Archived Edition: November 11, 2003 | Back to Current	Jul 31, 2010

Two alleged assualts occur over weekend
Jeff Nelson - FORMER EDITOR

A reported racially-motivated assault and battery, an alleged sexual assault and the behavior of select students over Homecoming has tainted an otherwise celebratory weekend, highlighted by a football win against Amherst.

Security and the Williamstown Police Department (WPD) said the racially motivated assault occurred against a Williams student at approximately 3 a.m. on Sunday.

According to a WPD press release, “the victim reported that while attending a party in the Hoxsey Street area, he was verbally harassed for being of Middle Eastern descent. Upon trying to leave the party, he was physically assaulted by two males outside.” WPD Chief Arthur Parker was unavailable for comment, but Dave Boyer, associate director of Security, said the assailants did not appear to be Williams students, although the victim was attending a party at one of the off-campus student locations on Hoxsey Street.

Security received the first call about the assault and transported the student to the Health Center, where he was treated for bumps and bruises. Security contacted the WPD once the student had reached the Health Center, at which point two WPD officers responded to interview the student. When the officers attempted to follow-up on the investigation, the student “declined to provide any additional information about the incident, citing that he was fine and he did not wish the investigation to continue.”

“It seems like we have either racially motivated incidents or hate crimes every year,” Boyer said. “Statistically, it’s not that common [compared to other crimes]. As far as we’re concerned, one incident is too many.”

“We obviously don’t know as much as we need to know to figure out what happened at this point,” said Dave Johnson, associate dean of the College, who meets with Boyer each Monday to review Security’s report for the previous week. “The details are very sketchy. I know Jean [Thorndike, director of Campus Safety] and Dave have assigned an officer to interview as many people as they can.” Johnson said if the assailants are Williams students they will be “spending some time with Security and the Dean’s Office.”

The alleged sexual assault occurred Sunday morning after an all-campus party. The survivor, a first-year at the College, reported the assault to the WPD, who would not release any information about the ongoing investigation. However, Boyer did confirm that the alleged assault occurred at an on-campus location. “It’s an active police investigation,” Boyer said. “I know they’re interviewing and taking statements.”

Johnson said the College cannot initiate an investigation yet because it has not been formally notified by the WPD that an assault occurred. Technically, Johnson said, although administrators are aware the assault occurred, “at this point we don’t officially know that this has happened because of issues of confidentiality. It has gone to the police and until it is brought directly to us we cannot get involved.”

“As I understand it, the Jane Doe has been advised of all her resource areas at the College and at this point she and her family would need to make a choice to use those resources or not,” Johnson said.

The alleged assault, if counted in the College’s official statistics, would be the seventh reported assault since last January and the third this year. Of the other two reports made since September, one was ultimately unfounded and the classification of the other is still undecided, said Thorndike.

As for crowd behavior at Saturday’s tailgate, Boyer said he was disappointed by the actions of a number of students, though Thorndike said conduct at this year’s Homecoming was not radically different from years past. Separately, the WPD arrested three Amherst students for trying to steal hurdles and field markers after the football game. While making the arrests, one of the officers was punched by an unknown assailant. Boyer said the person who punched the WPD officer may have been an Amherst football player. An ongoing WPD investigation will likely result in the arrests of more Amherst students.

“There was a comment made [by a WPD officer] that you’re probably more likely to see 25 state troopers [at the tailgate next year],” Boyer said. Additionally, Boyer said the police brought up the issue of underage drinking “as a concern.” Massachusetts Emergency Management Association (MEMA) officials, who were using the tailgate to test a new radio system that can integrate all security and emergency response services on the same network, made similar comments, Boyer said.

As for Williams students and alums, Boyer characterized some behavior as “disgusting.”

“Some of the students appeared to be trying to undo the good relationship between Security and the students,” Boyer said. “Some of us had to keep reminding ourselves it was only a few students doing this.”

Johnson acknowledged Security’s frustration and said the tailgate can be improved. “I think there is always the possibility that one or two incidents can spoil [the whole event],” Johnson said. “I don’t think it was any worse than what we have [had in the past] on Homecoming weekend, but that’s not a good enough standard to measure by.”

Thorndike agreed that comparing tailgates year to year was not the best standard if the administration felt behavior needed to improve. “I’m not sure that our Homecoming is the best advertisement for Williams College in terms of our administrative point of view,” Johnson said. “I don’t think we look the way I’d like us to look.”

Johnson said the administration will be examining ways to “fine tune” the tailgate. One major problem he sees with the current arrangements is the physical space; there are too many people packed into a small area, which makes it harder for Security to control the crowds. At Amherst, for instance, there is space to spread tailgaters out, which makes it easier to control any problems. The College will also explore whether allowing kegs into Homecoming in the future could help alleviate the problem of bottles being thrown and the amount of trash that accumulates.

“I know that some students whose input I respect have said we need to look at whether kegs are a part of tailgating,” Johnson said. “And as I’ve told kids on campus, we need input from them to design a plan that can make us look better and in control as an administration and not interfere with what the kids are doing to enjoy themselves.”

On a positive note, Johnson expressed pride in how the Junior Advisors handled their tailgates: “Thankfully, JAs from our end there wasn’t a tragic event that we’re always worrying about being a part of the weekend. I think the JAs did a very good job taking care of their entries. All of them seemed to have a process where they knew where everyone was.”