Six UCSC students suspended for Highway 1 protest, student says

On Wednesday night, UC Santa Cruz protester Lori Nixon said she and the five other students involved in Tuesday’s protest on Highway 1 have been suspended for two weeks. Student media liaison Barucha Peller also confirmed the information in a phone interview.

The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office said the students arrested were Ethan Pezzolo, 20, of Santa Cruz, Alexander Pearce, 20, of San Francisco, Sophia Dimatteo, 20, of Sherman Oaks, Jeanine Caceres, 22, of Santa Cruz, Lori Nixon, 29, of Santa Cruz, and Sasha Petterson, 20, of Santa Cruz.

On Tuesday morning, the students blocked traffic on Highway 1 near the fishhook. For more than four hours, they locked arms through steel poles, strung together by trash cans filled with cement protesting tuition hikes and police on campus.

Deputies said those students were each charged with felony conspiracy to execute a crime and three misdemeanors including creating a public nuisance, failure to obey lawful order and failure to obey executive order from a police officer.

So far, Nixon and Petterson are the only two who have posted bail. The other four still in jail have a bail of $5,000.

Peller said all six were delivered papers in jail from UCSC, notifying them of their two-week suspension. She said it’s a malicious move because it means those students won’t be able to complete their finals.

Peller also stated the six students only have access to healthcare on campus, depriving them of medication while they are suspended.

The group said it’s seeking legal advice and financial help from students to bail the protesters out of jail.

UCSC said it will not comment on the alleged suspensions.