Vanderbilt student, 19, groans after being arrested and expelled ‘for pushing an employee and breaking into a building to stage an anti-Israel sit-in’

A Vanderbilt University student is crying out online after being arrested and expelled for “pushing a staff member” and breaking into a building to stage an anti-Israel sit-in.

Jack Petocz, 19, was one of four students arrested on March 26 during a student-led sit-in at Kirkland Hall on the campus of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.

Video released by Vanderbilt captured the students storming into Kirkland Hall, past a lone security guard who appears to be trying to secure the building.

The school identified the three students arrested for assault and battery – which is classified as a misdemeanor – as senior Devron Burks, freshman Jack Petocz and sophomore Samuel Schulman.

Petocz, who describes himself as a “19-year-old homosexual with a megaphone,” turned to X to whine about the severity of the university’s response.

“I’m Jack Petocz, a 19-year-old activist who has been fighting for marginalized people for years,” he wrote. “Yesterday I was expelled from Vanderbilt University for peacefully protesting the genocide in Palestine. “Vanderbilt will let sexual abusers walk free, but drive out passionate organizations.”

X has edited his message and added a ‘Community Memorandum’ stating: ‘As part of the protest, Jack Petocz was arrested and is accused of abuse and physical injury to another person after he reportedly pushed a community officer.’ The message included a link to coverage of the incident as reported by JNS.

Petocz later responded, “The community note on this post is patently false. I have not touched any community officer, nor am I near the person in the video. I would beg you to trust a student activist over rich, powerful, white men, but that’s your choice. More information follows.’

But users were quick to criticize Petocz in the comments, calling him out for the hypocritical nature of his statement.

“Aren’t you also white going to an expensive university?” wrote one.

“Said the rich, privileged, sniveling white boy,” another user chimed in.

“You’re on tape,” another reminded the freshman.

Schulman and Burks are seen on camera at the front of the group walking forward to enter Kirkland Hall as the officer tries to stop them, while Petocz can be seen behind them.

Petocz is being held on $2,000 bond, while Schulman and Burks are being held on $1,000 bond.

In addition to the three students expelled, one has been suspended and 22 students have been placed on disciplinary probation following a week of preliminary hearings involving the 27 students suspended for their involvement in the Kirkland Hall sit-in protest.

The demonstration, organized by the Vanderbilt Divest Coalition, aimed to force the university to stop funding organizations that support Israel.

Masked mobs attempted to organize a vote to amend the Vanderbilt student government constitution.

Security footage released by the 151-year-old university shows a swarm of protesters pushing past a lone security guard at the front door of the building, which houses Vanderbilt Chancellor Daniel Diermeier’s office, on March 26.

They took control of the building, but many claim campus police locked them in as leverage.

The sit-in began after the university administration refused to let students vote on amending the student government constitution to prevent money from being spent on the protesters’ goals.

Protesters said once they were inside, they could not leave by force. Videos taken from inside the building and shared on social media showed them sitting on the ground as they linked arms and mocked campus security.

In one video, protesters were heard telling a police officer, who is black, “You are black in America, and you are NOT on the side of the marginalized people of the world. What does that make you?’

“32,000 dead and you don’t care. You could stand with us and be on the right side of history, but you don’t.’

The protesters then shouted “shame” at him.

But as the protest continued late into the night, many wanted to leave for medical reasons.

A video shared on social media showed a protester calling 911, claiming they were afraid they would be arrested if they went outside, but if they stayed inside they would be in “toxic shock” would hit.

They said: ‘Currently a student is being denied the right to change her tampon that has been in place for several hours, leading to an increased risk of toxic shock syndrome.

“If she gets up to use the restroom to change her tampon, campus police threaten her with arrest, so that’s not an option for her.”

“Student Affairs staff took a gradual approach to de-escalate the situation,” the university statement said. ‘First they asked students to leave. After the students refused to leave, staff made them aware that their actions violated university policy and that they would be subject to disciplinary action.

“After several hours, the university began issuing interim suspensions. Students who have been placed on interim suspension must leave campus immediately and may not return until further notice, pending review by Student Affairs.”

In response to the incident, a spokesperson for Vanderbilt University reaffirmed the institution’s commitment to taking action when policies are violated, community safety is threatened, or members are intimidated or harmed.

The university emphasized the importance of civil debate and free expression, but said entering the building during the sit-in would result in an interim suspension for all involved.

A spokesperson for Vanderbilt said that “the university will take action if our policies are violated, the safety of our campus is compromised and if people intimidate or injure members of our community.”

Provost C. Cybele Raver announced in an email to the Vanderbilt community on April 5 that students will have 10 days to appeal their case, during which they will maintain access to campus and university resources.

In an open letter addressed to Chancellor Daniel Diermeier, Raver, along with the Office of General Counsel and Faculty Senate President Andrea Capizzi, criticized the administration’s actions in March, including the distribution of interim suspensions to student protesters.

The letter, signed by 154 professors at the time of publication, denounces what they see as an overly punitive response from the university.