A Stanford student who was covering the occupation of the university president's office by pro-Palestinian protesters last year for the campus newspaper when he was arrested alongside those protesters has been cleared of wrongdoing, at least by the school.Student journalist Dilan Gohill, a freshman reporter for the Stanford Daily, faced criminal prosecution last year at the behest of Stanford University President Richard Saller and Provost Jenny Martinez, due to his presence in Seller's office during a student protest and occupation that took place there in June 2024.13 students were arrested after the office was vandalized, including fake blood that was splashed on the president's desk. Santa Clara County sheriff’s deputies handled the arrest, and despite his wearing a press badge and saying he was only there to observe and report, Gohill was among the arrestees.Throughout last year, Saller and Martinez maintained that Gohill was culpable. "We believe that the Daily reporter who was arrested inside the building acted in violation of the law and University policies and fully support having him be criminally prosecuted," they said in an earlier statement.Gohill's case caught the attention of free-press advocates and alumni alike, and the Columbia Journalism Review covered the case last month. "My job on June 5th was to keep our community informed, updated, and aware–and I did just that," Gohill said in a statement. "Independent student journalism is crucial and my arrest as a first-year student journalist and Stanford’s subsequent response threatens the values that the institution claims to uphold."Gohill's work covering multiple student protests through the school year earned him a prize from the university at the end of the school year, which was a $9,600 grant for him to take a summer internship at the Los Angeles Times.By the fall, while his disciplinary case was still ongoing, Gohill was allowed to resume classes. But as his attorney and spokesperson Max Szabo says in a release, campus police had confiscated Gohill's laptop, camera, class notes, and more, and he had to take two classes "incomplete" last spring as a result, also turning in two final papers without his laptop or class notes. Those belongings still have not been returned to him.On Wednesday, Stanford cleared Gohill of any disciplinary action, as the Chronicle was first to report. And Szabo says this was a surprise to Gohill, as the university had not reached out to him yet.Still, the criminal case remains in the hands of the Santa Clara County DA's office, and Stanford has not renegged on its position regarding those charges. Still, no charges have been filed against any of the protesters."Stanford correctly declined to pursue disciplinary charges against Dilan, so naturally we’re shocked that the University is standing by their absurd statement calling for his criminal prosecution," Szabo said in a statement. "Declining to pursue lesser disciplinary charges while advocating for criminal charges is not only inconsistent, it suggests Stanford University is more interested in publicly hanging a journalist who reported something they didn’t like than they are in reaching the correct outcome."As the Columbia Journalism Review noted, 46 students were arrested for a similar campus building occupation at Columbia last spring, but Manhattan prosecutors dropped the charges against them less than two months later.Previously: Protesters Take Over Office of Stanford President, 13 ArrestedPhoto: Robert Gareth