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Is UC Berkeley Violating Student Rights in Handing Out Suspensions Over Protests?

A statement made by anonymous Boalt students takes a look at a number of disciplinary measures handed down by UCB to Andrea Miller - one of the protesters who was present when the Chancellor's house was attacked.

If Miller was engaged in non-violent protest then it's unacceptable for UCB to go after her (and from what I've read, it seems like they're systematically targeting the students who were at the Chancellor's house when it was attacked, regardless of whether or not the students can be shown to have participated in the attack). It's also worth noting that none of the students present are being criminally prosecuted for their alleged misconduct.

In the statement there's a focus on how Miller's rights have been violated by the UCB disciplinary process, which from my rudimentary understanding of the subject seems to be true, but the piece also uses a lot of empty phrases including "Stalinist procedure" and "Gestapo-like." The attack on the Chancellor's house was also downplayed heavily. I understand that the statement is intended to be read from a radical viewpoint, but there has to be some benefit in appealing to those of us who agree that the UCB acted poorly in response to the protests, but no better than to be taken in by needlessly inflammatory language.

A few more thoughts:

1. The action against the student seems improper if the facts of this statement or true, but it'd be a stronger statement without the hyperbole and with some good cites backing up the legal positions.
2. Who wrote it? Why are there no names attached?
3. There's also another post on the site advocating violence as a means to an end when protesting, which is a position that some consider theoretically and ideologically sound, but often comes with consequences attached (like getting suspended from UCB).

Full post as published by Nuts & Boalts on January 24, 2010 (boomark / email).