News from the South - Louisiana News Feed
Nearly a year later, Loyola students who joined pro-Palestine protests still face consequences
Nearly a year later, Loyola students who joined pro-Palestine protests still face consequences
by Arielle Robinson, Verite, Louisiana Illuminator
March 16, 2025
NEW ORLEANS – Almost a year after hundreds of people occupied part of Tulane University’s campus, two of the Loyola University students who participated in a pro-Palestine encampment are facing consequences from their school.
Last month, Loyola suspended Carson Cruse from the university through May 10. He and Juleea Berthelot have been on disciplinary probation since June 2024. Cruse was slated to graduate from the university this spring but now has to delay his graduation to either December 2025 or May 2026, depending on when his required classes are offered. Berthelot, who has been on probation for most of the last year, told Verite News that they have to be cautious to not “mess up in the slightest” on or off campus to avoid facing further disciplinary action.
Cruse and Berthelot are members of Liberate and Unite New Orleans Students for a Democratic Society, formerly known as Loyola SDS until the group lost its registered student organization status with the university and voted to disband in October 2024. The current organization exists off campus, although it is composed of students from Loyola.
According to Loyola’s Student Code of Conduct, disciplinary probation is the “temporary suspension of a student or student organization’s good standing with the University” for a certain time period. Extra disciplinary actions can be given and once completed with the period of probation, a student or student organization is returned to good standing if they meet all probation terms.
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Cruse and Berthelot are two of five students who Loyola disciplined last summer. They both said they received the harshest discipline from the school because administrators labeled them as leaders of the school’s SDS chapter, alleging that they played a lead role in organizing the Tulane encampment.
Disciplinary actions like the ones taken against Cruse and Berthelot, and against Tulane students who participated in the encampment protest, are being handed down to students at universities across the United States for staging and joining pro-Palestine protests on campus. This past weekend, Columbia University pro-Palestine protester Mahmoud Khalil was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement for his participation in a student encampment last spring. He is being held in a detention facility in Central Louisiana.
Khalil’s case is a high-profile example of the consequences student protesters have faced in recent months.
Free speech advocates say that the arrests and disciplinary actions taken against student protesters violate their First Amendment rights, while pro-Israel advocates have claimed the protests threatened the safety of Jewish students.
Cruse said he was suspended after speaking at a Port of New Orleans board meeting last October, in which he said he was speaking on behalf of “Loyola SDS,” which had lost its status as a university-registered student group by then. Cruse told Verite News that he meant to say he was with the new organization he and schoolmates created after they disbanded as a university group, and that his incorrect naming of the group was “simply a slip of the tongue.”
He was there with other pro-Palestine activists in the city, including New Orleans Stop Helping Israel’s Ports, urging the port to cut its ties to Israel. He alleged that Port NOLA board secretary-treasurer Sharonda Williams, who is also Loyola’s general counsel, reported him to the university for allegedly promoting an unregistered student organization. Such an act is in violation of the university’s student organization handbook.
A Loyola spokesperson confirmed that Williams is general counsel but denied that she is a part of the administrative hearings, appeals process, decisions made or sanctions handed down. Williams told Verite News to refer to the information sent from the spokesperson.
Loyola administrators then escalated Cruse’s disciplinary probation — which stemmed from his participation in the late April 2024 encampment — to a suspension in December, at the end of the semester. Cruse appealed the decision.
He said he was banned from Loyola’s campus over winter break, but that he was allowed to come back the following semester and attend classes until the student conduct department decided on his appeal.
Finally, in February, Loyola notified Cruse that his appeal was rejected and that he would remain suspended through the end of the spring 2025 semester.
Cruse said he was removed from his classes and banned from the campus.
“I had already done two months of schoolwork, from January to February,” Cruse said.
As a result of the suspension, Cruse also lost his job working the front desk of the school’s counseling center that he has had since his freshman year. He said he has had to pick up more hours at his off-campus job at a brewery.
The school put Berthelot on probation through May 16.
The university accused both of disruptive conduct and failure to comply with administrative instruction because of their involvement in the encampment. The university report cites Berthelot’s May 2024 arrest at the encampment for misdemeanor trespassing as proof that Berthelot failed to comply.
Cruse was also part of the group arrested. Both students were found not guilty in September 2024.
The university also rejected Berthelot’s appeal of their probation. Berthelot said probation meant that they cannot officially hold leadership positions in recognized student organizations and study abroad.
Berthelot said probation has meant being unable to accept a student award they received last year and running for student government.
“I pay a lot of money to go to Loyola, and I really loved it and enjoyed it my first two years,” Berthelot said. “But the way that they handle students and … dissenting opinions, it’s really upsetting and jarring.”
