CORRECTION APPENDED SEE BOTTOM"Stand if you feel like your voice hasn't been heard on this campus," shouted Ryan McElhaney '10 as he and Adriani Leon '08 led students in a demonstration on the Great Lawn last Thursday in opposition to what they and others said is a lack of transparency and unfair proceedings in several University cases in the past few years.

The protest was followed by a meeting in the Shapiro Campus Center Atrium at 11 p.m.

Leon said that she was inspired to hold a demonstration because of the events surrounding the suspension of Mamoon Darwish (TYP) from campus by the Office of Student Life. Darwish's supporters claim that he was not given fair treatment because he is Palestinian.

McElhaney organized a meeting last Monday to discuss grievances, said Leon. The event drew 30 students, including eight graduate students, she said. At the meeting, Leon said she noticed a pattern in the administration's behavior concerning Darwish's expulsion, the censorship of Prof. Donald Hindley (POL) after making allegedly racially insensitive remarks in class last semester, the removal of a Palestinian art exhibition from the Brandeis library in spring 2006, the semesterlong suspension of Gravity Magazine last spring and the controversy concerning President Jimmy Carter's speech in January 2007.

According to McElhaney, the day's events were planned as a demonstration of student solidarity in the face of the administration's oppression.

Preparation for the demonstration began at 5 p.m., when students passed around information sheets and form letters addressed to the administration in support of Darwish.

Yvett Diaz '11, who was helping to pass out the letters, said that the goal of this demonstration is not to embarrass Brandeis during its open house, which happened to be the best day to hold the event, because two wrongs don't make a right.

While some demonstrators were passing around information, others were making signs to hold during the demonstration. Lisa Hananiya '11, one of the students painting the signs, said that her goal for this demonstration was to increase transparency in the administration's proceedings. The administration likes to handle these matters "under the carpet," she said, in reference to the fact that the Darwish and Hindley cases were not publicized by the administration.

Norman Anderson '08, who was sitting on the lawn during the demonstration, said the event was the first time he heard about the Darwish case. He said that he does not understand what Brandeis' jurisdiction is in an off-campus case or why the other student involved in the incident was not prosecuted.

At 6 p.m., organizers encouraged everyone on the Great Lawn to rise and stand in silent protest, many raising their fists or covering their faces. After about five minutes of silence, organizers took the stage to air their grievances.

"I will probably keep my arm up as long as my muscles will allow," said Gabe Gaskin '08, who was the first to speak. He congratulated the demonstrators on their fortitude, saying that there has not been this much spirit in this place since 1969, when a group of black students occupied Ford Hall, the former student center, to demand better minority representation on campus.

Afterward, McElhaney opened the grass for anyone willing to speak out about an experience they had in which they felt that their voice was silenced. "If you don't raise your voice," he said, "no one will listen."

Walaa Sbait '08, who was recently arrested by the Waltham Police following a fight in the Mods, took the stage, pretending to be searching for something under the litter piled on the Great Lawn. "I'm searching for the truth," he said. "I lost it." He implored the crowd to help Darwish and Rashad Baldwin '11, who was arrested during the situation involving Sbait, search for the truth in those situations as well.

Brandeis is a university based on social justice, said Meryl Diamond (HELLER), a graduate student in the Sustainable International Development program, after the demonstration, but Brandeis does not live up to its reputation. "That's hypocrisy I can't stand," she said, calling it a "systemic problem."

Also in attendance were Dean of Student Life Rick Sawyer and Associate Dean of Student Life Jamele Adams. Sawyer said that he enjoys being around students and feeling their energy, but disagrees that the administration is at fault in any of these cases. He declined to comment further.

Adams shared Sawyer's views on student activism. "That's the kind of student I was," he said. Adams said that although the situations may be better if the administration was more transparent, students such as Darwish have a right to privacy, and the administration does not want to violate that right.

Anya Bergman contributed reporting.

Adriani Leon is a contributing writer for the Justice.

Correction: In the print edition, the article says that a Palestinian art exhibition was removed from the Rose Art Museum in spring 2006. The exhibition was actually removed from the library.