SANTA CRUZ — The six UC Santa Cruz student protesters arrested in March for blocking Highway 1 for nearly five hours have been given a 10-month suspension and community service.

Until Jan. 1, the students are not even allowed to enter campus, said their lawyer, Linda Rigas, who said they were also assigned 100 to 125 hours of community service. When they return to classes, they will remain under “stayed suspension” — allowed to enroll on the condition they don”t violate campus policy, or face expulsion.

This provisional enrollment inhibits their ability to engage in campus protests or activism, she said.

“This is happening at a time when tuition hikes are being called into question, not only by the students but throughout California,” Rigas said.

On March 3 on Highway 1 near the Fishhook, the group chained themselves together with pipes, concrete and trash cans, shutting traffic for about five hours, to protest UC tuition increases.

The two men and four women face misdemeanor charges, up to 18 months in jail and potential restitution of about $19,000 for the roughly 85 law enforcement officers who responded to the highway shutdown.

Despite public outcry for their expulsion, including a 4,300 signature online petition, UCSC initially gave the students a 14-day interim suspension. These suspensions are given before final disciplinary decisions are made, and when the campus believes the student”s presence or participation will lead to abuse, a safety threat or disruption, according to UCSC”s student handbook.

In a campus message on March 12, Chancellor George Blumenthal decried the highway protest, saying it not only created a heavy burden on the community but also detracted from important dialogue about UC tuition.

“These protests created a narrative that was overwhelmingly about the disruptive impact of the protests themselves,” Blumenthal wrote. “This is more than just a missed opportunity. It is a shame.”

While federal law prohibits the campus from discussing individual disciplinary matters, Blumenthal wrote that off-campus conduct does not enjoy immunity from campus discipline and students would be heard during the decision process.

Campus spokesman Scott Hernandez Jason said the campus stands by its message.

“The sentiment hasn”t changed. We take these kinds of things seriously and we don”t want to see these kinds of protests that infringe on other people”s rights.”

The student protesters are Ethan Jacob Pezzolo, 19, of Santa Cruz; Janine Victoria Caceres, 21, of Los Angeles; Alexander Bryant Pearce, 19, of San Francisco; Sophia Jeanne DiMatteo, 19, of Sherman Oaks; Lori Leigh Nixon, 28, of Santa Cruz; and Sasha Lee Petterson, 19, of Oakland. —— (c)2015 the Santa Cruz Sentinel (Scotts Valley, Calif.) Visit the Santa Cruz Sentinel (Scotts Valley, Calif.) at www.santacruzsentinel.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC AMX-2015-04-11T05:17:00-04:00