They were able to keep their current on-campus research assistant job and attend classes, but they allege that they were fired from their previous job giving tours of the campus for participating in the encampment. Loyola denied this at the time, saying Berthelot resigned. Berthelot maintains that they were fired.
In a response from Loyola, the university told Verite News that federal student privacy law prevents the school from commenting on specific student cases.
A university spokesperson did provide information about how the cases are handled and said that every student has the right to appeal conduct decisions.
The university also noted that Loyola SDS voluntarily dissolved and that the school is “committed to ensuring that all students feel safe expressing their perspectives on campus.”
Loyola’s disciplinary actions run parallel to those taken by Tulane last year. The university disciplined seven students, among them former Tulane SDS members Rory Macdonald and Maya Sanchez, also labeling them as encampment organizers. Tulane officially suspended Tulane SDS; students have continued to run the group off-campus as Together United Students for a Democratic Society.
Macdonald told Verite News at the time that Tulane used pictures of them at previous protests and their arrest from the encampment against them. Cruse said Loyola used pictures of him and Berthelot at the encampment against them.
Both Cruse and Berthelot said they think Loyola is trying to make an example out of them.
“I think that I’m a fine person to make an example of,” Cruse said. “I was helping lead this movement.”
Berthelot believes the university is trying to alienate them from the students “so that we can’t inspire them, encourage them to fight back,” they said.
Berthelot said that being on probation has meant watching every step they take and constantly worrying about messing up for fear of further discipline.
“I feel like it’s psychological terrorism, like I’m constantly worried about every step I take, everything I say,” Berthelot said. “No student should have to fear the university like that. I’m speaking up for what I believe is right.”
Berthelot also said it was very upsetting seeing Cruse, a friend, be suspended.
Cruse said that he wants to go back to school at Loyola and finish his degree. He said it doesn’t make sense to try and transfer elsewhere because of all the credits he has. But he also won’t let his suspension stop him from standing up for the things he believes in.
“It’s kind of my main purpose in life, honestly,” he said. “I want to serve the people.”
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This article first appeared on Verite News New Orleans and is republished here under a Creative Commons license. PARSELY = { autotrack: false, onload: function() { PARSELY.beacon.trackPageView({ url: “https://veritenews.org/2025/03/14/loyola-palestine-encampment-suspension/”, urlref: window.location.href }); } }
Louisiana Illuminator is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Louisiana Illuminator maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Greg LaRose for questions: info@lailluminator.com.
This article first appeared on Verite News New Orleans and is republished here under a Creative Commons license. PARSELY = { autotrack: false, onload: function() { PARSELY.beacon.trackPageView({ url: “https://veritenews.org/2025/03/14/loyola-palestine-encampment-suspension/”, urlref: window.location.href }); } }
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News from the South - Louisiana News Feed
Boulet’s budget prioritizes transportation, city/parish cost sharing
SUMMARY: Lafayette’s 2025-2026 budget process begins with Mayor-President Monique Boulet setting her priorities after focusing her first year on stabilizing finances. Federal ARPA and CARES Act funds are ending, reducing funds for projects like road widening, parks, and transit subsidies. To address transit challenges, $300,000 is proposed for a micro-transit pilot program. Major infrastructure spending focuses on road improvements, flood risk management, and drainage programs. The budget includes investments in economic development, community planning, City Hall renovations, and arts modernization. Boulet proposes shifting more consolidated government costs to the parish due to its population growth, which may spark allocation debates.
The post Boulet’s budget prioritizes transportation, city/parish cost sharing appeared first on thecurrentla.com
News from the South - Louisiana News Feed
Where to find free backpacks, school supplies in Greater New Orleans
SUMMARY: Several free back-to-school supply events are scheduled across Greater New Orleans to ease the cost and stress of school shopping. Highlights include the Children’s Museum Back-To-School Bash on July 26 in Mandeville, Victory Church’s giveaway on August 2 in Metairie, and the STEM Library Lab’s teacher event on July 24 in Metairie. Other events include the Vicious Ryders MC giveaway in Hahnville, Youth Empowerment Project and Ochsner Children’s Hospital’s fest in New Orleans East, and multiple giveaways on July 26 at locations like Xavier University and Joe W. Brown Park. Activities often feature free food, haircuts, and live entertainment.
The post Where to find free backpacks, school supplies in Greater New Orleans appeared first on wgno.com
News from the South - Louisiana News Feed
Advocates for immigrants sue to stop courthouse ICE arrests
by Ariana Figueroa, Louisiana Illuminator
July 17, 2025
WASHINGTON — Immigration advocacy groups sued the Trump administration Wednesday for dismissing cases in immigration courts in order to place immigrants in expedited removal for swift deportations without judicial review.
