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Evans pursues threat, Madison P.D. closes case

Sonu Ray

Issue date: 4/22/05 Section: News
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A "female minority student" filed a report last Thursday claiming that four white male students at Drew confronted her and told her to leave campus, according to Chief of Public Safety Tom Evans.

Evans said that the student was walking from the University Center to her residence hall, when one of the four males yelled out, "Get the f-- off campus," and started laughing. According to Evans, the Madison Police Department investigated the report.

However, Madison Detective Sgt. Dennis Lam said, "Nothing came out of it ... [and] there is nothing racial in one aspect or another [about the case]." He added that there was no mention of race nor any threatening gestures made against the female student.

Evans said that the case will be reviewed by the Morristown Prosecutor's Office. Under New Jersey statutes, the report falls under bias intimidation. According to the statute, the alleged offender may be guilty of bias intimidation if he commits, attempted to commit, or conspired to commit an act to intimidate others because of race.

At Drew, Evans said that such an offense would be considered a Human Rights Policy violation. "A lot of people don't even realize that this is a crime," Evans said, "because even though there wasn't a racist remark, it was aimed at a single black student. What else could they have meant?" he said.

During last Sunday's diversity panel meeting, students were concerned that nothing was being done about the case, Evans said. "That's not true," he said. He explained that the criminal investigation conducted by the Madison Police Department takes precedence over that of Public Safety. In addition, "The level of proof in this case is so high. Frequently with criminal matters, they are investigated thoroughly, but sometimes [the crime] can't be proven," Evans said. "I know it's frustrating, but it's part of our democracy ... and knowing and proving are two separate standards."

"Drew wants to treat this as a learning process," Evans said. He recommends that the students involved in the incident talk things out during a judicial board hearing.


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