Student Body President at University of Chicago Could be Expelled Day Before Graduation

CHICAGO, IL - Tyler Kissinger doesn’t know whether he should invest in a cap and gown for his upcoming graduation at the University of Chicago. His parents don’t know whether they should come in from out-of-state to attend Saturday’s ceremony at the Hyde Park campus.

That’s because Kissinger, the University’s student body president, has a meeting with a disciplinary committee on Friday and could be expelled from the school for good.

Kissinger told the New York Times this week he has been formally charged with “premeditated and dishonest behavior” and “creating an unsafe situation” on May 19 when he made it possible for several students to hold a sit-in protest at a meeting of University officials at Levi Hall, the school’s administration building.

Kissinger got past security that day by claiming he was on official business as the student body president and opened a door to allow the protesters access to the fifth-floor lobby of the president’s office, where the hour-long sit-in took place.

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The protest, which called for a $15 an hour minimum wage for University workers and to have more access to records from the University’s police department, was organized by the IIRON Student Network and involved about 200 people. The group said the protest was organized in response to university administrators refusal to meet on their demands.

Sanctions for Kissinger could range from a warning to permanent expulsion.

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A petition on Change.org has surfaced in support of Kissinger, with 2,705 signatures of a targeted 5,000 already signed as of noon on Thursday.

The petition asks University officials to “dismiss disciplinary charges against Student Body President Tyler Kissinger.”

“Tyler has been an outspoken leader on campus, and has been the only one out of more than 200 participants targeted for disciplinary action,” the petition reads. “Disciplinary action such as this against stifles free speech, and suggests that the University is not tolerant of viewpoints that challenge its own.”

Kissinger indicated students, faculty and staff should have “uninhibited access” to campus administrators.