Poffenbarger Stabbing: West Campus Forum
Tonight there was a panel discussion at Noyes Community Center about the assault that occurred last Saturday on West Campus. About 30 members of the community–mostly Cornell staff and a handful of students–joined Vice President Susan Murphy, Judicial Administrator Mary Beth Grant, Dean of Students Kent Hubbell, and Captain Kathy Zoner to discuss the incident. The basic facts were reviewed, followed by a question and answer session in which questions of community, race, and campus safety dominated.
The only new information released in the discussion came from Poffenbarger’s release of certain information. Judicial Administrator Grant said, “Nathan Poffenbarger was temporarily suspended (pending a full hearing on the merits) on Feb. 18, 2006. The judicial administrator will pursue the matter in the campus judicial system after the criminal matter has been resolved.” Gwen Wilkinson, District Attorney, plans to see the case in court this summer.
Mary Beth Grant, Kent Hubbell, and Susan Murphy
When asked about the weapon used in the stabbing, Zoner refused comment, citing the current active investigation. However, a young Asian girl in the audience expressed concern over her safety without a weapon:
I can understand why some students want to carry a weapon, because things like attitude cannot be that easily changed. This is the type of crime where I am very concerned. I came from a place where I had rocks thrown at me because I’m Asian, so I come here and I realize that this is all happening again. I myself am having doubts if I should be carrying a weapon.
Other audience members commented that students have either been increasingly carrying small knives and other weapons for protection, or seriously considering it. However, CUPD representative Zoner was quick to point out that carrying any tool which could inflict damage to another person was illegal on campus.
About Holiday, Murphy indicated that he has been released from the hospital and is recovering well. His wound, which affected a lung, will take time to heal, but he is expected to “recover completely.” Murphy also promised to lead a Cornell contingent up to Union College to watch Holiday’s next play.
For more information, please feel free to download a recording in mp3 format of the forum.
| This entry was posted on Saturday, February 25th, 2006 at 6:50 pm and is tagged with campus judicial system, cornell staff, judicial administrator, nathan poffenbarger, campus forum, susan murphy, dean of students, audience members, criminal matter, campus safety, mary beth, hubbell, noyes, answer session, asian girl, panel discussion, last saturday, district attorney, question and answer, wilkinson. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback. |
4 Responses to “Poffenbarger Stabbing: West Campus Forum”
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Hi
It is horrible what happened at Virginia Tech a few days ago.
The media stations are really showing these video footages too much.
I hope it doesn’t put bad ideas in the heads of new killers!
I wonder if there’s any video from inside the school.
I hope the coverage goes away…
Hello!
How are you?
i’m eric. joining a couple boards and looking
forward to participating. hehe unless i get
too distracted!
eric
in my opinion carrying of any kind of weapon should be prohibited in campus. If anyone found with some kind of that objects should be treated strictly.