On Aug. 4, the Committee on Standards ruled that Roan Wade ’25 and Jordan Narrol ’25 were “responsible” for participating in a masked May 28 sit-in of the president’s office in Parkhurst Hall — where protesters were largely unidentifiable. Their respective suspensions were extended to the end of summer term.
Both appeared at a joint disciplinary hearing on July 31, where College officials claimed to have evidence that both were present. Narrol said she was not present, while Wade did not confirm or deny their presence.
Wade said they will return to campus in the fall to continue pursuing their studio art coursework and their activism with the Palestine Solidarity Coalition. They added that they will have to enroll in a thirteenth term to make up for the classes from which they were withdrawn as a result of their suspension.
According to the Dartmouth Financial Aid Handbook, students are only eligible for 12 terms of financial aid unless they face “extreme hardship” or are “approved for reduced tuition due to disability.”
“How I’m going to be able to afford the $30,000 that students pay to be here for a term, I’m not sure,” Wade said. “So, whether or not I’ll be able to get a degree is very much up in the air.”
Wade said they believe that the College’s decision not to extend their suspension indicates that the College took a “misstep” in “immediately” suspending them.
Narrol said she will continue working on graduate school applications — awaiting the end of her suspension, so she is eligible to receive her diploma — but is worried about the larger impact her suspension will have on the way colleges react to protesters.
“This sets a dangerous precedent of prosecuting [based on] circumstantial evidence in order to attempt to intimidate and silence the [divestment] movement,” she said. “We will not be silenced.”
Narrol was allegedly identified by Safety and Security because the person at the sit-in believed to be her, was wearing two Green Key wristbands. While Narrol confirmed she was wearing two wristbands, she purports that other students were as well.
Wade characterized the College’s decision to suspend them as an attempt “to intimidate” other students.
“The College’s intention was to intimidate and make examples out of Jordan and I in order to dissuade other students from standing up and speaking up for Palestine and divestment,” Wade said.
Narrol said she feels that her suspension is the “act of … an institution that knows that it is losing and that it is going to be forced to divest from genocide.”
“It is really important for both of us … that we continue to advocate despite the material consequences imposed upon us so that the College knows that these repression tactics will not work,” Wade said.
Wade added that despite the outcome, they were “grateful” to the members of COS for spending “a lot” of time reviewing their case and giving them a “chance at due process.”
A College spokesperson declined to comment.
Alesandra Gonzales is a reporter, photographer, and videographer for The Dartmouth from south Texas, majoring in psychology with a minor in film. Outside of The D, she likes to workout, watch The Ranch, and do EMS work. She is a licensed EMT in three states.
