Sebastian Rowan was taken to jail on a Wednesday evening. That Friday, he defended his Ph.D. dissertation proposal.
The University of New Hampshire graduate student was arrested in May when police swept a tent encampment students launched at a pro-Palestine protest on campus. Rowan was held overnight in jail, where he paced the cell practicing his thesis presentation, revising slides from memory. He was released around 4 p.m. the next day.
Rowan, 30, is among at least 3,100 protesters—many of them students—who were arrested at demonstrations this spring across more than 100 campuses and who have since juggled court hearings with classes and final exams.
Local prosecutors have handled charges against students differently. Some have dropped charges entirely, while others are pursuing felony charges in some cases. Many students remain in prosecutorial limbo, awaiting court dates as legal offices review cases. ….more
