CLEVELAND — Some students involved in protests over the war in Gaza at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) this spring remain banned from campus, waiting to see if they will graduate. 

What You Need To Know

  • Yousef Khalaf should have been close to graduating right now, instead he’s suspended by CWRU

  • Khalaf grew up in the West Bank and moved to Cleveland
  • Disciplinary materials from the university show CWRU public safety overtime cost the school nearly $80,000

Yousef Khalaf should have been close to graduating right now, instead he’s suspended and has to write a two-page essay to CWRU apologizing for participating in pro-Palestinian campus protests in May.

“Unfortunately, I’m at the mercy of the university, so they can technically do whatever they want in that sense,” he said.

Khalaf grew up in the West Bank and moved to Cleveland. He’s now pursuing a career in mechanical engineering, but he’s suspended for the entire fall semester at CWRU, preventing him from getting his degree on time.

“They assured me that I should move in and that I should go to my classes and continue, and I was officially suspended week one of my classes,” he said.

Khalaf also said he takes issue with reports that estimate the university’s spending for the protests at more than $200,000 for things like barricades, extra hand cuffs, a rooftop camera system, and outside police.

Disciplinary materials from the university show CWRU public safety overtime cost the school nearly $80,000, and the largest cost is for outside part-time police officers, at more than $128,000.

“It’s still shocking to see that amount, especially with all the issues the university has. There’s issues with the dorms, there’s issues with financial aid, there’s so many things $250,000 could’ve done for the university,” he said.

Spectrum News reached out to the university to confirm those costs and respond to questions about whether student tuition was used to cover the expenses, but the university didn’t answer those questions.

The university provided a statement saying in part:

“By defining and enforcing our procedures and operating rules, and by providing security and safety resources for all members of our community, we can help ensure we continue to provide the safe, welcoming and thought-provoking environment for which Case Western Reserve University is known.”

As for Khalaf, right now, he’s working to comply with the university’s demands, and he’s seeking a job to help pay the $500 in fines he owes, so he can come back for the spring semester.

“Before I got suspended I was applying for full-time jobs for when I graduate in May, when I was supposed to graduate in May and now that’s kind of out the window,” he said.