Mamoon Darwish (TYP) is now allowed back on campus after the University Board of Appeals lifted his suspension in a hearing on Wednesday, April 16.

Darwish was involved in a fistfight on South Street on the afternoon of Feb. 16. He was arrested in his room by University Police later that evening.

Neither the administration nor the Brandeis Police can comment on the arrest.

According to Darwish, "There were assault charges filed against me by another Brandeis student, not the student in the fistfight, but these charges were later dropped."

The Waltham District Court report written Feb. 16 and submitted by Sgt. Brian Cogan of the Brandeis University Police says that a female student whose name was crossed out for privacy purposes filed assault charges against Darwish.

According to Cogan's report, these accusations referred to incidents that occurred Feb. 14 and 15. They were reported to University Police at around 5 p.m. on the evening of Feb. 16. The report explains that "A no trespass order was delivered in hand, barring Darwish from Brandeis University property."

Darwish countered that he was not arrested or suspended for these charges. He said that these charges were completely separate from the fistfight case.

Following the incidents, the University Board of Student Conduct recommended suspending Darwish from campus in a Feb. 29 hearing on the fistfight case, and he was officially suspended following the hearing. Darwish's suspension was originally deemed to be in effect until May 2008.

According to Darwish, Director of Student Development and Conduct Erika Lamarre brought it to the attention of the UBSC at the fistfight hearing that the assault charges were filed against him. He believes that this influenced the UBSC's decision to suspend him, especially since Lamarre did not mention that the assault charges had been dropped. Darwish said that this was one of the main arguments of his appeal for the fistfight case.

Laura Cohen '09, director of the Student Union's Office of Student Conduct Advisors and one of Darwish's advisors throughout this process, told the Justice April 14 that Darwish was found not responsible during an appeal hearing for the assault charges.

According to an e-mail sent on April 17 to the Justice by Cohen, Darwish had a sanction hearing for the fistfight case on April 16, during which "[the] Board of Appeals reheard all witnesses and all were cross examined."

"I believe the Board made a fair and balanced decision. [Darwish's] right to due process and procedural fairness were upheld during [the April 16] hearing," Cohen said.

In an e-mail to the Justice written April 17, Prof. Gordon Fellman (SOC), who has served as Darwish's advisor, described the April 16 hearing as "a fair, respectful, decent hearing."

Sanctions recommended during the appeal have since been approved and Darwish has moved back onto campus.

According to the Rights and Responsibilities Handbook, "Upon completion of the appeal hearing, the Appeals Board may uphold the original decision and sanction imposed, find the student not responsible, or increase or decrease the sanction. Any sanctions shall not take effect until approved or modified by the Dean of Student Life or the Director of

Student Development and Conduct."

According to Cohen, the sanctions recommended in the hearing were disciplinary and residential probation, which will be in effect until December 2008.

The Rights and Responsibilities Handbook says, "The status of residence probation reminds the student that his/her infraction has become part of their record and that repetition of similar or other unacceptable behavior may be cause for removal from the residence halls."

The handbook also says, "A student who is placed on disciplinary probation is permitted to remain enrolled at the University, often under certain stated conditions depending upon the nature of the violation and potential learning value that may be derived from such conditions. The student is subject to further disciplinary actions, including suspension or dismissal, if they violates [sic] the terms of the probation or in any way fails to conduct themselves as a responsible member of the University community."

Cohen said, "After reading the new sanctions, Prof. William Kapelle (HIST), chair of the Appeals Board, stated that [Darwish] was allowed back on campus."

According to Cohen, though the hearing lasted over three hours, there were about 10 or 15 supporters who waited outside the hearing room from beginning to end.

"I think it's a testament to how committed the students of this campus are not only to upholding due process and procedural fairness, but to the University's greater message of social justice," Cohen said.

She said it was unfortunate that it has taken until the end of the semester to resolve both of [Darwish's] cases, and because he was suspended for such a long period of time, he was not given the opportunity to finish his TYP year.

Darwish said, "Not only were my student rights violated, but also my human rights. My reputation has been ruined, and my educational career has been damaged in these last two months that I will never get back. I just want to try to speak to the students so that this doesn't happen to any other student again."

In an e-mail to the Justice last Monday, TYP Director Erika Smith said, "This is an unprecedented set of circumstances, so the appropriate parties are still making decisions about what will happen next."

"I'm just trying to complete the year and make up all of the work I have missed," Darwish said.

Darwish declined to comment about whether he wishes to return to Brandeis next fall.

A previous version of this story was posted on the Justice Web site last week.