Pubdate: Tue, 14 Mar 2006 Source: Buchtelite, The (U of Akron, OH Edu) Copyright: 2006 The Buchtelite Contact: http://www.buchtelite.com/about/letters.shtml Website: http://www.buchtelite.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4117 Author: Michael D. Wamsley, Buchtelite Reporter Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?225 (Students - United States) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis) TRUE TO FORM, UA HOLDS KANGAROO COURT For the first time, the kangaroo is a shameful symbol to the university landscape. Kangaroos show up at basketball games, football games and many events the university sponsors. Now, the kangaroo court is Akron's shame. Indulge a recap of current events: In 2004, Charles Plinton, a promising young graduate student, was falsely accused by a police informant - a 35-year-old ex-convict codenamed "Hulk" - of selling marijuana. The student was exonerated and cleared of the charges by a jury of his peers. Unfortunately, that didn't stop the university authorities from taking justice into their own hands. The student was taken before a university tribunal and found "responsible" for selling marijuana to a university informant - a process that doesn't require proof beyond a reasonable doubt, or even the "preponderance" of evidence, which means "ehh... probably." All the university tribunal needed was the inkling of guilt and they found him guilty. Rather, they found him "responsible" and suspended him. This brings a whole new level to a kangaroo court, or a mock court in which the principles of law and justice are disregarded. Plinton was absolved of the charges against him by an infinitely more resourceful and professional organization dedicated to just this sort of thing, commonly known as the Summit County Common Pleas Court. The verdict of not guilty was reached for good reason - Plinton was at work on the other side of campus when the alleged dope deal went down. The university tribunal didn't let something as pedestrian as "evidence" or "due process" get in the way of their decision. Even the U.S. Constitution's silly providence against double jeopardy couldn't stop the university. Plinton had a lawyer, but the lawyer wasn't allowed to speak. He had the not-guilty verdict from a real court, but that didn't matter. He had his cellular phone records that showed he had never called the informant to set up the drug deals in the first place. The "responsible" verdict was handed down anyway. In the aftermath of this debacle, Plinton committed suicide. If Plinton's family brings a wrongful death suit against UA, they should request that it be held in the university's kangaroo court. If the same standards of justice apply, then the administration better get out its checkbook. Does it bother anybody else that the university is contributing to our safety by bringing ex-convicts into on-campus housing and integrating them into the university population? I am all for turning one's life around. Education is a perfect catalyst for that change and if someone with a criminal record wanted to better themselves by going back to school, then no one should argue. But the university administration didn't do that. They took this wolf out of the wild and placed him in the sheep pen and asked him to help keep order. It is a good thing they did, too. Plinton allegedly selling pot from the other side of campus clearly illustrates he was a criminal mastermind. Move over, Lex Luthor. He would have had to use smoke signals or telepathy to contact the convicted felon in our midst. It is a good thing the "Hulk" was here on campus to catch the villainous dope dealer - Batman must have been busy that day.