| November 20, 2000 | Contact: Elizabeth Conlisk (614) 292-3040
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Ohio State takes steps following Sunday disturbances Officials begin process of identifying students, sending letters
COLUMBUS -- Ohio State University officials today (11/20) began taking the steps outlined Sunday (11/19) by President William E. Kirwan to address the disturbances that occurred in the early morning hours following the Ohio State-Michigan football game. Those steps include disciplining students found to be involved in illegal, violent activities; expediting a revision to the Code of Student Conduct to give the university more authority over student behavior off-campus; and sending letters to parents, students and area landlords.
Interim Vice President for Student Affairs William E. Hall said the Columbus Police Department has provided him with a list of 34 persons arrested in conjunction with the disturbances. “Preliminary investigation shows that 10 of these individuals are probably Ohio State students, and further arrests and charges may be forthcoming,” he said.
Hall said he will send a letter to both the home and local addresses of each student arrested, notifying them that they have been “suspended in abeyance,” pending a meeting with him to be scheduled by the student no later than Dec. 1. That means that the suspension will not take effect until Hall has reviewed the police reports and met with the student. After reviewing the matter, Hall will recommend appropriate disciplinary action to the president, who has broad authority to sanction students who are determined to be a threat to the safety or health of others.
Hall, who Kirwan designated to investigate the actions of students in this incident, will also be seeking to identify students who participated in violent, illegal actions but who have not be arrested. To this end, the university community has been asked to contact the Columbus Police or the Ohio State University Police if they can identify persons, particularly those shown on film, who overturned cars, threw bottles, set fires, or performed other violent crimes. Of special interest is information leading to the arrest of the person who attacked Ohio State student Brian P. McGrew, Hall said. McGrew is recovering at the Ohio State University Medical Center from a stab wound to the abdomen.
The University Senate is scheduled to vote on the revised Code of Student Conduct before the end of the year. The revisions, which expand the university’s authority over student conduct to include off-campus incidents, were recently approved by the Council on Student Affairs, a subcommittee of the Senate.
Hall said that a letter to parents has been drafted and is in final stages of preparation for mailing. In it, Kirwan states that the majority of the Columbus campus’s 48,000 students behave responsibly, but that some do not. He states that the university will not tolerate activity of the kind exhibited this weekend, and he asks parents to discuss the situation with their sons and daughters over the holidays.
Kirwan will also send an email to all students tomorrow, again stating his resolve to put an end to such violent and dangerous behavior and calling for cooperation from all students.
Working through Campus Partners, Kirwan is seeking to involve campus landlords in helping to help solve the problems caused by excessively large and raucous parties held on their properties. Kirwan has asked Terry Foegler, president of Campus Partners, to meet with the landlords to develop an appropriate plan of action.
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