I think it is in really poor taste for the Uconn Calzone place on campus to now sell a calzone named “The Mac-Gatti Zone”. The kid obviously has issues but this is just plan wrong.
When you consider his history it seems the boy is clearly “fighting” something emotionally, as he is not learning from his previous mistakes. He seems intent on putting himself on a path of self destruction. The alcohol just amplifies his distress.
I agree that this is a sad situation. I take no delight in anyone else’s pain. Certainly he is not the first nor the last college student to overindulge in alcohol and suffer the consequences. It is unfortunate that the boy cannot get the assistance that he needs without such a public display of bad behavior. The publicity has only made a difficult situation worse.
Gatti claimed he was “very hungry” and all he wanted was his bacon-jalapeno mac and cheese.
I think the take home lesson here is that once you’ve got the munchies, drinking and open container is a really bad idea.
@lindyk8 - there are studies that show black youth are more likely to be arrested for delinquent behavior, despite the fact that they commit no more delinquent acts than white youth. I’m not sure how much the situation would have escalated, but I’m sure the people there would have felt more threatened due to unconscious biases.
What a tool… The school did the right thing here.
UConn admitted him after he was twice arrested while as a student in UMass?
I’ve been wondering - if the kid pre-empts the disciplinary process by withdrawing as quickly as possible, would there then be nothing unpleasant on his official record and transcript other than the withdrawal? Knowing how slowly decisions are made at the institutions with which I’m familiar, since the appropriate committee needs to meet and there are layers of approval, it seems to me that this kid may have moved out of the Conn campus before he could be expelled. If the same thing happened previously at UMass, there may have been no disciplinary action to report.
I have a feeling his parents won’t be sending him back to school any time soon. I hope he gets help-he’s still young .
Back on the topic subject a bit, say this event hadn’t happened. Say he got expelled from UMass, but then when he got to UConn he got his act together and this never happened. Would people have still been against his being able to get into UConn?
I’d be surprised if they knew anything about it and still let him in. Maybe his parents donated a boatload of money!
That does sound like the UMass students I’m familiar with, though
If the expulsion from UMAss was for drunk and disorderly conduct I would not have been against the admission to UConn, provided he had submitted some proof that he recognized his issues and had taken steps to address them. But we are assuming that UConn had notice of the expulsion from UMass and I am not certain if that is the case.
I wouldn’t have been against him getting into UConn if his arrest was for drunk and disorderly-kids are stupid and make mistakes, especially during freshman year. I think he should’ve had to submit proof that he had made amends and gotten help, but I don’t think one mistake should automatically exclude you from higher education.
Weird thing is …he doesn’t seem THAT drunk in the video. I wonder if he had blacked out?
I had gotten the impression that the kid started school at UMass in the fall of 2014, withdrew or got kicked out, and enrolled in UConn this fall. That’s not the case. He enrolled in UConn in the second semester of the 2014-15 year. http://www.plainvillecitizen.com/sports/6492083-129/the-calm-before-the-collegiate-storm.html So, he’s a second semester freshman.
He’s a competitive skier , though UConn’s program is club status. He attended Killington Mountain School, a school for skiers, but also seems to have graduated from Locust Valley H.S. in New York. The KMS website featured him as an alumna endorsing his experience at KMS. The article has been removed from the KMS website but it’s still available elsewhere.
Ironically, he worked in the kitchen at a ski camp one summer.
I was actually thinking the same thing when I watched the video @jonri. He is not staggering or slurring his words and he has his balance. I am wondering if drugs were involved as some can make people very verbose and belligerent. You can lose your filter pretty easily with drugs as well.
I also hope he gets help, but I’m not so sure his parents won’t be sending him back to school soon. Past precedent would suggest they will. I am in the camp that believes they are at least partially responsible for some of his problems. I would be more inclined to give the parents a pass had it been clear they had gotten him into a program, or had tighter controls over him when they sent him away.
Most of the blame should fall on the drunken idiot kid who squandered a first and second chance. When does he have to accept some responsibility for his own situation?
While many are applauding the extreme patience of the manager, a part of me wonders why he was willing to let the kid walk away - he even encouraged it. There are undoubtedly cameras at the workplace, many captured this kid walking into the premises with an open bottle of booze. By not having this kid arrested immediately, the manager was potentially opening up the school to liability had the kid left, gotten into a car, and run over someone. Will it take something like that to get people to realize how the manager was acting negligently?
And in reply to #23, wouldn’t UConn need to hold a disciplinary hearing anyway, even in his absence, to protect themselves and prevent him from coming back?
3puppies - at my institution, disciplinary hearings can only be held for current students - enrolled or on a temporary leave with the expectation of re-enrollment. If a student withdrew permanently, we wouldn’t have the responsibility/obligation to discipline him/her. This is a private institution; there may be different requirements at a public institution. If we had a similar situation here, the fact that the student was charged would be enough to prevent him from being re-accepted.
This is so upsetting. Next, he gets a gun? Then what?
Well, he’s 19 so he has to wait a couple years first.
^^ @Vladenschlutte, wait a couple of years just as he waited before drinking?
It’s a whole lot easier to get alcohol underaged than a pistol.