As the White House aims to achieve its goals of deporting 1 million immigrants without permanent legal status by the end of the year and a 3,000 arrests-per-day quota for Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, immigrants showing up to court appearances have been arrested or detained.
President Donald Trump’s administration has moved to reshape immigration court, which is overseen by the Department of Justice, through mass firings of judges hired during President Joe Biden’s term and pressuring judges to clear the nearly 4 million case backlog.
The suit was brought in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia by immigration legal and advocacy groups the National Immigrant Justice Center, Democracy Forward, Refugee and Immigrant Center for Legal Education and Services and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area.
The suit is a proposed class action representing 12 immigrants who filed asylum claims or other types of relief and had their cases dismissed and placed in expedited removal, subjecting them to a fast-track deportation.
The individual plaintiffs, who all have pseudonyms in the court documents, had their asylum cases dismissed and were arrested and placed in detention centers far from their homes.
One plaintiff, E.C., fled Cuba after he was arrested and raped after he opposed that country’s government. He came to the U.S. in 2022 and applied for asylum and appeared for an immigration hearing in Miami.
At his hearing, DHS attorneys moved to dismiss his case “without notice and without articulating any reasoning whatsoever” and when he tried to leave the court, ICE arrested and detained him, according to the suit.
E.C. is currently detained in Tacoma, Washington, “thousands of miles from his family, including his U.S. citizen wife,” according to the suit.
New policies
The groups argue new policies from the Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice are unlawful.
Those policies include the approval of civil arrests in immigration court, instructing ICE prosecutors to dismiss cases without following proper procedure, instructing ICE agents to put immigrants who have been in the country for more than two years in expedited removal and pursuing expedited removal when removal cases are ongoing.
“(DHS) has now adopted the policy that it will arrest a noncitizen and place them in expedited removal even if the immigration judge does not immediately grant dismissal or if the noncitizen reserves appeal of the dismissal—either of which means that the full removal proceedings are not over,” according to the suit. “In plain terms, DHS is disregarding both immigration judges who permit noncitizens an opportunity to oppose dismissal and the pendency of an appeal of the dismissal decision.”
The Trump administration has expanded the use of expedited removal, meaning that any immigrant without legal status who’s been in the U.S. for less than two years can be swiftly deported without appearing before an immigration judge.
“DHS and DOJ have implemented their new campaign of courthouse arrests through coordinated policies designed to strip noncitizens of their rights … exposing them to immediate arrest and expedited removal,” according to the suit.
The impact has been “severe,” according to the suit.
“Noncitizens, including most of the Individual Plaintiffs here, have been abruptly ripped from their families, lives, homes, and jobs for appearing in immigration court, a step required to enable them to proceed with their applications for permission to remain in this country,” according to the suit.
Detained immigrants’ stories
The suit details the plaintiffs’ circumstances.
One known as M.K., appeared in immigration court for her asylum hearing after she came to the U.S. in 2024 from Liberia, fleeing an abusive marriage and after she endured female genital mutilation.
DHS attorneys dismissed “her case without notice and, upon information and belief, without articulating any change in circumstances,” according to the suit.
“M.K. speaks a rare language, and because the interpretation was poor, she did not understand what was happening at the hearing,” according to the suit. “M.K. was arrested by ICE at the courthouse and detained; she was so distressed by what happened that she required hospitalization.”
She is currently detained in Minnesota.
Another asylum seeker, L.H., came to the U.S. in 2022 from Venezuela, fleeing from persecution because of her sexual orientation, according to the suit. At her first immigration hearing in May, DHS moved to dismiss her case and has received an expedited removal notice.
ICE officers arrested L.H. after she had her hearing and she is currently detained in Ohio.
Louisiana Illuminator is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Louisiana Illuminator maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Greg LaRose for questions: info@lailluminator.com.
The post Advocates for immigrants sue to stop courthouse ICE arrests appeared first on lailluminator.com
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Left-Leaning
This article presents a critical view of the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement practices, primarily through the lens of advocacy groups and plaintiffs opposing those policies. It highlights emotionally charged personal stories, legal arguments, and allegations of due process violations, all of which frame the administration’s actions negatively. The article lacks input or counterpoints from administration officials or supporters, which contributes to a one-sided portrayal. While rooted in legal filings and factual claims, the framing and selective sourcing suggest a Left-Leaning bias by emphasizing the human cost and alleged injustices over a balanced policy discussion.
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