I fired off a letter to The Claremont Courrier after I learned of the totally destructive behavior of our Pitzer friends up at Claremont Graduate University. Here it is in its entirety.
Pitzer vandals
Dear Editor:
I wasn't surprised to see that Pitzer College students were behind the latest wave of vandalism at Claremont Graduate University. After having destroyed Claremont McKenna's fountains earlier this year at the Karl Rove protest, one shouldn't expect any proper behavior on their part.
It's high time the college punish those responsible. If they fail to do so, I recommend disallowing Pitzer students access to our campus and classes. At Claremont McKenna, students are required to pay dorm damages if there is property damage, even if they aren't to blame. Why isn't Pitzer?
Charles Johnson
Claremont McKenna
Dear Editor:
In response to the recent story [print only, not online] and letter to the editor regarding vandalism at the old Claremont Graduate University apartments on Dartmouth Avenue, please note that the Pitzer College students found to be involved were held accountable by the College.
They were required to pay for the clean-up, will perform community service and face additional sanctions. Statements to the contrary are untrue.Kira Poplowski
Vice President of
Public Relations and Marketing
Pitzer College
7 comments:
"It's high time the college punish those responsible. If they fail to do so, I recommend disallowing Pitzer students access to our campus and classes."
"please note that the Pitzer College students found to be involved were held accountable by the College."
"They were required to pay for the clean-up, will perform community service and face additional sanctions."
So now that you have your wish, are you going to get over it or are you going to keep on trying to brand all Pitzer students as vandals in your tiring and sad little "I'm better than you are" game...
The truth is Charles, everybody knows what your up to, and nobody is buying it.
You honestly don't think this is an adequate punishment?
By this logic, Claremont students that cause dorm damages should be charged with vandalism?!?
I think it's even senseless to try and get him to see reason... he's just completely detached from reality at this point.
And I suppose colleges nationwide should turn in students caught with marijuana over to the police. I mean, it's a crime, right?
When he's having one of his superiority tantrums, it's best to just leave him to whine and cry until he gets tired.
Charles - yes, vandalism is a crime. More to the point, it is a crime against property, so if a victim (in this case, CGU) does not want to press charges, the D.A. does not continue with charges. (On the other hand, for certain "crimes against persons" felonies, the D.A. will file charges regardless of the victim's wishes, because of the extent of the crimes. Not having the victim's cooperation just makes it more difficult to prosecute.)
This is a common occurrence on the campuses, not just with regard to this situation. Frequently, when perpetrators are found to be students, the victim will decline to press criminal charges, allowing the in-house judicial system to act instead. Vandalism to property, theft of and damage to golf carts (which technically counts as a grand theft auto), and even sometimes burglaries are sent through J-Board instead of through the criminal system.
Whatever the opinion on this general method of operating, it is only fair to recognize that these students aren't being given unusual preferential treatment. This is how most of the colleges operate in response to property-related crimes committed by students.
Post a Comment