Something is wrong here

                                                   Something is wrong here!

The Commuter has been able to secure an interview with the student who is at the center of a situation that took place while he tried to use one of the computer labs on campus.

The intent of this interview is to shed light on an ongoing situation on campus. We at The Commuter will let you, the readers, decide what to think.

Q. Can you tell me about the situation? (what happened)

A. I was headed into the learning center computer lab when Mike Smith pulled me aside to tell me to “pull up my drawers because he could see my crack.” I looked back at my rear end and felt that my pants weren’t unacceptable, and my boxers weren’t showing. He claimed to be personally offended by my pants and told me I could either pull up my “drawers” or go work somewhere else.

At this point, I was offended.

I asked him how was it that he was offended when: 1. After I walked in the lab he wouldn’t see me again until I left and 2. My pants were not even low enough for his allegations to be true. He also made a statement about “keeping his labs safe.” I asked him if there was a school policy, conduct, or dress code that I was violating and he said that by not following his request that I was indeed violating school policy. I told him that if he is denying me access to the lab due to a personal preference or opinion that I was going to go ahead and do my homework.

So I walked into the lab and sat down to start my homework. He followed me in, and told me to get out. At this point there were other students around watching. I told him that if he could give me a legitimate reason why I shouldn’t be able to do my homework in the lab, I would leave. He said, “oh come on, you know why.” I said, “no I don’t, so tell me why I can’t sit here and do my homework. He failed to produce a reason again, so I asked a few more times to get my point across. I wanted it to be known to the people around me what this guys’ reasoning was. He went and got his supervisor, a guy named Shay, who came in and pretty much said he wasn’t completely aware of the situation but he knew that a disagreement had taken place and that I needed to leave the lab. I told him the same thing I told Mike, that it was bullshit and there is no reason I should not be able to do my homework in the lab. He (Shay) told me that if I didn’t leave, he would call security. I told him to do whatever he felt necessary because I wasn’t leaving until I finished my homework, so he left and called security.

5-10 minutes later I finished my homework and got off the computer. When I walked outside of the lab and grabbed my water bottle off of the table, Mike, Shay, another guy and a lady were all standing there looking at me. Someone asked me what was going on and I told them I had nothing to say and I was waiting for security.

Security got there and he was rude from the start. He asked Mike what happened, and then told me that it wasn’t an unreasonable request and I explained that I felt it was. He asked me for my Driver License or school ID and I told him that I didn’t have either but I had my student number. He then accused me of lying about the identification, but I had in fact forgot my wallet that day. Then he tells me more than once that I am not allowed in the computer lab and I needed to leave campus, so I told him the only reason I was still there was I was waiting for him to arrive, and that once he finished “repeating” himself I would leave. He then said, “that’s it. You’re suspended.”

Q. How do you feel about going to school at LBCC?

A. I honestly loved this place and felt pretty comfortable here, but after this I don’t really know how to feel. The school has taken action to help me get through this unfortunate situation, which I am really happy about because I wasn’t expecting any support. I feel really good about some aspects but really bad about others; the situation still happened and I can't just forget that.

Q. What has been the outcome of the situation to date?

A. I had a meeting with and have talked to several people who appear to be fighting for me. I did miss a really important day of school do to this, but thanks to the dean I am able to make it up and the suspension has been erased from my records.

Q.  Tell me how you feel about the way you were treated?

A. I’m still pretty furious about the situation. I also learned later that the same guy made a previous outrageous allegation, stating that the day before that he could see my complete bare butt as I was walking out of the learning center. Blasphemy.

5. Was there anyone involved during the process of advocating for your student rights?  

During the process, not at all. No one cared what I had to say and they all were defending the faculty member. Saying things like, “the request isn’t unreasonable.” And just taking the staff’s side automatically.

6. Were you suspended for the interaction?

Yes, I received a 2 day suspension for the incident. The second day I knew I couldn’t miss another day of classes so I went to school and contacted Lynn Cox, Associate Dean of Student Affairs.

7. How have you been dealing with your personal feelings?

Ive been trying to stay positive and not think about it too much because every time I do, I feel anger start to build. It is a bit of a challenge still attending this specific school just because I know all the money I have to pay to go here and these kind of things happen. It makes it a little bit better hearing that there are people fighting for me from a lot of different angles, but I guess I just have to wait to see what kind of actions are actually taken.