Shenai Aini’s life, for two months, has been in limbo.

Aini, 21, was arrested on May 15 during a confrontation between police and pro-Palestine protesters at UC Irvine. Of the 47 people arrested that day, 26 were students.

The allegations against Aini touch on trespassing and failing to disperse; violations of school policies. She is not accused of any violent behavior, and says her involvement in the protests was simply an act of free speech, a guaranteed right.

School officials say the process is taking time because they want to follow University of California guidelines. The Orange County District Attorney’s office doesn’t comment on ongoing investigations, and it’s unclear if any students have been charged with a crime connected to the May 15 conflict.

Now — several hearings, court filings and sleepless nights later — Aini and other students are still waiting to hear whether they’ll be subject to formal sanctions by either the university or the county criminal system. Officials at UC Irvine haven’t absolved them or declared them guilty. And it’s been a month since Aini has heard from the District Attorney’s office.

The stakes aren’t trivial. A criminal conviction, or formal sanctions by UC Irvine, could jeopardize Aini’s academic and professional career. Same for many of the others.

And absent any final words the students are stuck in an academic no-man’s land, unable to connect formally with their school and unsure about how to plan for the upcoming quarter.

“The process,” Aini said, “is the punishment.”

Protocol

Aini, a rising senior who is hoping to earn a double-major in criminology and political science, most recently met with a university conduct officer on June 10.

During that hearing, the conduct officer listed eight allegations against Aini, including unlawful assembly, overnight camping and failure to obtain an amplified sound permit.

The officer bolstered those allegations with eight pieces of evidence, Aini said. Those included a timeline of May 15 events written by a student newspaper, images of protestors barricading the Physical Sciences Lecture Hall, a memo from UC Irvine PD and two eyewitness statements from Associate Deans.

None, Aini said, referenced her personally. She wasn’t listed in any memo and her image wasn’t captured in any photo.

She was asked to respond to the allegations, either in person or at a later date via email. And Aini, working with a lawyer, sent an email to her conduct officer about 10 days after the hearing. She explained that the evidence lacked specificity and that, in her view, it inaccurately represented her involvement in the May 15 protest.

“The collective evidence is wrong,” Aini said. “It is pinpointing everyone.”

For example, Aini said pictures of the Physical Sciences Lecture Hall barricade weren’t evidence of any crime on her part. Yes, she said, she participated in the broader protest but, no, she didn’t occupy the lecture hall.

Aini’s complaints aren’t unusual. Student and faculty leaders who have sat in during similar hearings say the evidence presented against Aini’s is identical to the evidence presented against other students. Though Aini isn’t commenting on the specifics of her case, on advice of her lawyer, some other students and faculty leaders question UCI’s use of blanket evidence against individual students, raising the idea that the students are being punished for their opinions, not their actions.

“It’s almost never been individually tailored evidence,” said Annie McClanahan, associate professor of English.

“Videos are being presented against students for times when they were not physically present on campus,” she added.

Until the student conduct procedures are resolved, many students face a type of academic hold that prevents them from graduating with a degree.

For seniors who completed their undergraduate careers in the spring, that meant skipping graduation ceremonies in June and not yet collecting diplomas. For ongoing students, like Aini, it means continuing their education without knowing if they’ll get a degree if their situations aren’t resolved. The fall quarter at UC Irvine starts next month.

The pending sanctions pose even higher risks for graduate students who work at UC Irvine as teachers assistants.

In the short term, a formal punishment from the school, or a criminal conviction, could mean a loss of campus housing. In the long-term, either could force a career change.

“Ultimately, the stakes are pretty dire,” said Alexander Rudenshiold, a UAW 4811 Union Representative who sat in on a number of administrative meetings as an advisor for UC Irvine graduate students.

“These are workers who are at risk not only because of their student status, but also their employment status.”

Yet the graduate students and others, like Aini, don’t know when to expect any resolution. Rudenshiold said school officials told students during their administrative meetings that they could expect final word within three weeks, but for many that was nearly two months ago.

University officials said the delays are about fairness.

“While initial estimates for the completion of the student conduct process may be provided, each allegation is investigated separately, and various factors can affect the timeline,” said Michael Uhlenkamp, UCI’s assistant vice chancellor of communication and media relations.

“The university is committed to working with students on these matters, ensuring our policies are enforced in accordance with the University of California’s guiding principles for disciplinary action.”

Interim

Faculty leaders also critiqued the university for its use of a designation known as an Interim Suspension. The school issued interim suspensions to student arrestees in May, and lifted the suspensions on a case-by-case basis as students appealed.

While on interim suspension students lost access to campus housing and work-study jobs. It’s unclear how many students still face those sanctions.

In a June 14 meeting, the UC Irvine Academic Senate, a representative body of all UCI faculty, called for an independent investigation of any suspensions or penalties imposed on students during the weeks of protest in early May or as a result of the May 15 conflict. Later in June students were given the opportunity to appeal their interim suspensions in a meeting with Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs, Willie Banks and Assistant Vice Chancellor Edgar Dormitorio.

Aini’s interim suspension, issued on May 21, was lifted on June 4, within an hour of her meeting with the vice chancellor. For many students, their interim suspensions were also quickly lifted after similar meetings.

However, according to faculty leaders, some students’ interim suspensions are still in effect.

McClanahan, a member of the academic senate, uses words like “chaotic” and “unequal” to describe the overall nature of the UCI hearings. She also said she doesn’t understand “why (some) students have one experience and why some have another.”

Charges

When Aini and 46 other pro-Palestine protesters were arrested for unlawful assembly on May 15 at UC Irvine, they were part of a national conflict. About 3,100 people were arrested on campuses around the country this spring, following pro-Palestinian protests, some of which turned violent.

The New York Times reported last month that the many of the arrestees have seen their charges dropped.

It’s not yet clear if that will play out for those arrested at UC Irvine. Since their court appearances, on June 13, those arrested have not heard from the district attorney’s office. In misdemeanor cases prosecutors have up to a year to file charges.

Aini said her lawyer has told her to expect being charged with unlawful assembly, but she’s not sure if that will happen.

“With the political climate here in Orange County, I wouldn’t be shocked if they did,” Aini said.

Prosecutors also aren’t yet saying what they’ll do, or if they’ve made any decisions in cases involving protesters at UC Irvine.

“We are still reviewing the evidence and we have not made any filing decisions,” said Kimberly Edds, a spokeswoman for the District Attorney’s office.

For Aini, the most punishing part of the limbo is waiting out possible sanctions.

“It was really rough the first four weeks,” said Aini. “I worked so hard to get into UCI, and I really wanted to go to UCI Law. It’s sad to see that maybe my chances at UCI Law are gone.”

Aini does not know what she’ll do if harsher sanctions are imposed. Suspension, or even having to take a gap quarter, could thwart her future plans.

Still, Aini has no regrets.

“I knew the consequences,” she said.

“(But) when you look at the stakes of what Palestinians are going through, compared to them, what I’m losing is nothing.”