(L-R): Brandon King, John Robinson and Aaron Ray wait for their disciplinary hearings at Hampton University. Mr. King said students were not able to question panel members or serve as witnesses for each other. Photo: Bravetta Hassell Like other students, he said he did not understand why it was acceptable to hand out fliers with half-naked women that advertised parties, but not for students to distribute fliers encouraging activism.

That evening, the seven students received the verdicts: For at least five, it was performing 20 hours of community service, said two of the accused students, Iyabo Ali and John Robinson. Ms. Ali said she received only a warning.

The students learned their fate after being called into the office of the Dean of Women to pick up letters revealing the university’s decision.

However, one of the women students chose not to come for her letter, Mr. Robinson said, though he assumed she was asked to do community service as well.

Mr. Robinson said that any punishment was unreasonable, but that they didn’t have a problem doing it. “What we did was community service in the first place,” he said.

The seven were part of an anti-war protest on Nov. 2 at the Virginia school.

The hearing before the board of administrators garnered national attention. An online petition by the World Can’t Wait, an organization that sponsored the nationwide anti-war protest, drew more than 1,000 signatures, many from university professors, and from such well-known writers as Michael Eric Dyson, Jill Nelson and Howard Zinn.

Three students from Howard University in Washington, D.C., came to support the students. Mr. Robinson said the group had received words of support from as far away as Spain. Bryan Ogilvie, another accused student, appeared on Pacifica Radio’s “Democracy, Now!”

In that forum and others, interviewers referred to the administration’s 2003 seizure of the student newspaper, The Hampton Script, after it did not publish an administration statement on the front page.

On Nov. 18, Mr. Robinson, Brandon King and Aaron Ray, a sophomore History Education major from Columbia, Md., received a summons from the university to attend a hearing over what was called their possible expulsion, because they had not followed proper protest protocol as outlined in the university’s student handbook.

Mr. Ogilvie, a sophomore from Long Island, N.Y., called it ridiculous for the administration to attack the students over rules in a handbook that is regularly updated, but given out only to freshmen.

Like other students, he said he did not understand why it was acceptable to hand out fliers with half-naked women that advertised parties, but not for students to distribute fliers encouraging activism.

“It’s inconsistent as far as the application of the rules,” he said.

The hearing was originally scheduled for Nov. 21, but that date gave the accused students little time to seek legal representation. It was moved to Dec. 2 after administrative officials were pounded with phone calls from outraged students and organization representatives.

Four more students faced similar charges. University officials maintained that the students were “cajoling” and “proselytizing,” as well as posting fliers unapproved by university officials.

The hearing, closed to the public and news media, began shortly after 9 a.m. The seven students, along with parents and lawyers, a few faculty members and a representative of the American Civil Liberties Union, sat straight-faced before the panel of administrators.

Outside, students waited, discussing the case and handing out yellow strips in support. Inside the glass-enclosed room, the panel explained the rules and regulations before releasing the students and calling them back separately for individual hearings.

“The process looks flawed, but we’re going to stick with it,” said Folabi Olagbaj, director of the Mid-Atlantic regional field office of Amnesty International. “The students are not fully aware of what they are being charged with.”

The hearing involved a lot of fact-finding, said Mr. Olabaju, who informed that he did not see a police report of the incident or alleged videotape footage showing some of the students posting unapproved fliers in a university building.

“Nobody asked for approval during the Civil Rights Movement,” said Arthur Ray, Aaron Ray’s father, who had arrived in Hampton Dec. 1.

A lot of parents objected to the students’ not being able to question panel members or serve as witnesses for each other, said Mr. King, a senior Sociology major who talked with students as he waited his turn to be called inside. The students were allowed only to read their prepared statements.

The university issued a statement saying, “The matter was simply an issue of compliance with University policies and procedures. The University certainly permits peaceful protests; however, all policies and procedures must be adhered to by students as stated in the Hampton University Official Student Handbook (2004 Edition). …

“No students were disciplined for their beliefs. … Hampton University has always and continues to be a champion of free speech and free expression. Hampton University believes in the free flow and sharing of ideas among our faculty, staff and students.”

Mr. Robinson, a senior Sociology major, said, “The case would provide an opportunity for things to change at Hampton and for the students to finally be heard.”