College Response to Bryan Hall Incident, January 23

The following statement is based on information that was available at the time of posting on Jan. 23, 2007.

The administration of Guilford College has been proactively responding to an altercation in the Bryan Hall courtyard on campus since it occurred at approximately 12:30 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 20, 2007. The College’s response is founded on the commitment to the welfare of students, the maintenance of a welcoming and safe environment and accountability to core values that include community, diversity, equality, integrity and justice.

According to available evidence, including reports from staff and students on the scene, the altercation in the Bryan Hall courtyard on Jan. 20 lasted less than five minutes and involved physical violence and alleged verbal abuse during and after the incident. The Guilford students were acquaintances and residence hall neighbors with no history of conflict. At least some of the students were under the influence of alcohol. International students and student-athletes enrolled at Guilford were involved as well as non-students. About a dozen students participated either in the fight or attempts to break it up. Individuals refused medical treatment immediately after the incident, but at the urging of college staff, received medical attention the following afternoon.

On Sunday, Jan. 21, some of the students who were involved in the incident filed criminal charges that led to arrests on Monday, Jan. 22, by the Greensboro Police Department of other students who were involved. The students who were arrested and taken into custody were released on bond, and their status as students at the College is unchanged pending a College judicial process. The criminal charges are completely separate from the College judicial process.

In the wake of this unnecessary and unfortunate incident, the College has chosen to take the opportunity to reaffirm its core values as well as its commitment to the peaceful resolution of conflict. This is an educational moment for the entire community, and Guilford is well positioned to respond with its emphasis on critical thinking, analysis, inquiry, communication, consensus-building, problem-solving and transformative leadership.

President Kent Chabotar, in a response to the incident, underscored the following points:

1. It is a fundamental testimony of the Quaker faith and a core value of Guilford College that all persons are equal and deserve respectful treatment.
2. While this is a rare occurrence and facts are still being gathered, the College will not tolerate physical violence or verbal abuse by members of its community against other persons inside or outside of the community.
3. While there have been no further incidents and the campus is calm, I have directed that there be extra security to ensure the safety of everyone on campus.

Furthermore President Chabotar has stated, “We need to get all the facts from every perspective and let the judicial process take its course as expeditiously as possible. Guilford’s policy for handling disciplinary matters applies equally to everyone, and the College holds deep allegiance to the truth. Where violations of policy are found, there will be consequences commensurate with the offense and precedent. In our system of justice, public safety incident and police reports alone are not the same as guilt or innocence. There are too many examples of colleges and universities jumping to conclusions with dire consequences for the institution, students and the community.”

Here is a summary of the College’s response in the first 72 hours following the incident:

• The Campus Life staff member on duty responded to a call, of a fight in Bryan Hall, from the hall director on-duty at 12:39 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 20. At 12:43 a.m. the Campus Life staff member arrived at Bryan Hall. By this time the fight had concluded and public safety officers were already on the scene. Once public safety was contacted, an officer responded within less than five minutes. Reports of a 30-40 minute delay in response to the incident after the call was made are contradicted by the logs of both departments.
• The Campus Life staff member made contact with Dean for Campus Life Aaron Fetrow at approximately 1:05 a.m., after restoring order. Fetrow was informed that Campus Life staff members on site were attempting to convince all possibly injured parties to seek medical attention as is part of routine protocol with any injury sustained on campus.
• Later in the morning, Fetrow followed up with students involved in the incident and began instituting “no contact” orders to keep the students separated as the incident investigation commenced. The no contact orders is still in effect with the assistance of Public Safety. Additional staff members were assigned to Bryan Hall Saturday night and the morning of Sunday, Jan. 21. However, all was quiet in Bryan and nothing further occurred relating to the prior night's altercation.
• On Sunday evening, an initial announcement with basic information was released to the college community. The announcement was posted on the College Web site on Monday, Jan. 22.
• As is the case each Monday, Campus Life and Public Safety staff met on Jan. 22 to review judicial reports from the previous weekend and assign internal judicial charges where appropriate. This process was followed and is ongoing with regard to the possible assessment of charges stemming from the altercation in Bryan Hall. This continuation is necessitated by the complexity and volume of witness and participant statements.
• No internal judicial charges will be made until all statements pertaining to the incident have been received and processed. College policy provides that judicial charges result in an administrative hearing if the facts are not in dispute or a hearing before a faculty-student judicial board if the facts are in dispute. The process takes three to four weeks to complete.
• All judicial processes are clearly outlined in the Student Handbook in the Student Conduct Code section: http://www.guilford.edu/about_guilford/values/handbook/conduct.html. Students and faculty are present on any judicial hearing panel, and individuals involved in judicial processes have access to trained advocates.
• Throughout the day on Monday, Campus Life staff made calls to involved families and concerned parents of other students, and staff members have been continuously monitoring the situation and have been alert to any safety risk for students—either real or perceived.

Following the incident in Bryan Hall courtyard, some students, faculty and staff have gathered to discuss the matter independent of college administration. Quite possibly, there will be other meetings and expressions of opinion by individuals with a range of opinions on the recent incident. As is regular practice on the Guilford campus, there will be opportunities for the community to gather together in open forums and discuss ways to prevent future incidents of this type.

Incidents such as the one in Bryan Hall courtyard can be, understandably, sensitive and emotionally charged. Emotions cannot be easily subdued, nor should they be; however, factual analysis, rational and inclusive discourse, and openness are hallmarks of this community and will continue. Attempts will be made to determine underlying reasons for what happened and prevent it from happening again.

Jan. 23, 2007