The Johnsonian

Issue date: 4/4/07 Section: Profiles

Campus police usually refers students to the dean of students for judicial sanctions instead of making arrests, Police Chief Frank Zebedis said. One Winthrop student was never given such a choice.

The student was arrested on March 21 while climbing Winthrop's water tower. He was immediately taken to the Rock Hill Police department where he would have served 30 days in jail if his bail had not been paid.

The student, who wishes to remain anonymous, was charged with trespassing and disorderly conduct.

"We don't arrest students for trespassing on the university unless they have caused a problem in a certain building or residence hall," Zebedis said.

While the student was in neither of those places, page 36 in the Winthrop student handbook says, "Students and student organizations are expected to abide by these regulations… Additional rules and regulations may be adopted and will be promulgated through campus communication channels. A student or student organization who is responsible for misconduct or is responsible of being an accessory to misconduct shall be subject to the sanctions authorized by this code."

Zebedis said disorderly conduct can be anything from being drunk in public to challenging someone to fight or cursing in public.

"If a reasonable person would deem or think the action of another to be offensive, aggressive, or is a risk to themself, while in public, the disorderly conduct is the appropriate charge," Zebedis said.

"I think the trespassing charges and the actions taken against me were extreme after looking over the handbook," the student said.

According to the handbook, the Department of Student Affairs holds the responsibility of the disciplinary action taken upon each student.

"It was just for fun. When I got about halfway up the tower I saw blue lights and I came straight back down," the student said. "That's when they arrested me and started asking me questions. I was polite and didn't talk back to them at all. I already knew I was in trouble and didn't want to make the situation worse. Before I knew it, I was in the back of the police car."

Although the student was drunk according to the police report, the student said he was not intoxicated. He said he was never given a breathalyzer test to back up such charges.

He was, however, questioned several times about who he was with, how much he drank and what fraternity he belonged to.

"I'm not even in a fraternity, but they did not seem to believe me," he said. "Those rosters are public information. It would be easy to find out that I'm not a part of one."

Looking at each fraternity's roster, The Johnsonian could find no evidence of the student ever being in a fraternity. Also, several people from each fraternity said that there are no pledges by his name.

The student said his wristwatch was broken during the arrest and red welts appeared on his wrists because of the tightness of the cuffs.

Complaints about excessive force are not common, Zebedis said.

"We have had one complaint this academic year of excessive use of force," Zebedis said. "That case was investigated and was unfounded."

The student faces a number of hearings in the coming weeks. He recently received a letter that threatened his suspension or expulsion from Winthrop University because of the charges.

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