 10 business days of what punishment l'll get. I am still suspended until further notice and can still be arrested if I step on campus since I am still posed as a threat. Now we wait.

 

Here were some things that were pointed out in my statement during the hearing:

My name is Cesar and I am a sophomore here at Purchase College. I am also a Black man living in the United States. I am no stranger to racism. Because of my identity I also feel the pain of my friends and community members who also come from marginalized backgrounds, such as my Palestinian, Muslim, and Arab classmates. Since October 7, many of them have expressed to me how unsafe they have felt walking around campus, so much so that they’ve had to resort to taking alternate routes on campus, even going through tunnels for their safety. They don’t feel like their safety is being looked out for by those in charge. I myself have been harassed many times on this campus because of my support for Palestine. I have been yelled at when I was wearing a Palestinian flag with the person screaming that Palestinians are bad people. I have been followed and questioned on whether I support terrorists. And more.

When Paul Nicholson decided to hang two banners that stated “We stand with Israel” posted on his windows for all of campus to see, my fellow classmates who have been mourning the loss of now over 24,000 Palestinians in Gaza, felt completely threatened and unsafe.

A staff member on their own campus was publicly proclaiming his support for the entity that has now murdered more than 24,000 Palestinians, including close to 10,000 children. Paul Nicholson isn’t just any staff member. He is the ombudsman of Purchase College, a resource that students are supposed to be able to turn to for help, for example if they are being treated poorly by a college employee, as the College website states. Am I supposed to go to Paul Nicholson, the man who assaulted me, to complain to him about how he assaulted me? Mr. Nicholson is not a safe resource. How are Palestinian students supposed to feel safe sharing their concerns with someone who proclaims his support publicly for the entity that is murdering their family and loves ones in Palestine? Mr. Nicholson is also the director of the Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) and Merit Access Program (MAP), which is meant to help students succeed. How can Palestinian students and their allies trust someone like Paul Nicholson to have their best interest at heart when he is publicly proclaiming his support for an entity that is committing a genocide against Palestinians in Gaza?

The banners that Paul Nicholson hung on his office windows were threatening to my classmates’ safety and security on this campus. Despite the College taking action many times to remove Palestinian flags and Palestinian shows of support around campus, which I have documented proof of, the College did nothing about this very public display of political support hanging on its campus. It did nothing to safeguard its Palestinian, Muslim, and Arab students.
 
When I went into Paul Nicholson’s office on December 12, I only had one intention and that was to make sure my friends and fellow classmates could feel safe on this campus. I wanted to remove the banners that made them feel unsafe. That’s all. And that’s all I did. When I removed the banners, I was violently attacked. Paul Nicholson attacked me and pushed me to the ground. I did not attack Paul Nicholson and I did not fight back.

Following this, I was charged with physically harming Mr. Nicholson, I was charged with threatening, harassing, or intimidating Mr. Nicholson, I was charged with using physical force against Mr. Nicholson. The truth is that I was the one who was physically harmed, harassed, intimidated. The only thing I did was remove banners from the windows.

As a Black man in this country and on this campus, it is not lost on me that I am painted as the aggressor even when I was the one attacked. Purchase College celebrates MLK Jr., hosts events during Black History Month, affirms the rights of its students to proclaim Black Lives Matter. But when it comes to ensuring that a Black student on its campus is protected and heard, the school’s support is nowhere to be found. Instead, the school turns me into the “bad guy.” With no repercussions whatsoever for the man who attacked me, a 20-year-old student. Do Black lives matter to Purchase College? No, they don’t. Mine certainly does not.

Out of all the charges I am charged with, the only thing I did was remove banners from windows. I did not physically attack or threaten or harass or intimidate or physically harm or abuse or coerce or detain Paul Nicholson. And I did not fail to respect ongoing legitimate functions of the College. When I asked in my initial meeting what “ongoing legitimate functions” meant, the examples I was given was nothing like what I did. I did not disrupt a class, I did not disrupt students taking a test, I did not disrespect any authorized College activity. The policies of Purchase College clearly state that banners are prohibited. There are no qualifications, they are simply forbidden. What Paul Nicholson did, hanging political banners of support on public Purchase College property, is not a legitimate or authorized function of this college.

