During her 12-year journey at Ohio State studying security and intelligence, Courtney DeRoche felt nothing but pride for the academic prestige at the institution that helped develop her knowledge of world conflict.
“I have such a strong anti-genocide stance because of the education I received here," she said.
As a Syrian immigrant, Sumaya Hamadmad was eager to come to a country that upheld the virtues of free speech while doing research at a university that values its students, faculty and staff.
“I used to be a proud Buckeye who has the values of diversity, equity, inclusion and empathy," she said.
As a doctoral candidate and leader of two Jewish organizations committed to solidarity and liberation for all, Alex Kempler said she was eager to raise awareness on Ohio State's campus about what's happening to Palestinians in Gaza.
“Seeing the genocide unfold before my eyes and to not be complicit is to fight for what's right,” she said.
These three women could have never imagined their first time being arrested would be during a protest. Yet, on April 25th, two days after the end of the spring semester, they would belong to the group of roughly 40 people arrested during a protest against the Israel-Hamas war.
Protestors were charged with criminal trespassing, a fourth-degree misdemeanor that carries a maximum sentence of up to 30 days in jail and a $250 fine if convicted. They also face two academic misconduct charges of failing to comply with university civil authority and violating university rules and state/local laws.
DeRoche said the group will have its second hearing June 14th.
Ohio State officials said those arrested were in violation of university space rules which restrict noise after 10 p.m. Mondays through Fridays.
A month later, the three women shared their memories of that day and how it had changed them.
Courtney DeRoche said she 'used to be a proud Buckeye'
On the day of her arrest, DeRoche wasn't even sure she could make it to the protest. The Ohio State alumna and lecturer was grading assignments for the courses she taught in the Department of Sociology that day. When she finished, she met up with friends at the Ohio Union, and they began walking to the South Oval. There, DeRoche found herself in the middle of a crowded circle of people.
“We started as a group trying to sing songs in Hebrew and Arabic and it was really funny to watch a lot of the kids there that did not speak either, like myself, try to fumble through that,” she said.
What began for her as an enjoyable evening of important discussions, chants and prayer slowly turned into chaos in the hours that followed.She had been in the circle for four hours before she decided to take a smoke break. She then returned to a crowd much smaller than before, with police becoming noticeably closer.
DeRoche said she locked arms with fellow protestors as police struggled to make their way to the center of the circle where students were observing a night prayer.
“I was raised Catholic, and in Catholicism prayer is sacred no matter the affiliation, if anybody is on their hands and knees, I don't think that they should be tackled by someone in riot gear,” she said.
DeRoche said she was confused by orders from law enforcement as some told protestors to ‘leave and go to 12th’ while others told them to stay as they were ‘all under arrest.’ Unsure of what to do, DeRoche said she remained with her arms locked around her peers until police tried to arrest a woman nearby, which then landed DeRoche on the ground.
“I don't know what happened," she said. "But I know the way they were able to grab her was they knocked me out and I fell backwards, and they lifted her up over me.”
Stunned as she watched police carry the woman’s body away, DeRoche said she regained her footing moments later and attempted to scatter away from the scene.
“I heard an officer say, ‘her too.’”
DeRoche was arrested with a group of 12 others who were put on a bus and then taken into the Ohio Union. She said they were processed there and had their pictures taken on an iPhone. She spent several hours in the Union with Ohio State police and officers from the Columbus Police Department before being taken to the Franklin County Correction Center around 1 a.m.
After being released the following morning, DeRoche said she spent the weekend figuring out how to attend the arraignment Monday at 9 a.m. and her dissertation defense, which would complete her doctorate, later that same day.
"It's been a very wild experience to go from being so grateful and crediting this university for helping me reach heights in my career," she said. "Now, when you google my name, my mugshot comes up right alongside my headshot from the sociology department where it says my expertise is in peace and conflict studies.”
DeRoche, 29, said despite the shocking events taking place during the final chapter of her academic career, her background studying genocide in countries like Guatemala and Rwanda had made her unwavering in her pro-Palestine stance.
“I know that I didn't do anything wrong," she said. "I was standing on my quad space with other students, and I was there for a reason that I feel is moral and important.”
