at San Hose State University in California? The university has suspended four students for bullying a black roommate, locking a bicycle chain around his neck, using racial slurs,
locking him in his room, and hanging a Confederate flag and pictures of Adolf Hitler in their shared dormitory suite.
The police charged the students with a misdemeanor hate crime and with misdemeanor battery. They face a maximum one-year jail sentence if convicted as charged.
Duh! I am no lawyer but reading the news report, I would think there should be charges of felony assault, imprisonment and maybe kidnaping.
It reminds me of a case that occurred while I was the Professor of Military Science (#ROTC) at #Hofstra University on Long Island. A law student was charge with fondling a fellow female student in an elevator. There was not enough evidence for criminal charges, so the university convened a disciplinary board. They asked my department to provide one officer for the board. They normally did not ask us, because we had a reputation for being hardnosed. In this case, that is what they wanted. I decided to be on the board.
The student brought his own lawyer, of course. I recommended a suspension. The lawyer argued that if the student was suspended it would ruin his career as a future lawyer. I said that is exactly
the point. Colleges and universities have a responsibility to weed out people that should not be in certain professions. I said the law profession should not want a person who assaults women to become lawyers. The board took my side and the student was suspended.
I think the same principle applies in this San Hose State case. These students are outed for who
or what they are – racists. The school should kick them out and no other college should accept them. If they argue that it was all a bad prank gone wrong with no ill will intended, then I would argue that it shows a major lack of sound judgment and that alone should be enough to eliminate them.
I wrote about bullying in the workplace in my e-book, Leadership for New Managers: Book Two, http://smashjwords.com/b/300090.