Twelve of the 15 Salisbury University students accused of attacking and beating a man in Maryland because of his sexual orientation had their hate crime and first-degree assault charges dismissed, court records show.

All 15 students were arrested last month for allegedly punching, kicking, spitting on and calling a man derogatory names after luring him into an off-campus apartment on Oct. 15 under false pretenses, according to Salisbury police.

The students, ages 18 to 21, originally faced…