The President of Purchase College, Milagros Peña, wrote an email to the campus following the removal of the banners, characterizing my actions as antisemitic. I want to be clear here, in case accusations of antisemitism are fueling any part of this student conduct process against me. What I did was not antisemitic. It is not antisemitic to act against a political entity. It is not antisemitic to express my anti- Zionist views. It is not antisemitic to stand against Israel and its genocidal actions in Gaza. I was not saying or doing anything hateful against Jews. Paul Nicholson had a sign celebrating Hannukah on his door. All I did was remove the political banners of support for Israel hanging from his windows.

If you don’t want to hear that from me, take it from my Jewish classmates who wrote on behalf of the collective Jewish community on campus, a petition in support of me, who explain very clearly that what I did was in no way antisemitic, and who explain that there is no justification for accusing me of an antisemitic hate crime and putting me on suspension.

I also urge you to read the words of the 17,500+ people who have signed a petition in support of me, who express how shameful it is that the Office of Community Standards here at Purchase College has suggested expulsion for me, a protesting student, while the real aggressor, Paul Nicholson, faces no accountability for how he attacked me, for how he blatantly violated campus policy. A staff member who puts his hands on a student, especially a student who did not in any way physically harm or threaten him, should not be on this campus. An ombudsman who assaults a student cannot be a trusted resource for students to turn to. Mr. Nicholson’s presence is a threat to campus, not mine.

I ask the College to find me not responsible of most of the charges against me. The only thing I am responsible for is Charge D1 for removing property of a person. However, I did not sell, use, or misappropriate any property of another person and I did not remove any property of the College itself. I am not responsible for Charge C1: harm, abuse, injury. I am not responsible for Charge C3: threatens, harasses, intimidates. I am not responsible for Charge C4: coerces, detains, physical force. I am not responsible for Charge F6: fails to respect ongoing legitimate functions.

This process has been completely unfair and has been done poorly. I have had to go back and forth, waiting over a month to question the police officers in this case. The first time I had my hearing, both officers failed to show up. I did not have any notice ahead of time. The second time I had my hearing, I was informed 7 minutes prior to my hearing that Officer Foley, the officer who made the report in this case, was not going to be present. I then had to decide if I wanted to proceed with the hearing, without having the opportunity to question the officer , or to postpone the hearing and continue waiting while being suspended. I have been kept from educational opportunities for over a month while I have been suspended. This has been a very unfair process for me and for my education.

I am so disappointed in Purchase College for how they are treating me, a Black student, as an aggressor throughout this process. I am no stranger to racism. I know it when I see it. Even though all the evidence shows that I was in fact the victim here, I have been recommended for expulsion from this College. I ask you to find me not responsible for the charges I named. I ask you to reject the recommendation of expulsion. And I ask to be treated fairly and righteously by this College.

(I want to sincerely thank my attorney and advisor for helping me make this statement, eternally grateful.)

 

Overall, I want to thank each and every one of you kindhearted souls for helping and supporting throughout this journey.

May we continue to be a voice for students who are going through similar situations as I am, and generally be a voice in the name of the indigenous who are being oppressed and struggling through genocide.

We mustn't give up. Let us not be silent.

We have the ability as a community, as human beings to inspire, help one another, and make impact, as long as we have eachother.

Collectivsm is key.

 

Huey P. Newton, a revolutionary black activist once said, that it is not great hate that motivates people but great love.

Let us keep having that same passion for those around us within our lifetime, and ultimately reflect the times that can become a marvelous history of revolution.

I want to reaffirm that whatever the outcome, I will still keep on fighting. I want to remind those who support this white supremacist ideology of zionism that

I will not stay silent. Remember my name.

 

“Zionism is a political philosophy which has brought about the State of Israel, the so-called “State of Israel”. This political philosophy has nothing to do with religion, on the contrary it seeks to confuse others and let them think that Zionism and Judaism is one in the same."

- Kwame Ture (Stokely Carmichael)

 

"Now especially, Black solidarity with Palestine allows us to understand the nature of contemporary racism more deeply."

"Lifting our voices for Palestinian freedom will never be anything but an embracement of love and justice for all."

- Angela Davis

 

 

May all oppressed people strive and prevail with justice.

From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.

 

 

much love,

cesar.