Update on Sharples table incident

<p>The lad was referred to the College Judiciary Committee (panel of deans, faculty, and students for serious disciplinary actions likely to involve suspension). The hearing was initially scheduled for last Wednesday. However, with mid-term exams and fall break, it was postponed until the week classes resume.</p>

<p>Thanks for the update.</p>

<p>The College Judiciary Committee finally held its hearing on the Sharples table incident Wednesday night. It had been delayed another week because Dean Gross was not available the previous Wednesday.</p>

<p>I have not confirmed this, but word from several students on the Jolt message boards, including friends of the accused, is that he was expelled from the college. </p>

<p>In a search for previous CJC decisions dating back to 1998, I can't find another expulsion, although it was considered in one case that ultimately resulted in a one semester suspension and probation.</p>

<p>Usually, CJC decisions are announced in a letter from the CJC to the Swarthmore community, so this news will probably be be public this week.</p>

<p>What has been known since the night of the incident was publicly confirmed in a Phoenix editorial this past week. The suspected table thrower had come to the party inebriated from a DU fraternity pledge event. The fraternity made it easy to spot their boys by requiring the pledges to go to the party without their shirts. He was also a pitcher on the varsity baseball team.</p>

<p>So........whose he pitching for next? I am curious to see what coaches are already recruiting this guy...keep us posted. What a bad situation.</p>

<p>I believe that the choice between permanent expulsion and suspension/dismissal with the ability to apply for readmission at some point in the future may have hinged on his admitting what he did, making financial restitution to the girl (as well as to the college for the card-reader computer he smashed), and getting alcohol treatment.</p>

<p>However, he apparently did not confess to the Deans or the CJC (reports are that he did confess immediately after the incident, but later changed his story and said that he was too drunk to remember). </p>

<p>The kid put himself between a rock and hard place because he has the threat of legal and/or civil action hanging over his head, which a confession wouldn't have helped. There may have been some "clamming up" by the fraternity, which probably didn't sit too well with the CJC.</p>

<p>If the penalty is indeed expulsion, I suspect that the CJC letter will lay out the facts in considerable detail.</p>

<p>I figured the kid was in deep trouble the instant I heard the story. College policy is very specific in stating that being intoxicated does NOT lessen responsibilty for actions.</p>

<p>This is very sad. I hope the student will get the treatment he needs.</p>

<p>OK, a little more info.</p>

<p>I don't think the guy was technically expelled. He was suspended and must leave campus immediately. He has the ability to apply for re-instatement at some point in the future (no earlier than Fall 2006) through another CJC hearing. However, they set up conditions for that which are essentially impossible to meet. </p>

<p>He must have at least six semesters of credit transferable to Swarthmore before he can be considered for re-admission. He, at most, has four semesters from Swarthmore (and I think less), so he would need to get a full year of academic credit elsewhere. Transfering credits to Swarthmore is not automatic. As a practical matter, if he spends a year at another school, there would be no point in going through another CJC hearing to consider re-instatement.</p>

<p>So next the civil lawsuit? Is he facing that also? I wonder how his frat brothers see all of this? Not that they are responsible for his degree of drunken behavior but it must have been a wake up call. What a sad situation for all really......losses all around. Thanks for the update.</p>

<p>I do believe the girl hit is planning to sue. And the word on the street is that the drinking policy will be changing.</p>

<p>I don't feel it's my place to talk about potential civil or criminal filings, but what Arador is hearing wouldn't surprise me.</p>

<p>On the DU fraternity: They did have at least one of their members testify at the hearing - the "brother" in charge of pledge activities who organized the pledge activities that night.</p>

<p>Their efforts were described to me as "covering the frat's butt first" and, second, trying to help the table thrower. From the characterizations I've heard, it wasn't a convincing performance.</p>

<p>I don't think the CJC hearing was the end of it.</p>

<p>I wonder what JD the DU Frat had prepping the witness? I am surprised he wasn't more convincing. I would agree CJC probably wasn't the end of it....
So nobody else is on a release? How interesting. This kind of event usually
brings about evalutions and statements about change but in reality the current population will have to move on before that can occur. Sad day for such a small campus.</p>

<p>Apparently the frat representative just spouted the usual nonsense at the hearing. That the frat would prefer to have no alcohol at pledge events, but since other organizations on campus serve alcohol, they feel like they have to as well. That the kid wasn't intoxicated when he left the pledge event, yadda, yadda. I'm not really sure what the frat hoped to accomplish by talking at the hearing. Sanctions against the frat wouldn't need to go to the CJC. Those would be handed down by the deans.</p>

<p>The CJC hearing was only to deal with one student whose specific actions involved assault (automatic referral to the CJC) and other actions carrying a potential penalty of suspension or dismissal -- smashing an ID card reader computer during the same brief rampage.</p>

<p>And thus we can conclude that impaired judgement runs rampant......and that no sensible JD alum wanted to be involved.</p>

<p>Actually, I think the main goal of the frat testimony at the hearing may have been to suggest that the kid did the bulk of his drinking that night at the Sharples party after he had left the frat pledge event. I don't think that's true, but that was the goal.</p>

<p>As for the kid, his main line of defense was apparently that he was too drunk to remember anything and that nobody had actually seen him throw the table. From what I understand, he admitted to smashing the computer card-reader just a few feet away from the table (I think people had seen him do that). People had also seen him in the initial stages of his rampage when he was kicking the chairs and tables around on the balconey. One PA had apparently gone to get assistance to remove the kid, but the table had gone over the balcony railing by the time he returned. Immediately after the table-throwing, he said he had done it, but changed his story by the next morning.</p>

<p>My own theory (purely speculation on my part) is that he had already been asked to leave the party and his rampage occurred on the way out. The upstairs balcony is on the way to the front door of the building - the party itself was on the main level, one floor down. But, I haven't heard any account of what the kid was doing between the time he arrived at the party and the table-throwing a short time later. It's standard procedure for the PAs to remove heavily intoxicated students from the parties, so putting two and two together, that scenario would explain his "going nuts". There had been an incident with a PA and a belligerent student at the back door of the party shortly before the table-throwing. It's not clear if this was the same student, but I think it's likely it was.</p>

<p>Part of the problem was that one of the PAs working the party that night is a member of fraternity. His story apparently differs a bit from the other PAs working the party.</p>

<p>You certainaly have fleshed out the sketchy details....thanks. It is clear from the published story and yours filling in much of the timeline that it must have been very out of hand. Alas the brother who was helping to evaluate intoxicated students.......how the sharing of bond/blood can cause one to bear the sins.</p>

<p>Actually, I don't think the party was out-of-hand. My impression is that the the incident, from the time the student arrived at the party to the table-throwing was pretty short. From all reports, the PAs (paid non-drinking party associates) handled things well and were mobilizing to get the kid out of there. I don't know, but I suspect that the frat member PA was actually the one moving the kid out of there, something that was probably taking a bit of cajoling.</p>

<p>The problem was that nobody dreamed a student would pick up a table and throw it over the balcony railing. It's kind of a weird and unexpected thing to do.</p>

<p>BTW, I don't want to unfairly paint all the frat boys as being irresponsible. A number of them are involved in the PA program and work non-frat campus parties routinely and effectively in what is, in many ways, a "bouncer" role. Typically, when a student causes a problem, one of the PAs walks the kid back to the dorm where he is turned over to the dorm RA or to the Health Center, depending the situation. They also call Security if a situation appears to be escalating, but I think this one unfolded too fast for that.</p>

<p>Thank you, ID, for keeping us up to date. It is a sad situation but I am glad to hear that Swarthmore is taking the matter seriously.</p>