Alex Kempler 'didn't have faith Ohio State would make the right decision' that night
Kempler is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Sociology at Ohio State. She is also a leader of Columbus organization Jewish Voice for Peace and the campus student organization Jews for Justice in Palestine. Kempler said her commitment to promoting unity between Jews and Palestinians and career interests studying power imbalances and inequality has made her an advocate against the Israel-Hamas war.
“Part of my journey in unlearning Zionism is to show solidarity and educate the Jewish community on what's really going on the ground,” she said.
JVP and JJP's collaboration with the April 25th protest brought Kempler to the South Oval that day.
Kempler, 30, also a colleague of DeRoche, said she was part of the same group of 12 people arrested and brought into the Ohio Union, then taken to the correction center. While the arrests were taking place, Kempler said most of her trauma came from seeing undergraduate students arrested.
“When the police finally took action, I was panicking,” she said. "I don't know if it's my age or the stress of seeing your students taken by police, I felt like I was freaking out more than ever."
The days that followed were a roller coaster of emotions for Kempler, but she says she remained empowered by the younger students who were also arrested for risking themselves to bring attention to Gaza. She said there is a lot of pain that comes with being arrested for standing up for your beliefs.
“It's just been a whirlwind of exhaustion, navigating those professional and interpersonal dynamics after a very public arrest is very challenging,” she said. "But it will be a minor inconvenience in the grand scheme of our lives compared to what is happening in Gaza."
Now, with memories of her arrest looming, Kempler said she feels different when she walks across campus.
"I haven't been to campus much since I was arrested," she said. "It is traumatizing to think about that night."
Sumaya Hamadmad felt her rights to freedom were betrayed
Unlike DeRoche and Kempler, Hamadmad had no intention of protesting when she was arrested.
Hamadmad is a research scientist in the Department of Ophthalmology and Vision Science at the College of Medicine. She shared her story with The Dispatch three weeks after her arrest.
Before the protest the evening of April 25, there had been previous arrests that morning.
Unaware of this, Hamadmad had come to talk with friends and enjoy the unusually nice morning on the South Oval. Not long after, police had instructed the group of three to leave. She said she challenged this because it felt like a violation of First Amendment rights.
"I kept asking, 'What's criminal about sitting on the grass?'" she said.
After discussing with campus police and even moving six feet away from her friend to avoid "congregating," the lone police officer returned with 17 other officers and proceeded to arrest Hamadmad and her colleague.
"That experience did shake my whole faith in the institution," she said. "I felt I was betrayed by the institution that I served, and I was proud to be part of."
The women were held for several hours in the Franklin County Correction Center. With them are memories of unexpectedly poor treatment and conditions.
Hamadmad, who was forced to remove her hijab, said she didn't expect her religious right to be violated. A Columbus attorney explained there is no legal precedent forbidding authorities from removing religious coverings.
Read: Ohio State pro-Palestine protesters arrested in demonstration say police removed hijabs
"This was kind of a traumatizing experience for me because this was not what I expected," Hamadmad said.
Kempler, who is Jewish, said being arrested during Passover was especially symbolic since the holiday symbolizes liberation for all, which is what she believes she was fighting for when arrested. Yet, requests for Halal and Kosher meal options were not processed while her group was held overnight.
"I want to celebrate Passover in a way that is true to the holiday," she said. "It's a holiday about freedom and liberation from slavery and oppression, and for me, that means collective liberation."
What was most shocking to Hamadmad were the parallels she drew from her experience to what she went through in Syria. Despite being humiliated, Hamadmad said she mostly felt for the younger students who have never gone through anything similar.
"I always worry about those younger individuals who have not been through lots of experiences to help them come back out of this experience."
Mohammad Mustafa, a Palestinian American of Dayton, who was also arrested that night said the events of April 25th have changed his perception of what it means to defend justice and uphold virtues of freedom of speech for all.
“I think it is building mistrust within the system especially for younger people and college students who have seen this reaction,” he said. “We have to ask ourselves are we okay living in a world where student peaceful protestors defending justice and collective liberation are readily subject to arrest?"
Other undergraduate students who were also arrested but declined to speak publicly about their experiences said they were shocked at the treatment they received while being arrested and held in the correction facility. Several students spoke in front of City Council expressing their disappointment in the university and asking the city to drop the charges. Ohio State Faculty Council also passed a resolution expressing concern of the university's handling of the protest.
