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bohdi
Regular Member
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Posted: Tue Mar 11th, 2008 03:48 pm |
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| Good story in the paper, got any other recourse?
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Doug Huffman
Regular Member
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Posted: Tue Mar 11th, 2008 04:28 pm |
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http://www.timesnews.net/article.php?id=9005490
Published 03/10/2008 By Kacie Dingus Breeding
WISE — Today a student at the University of Virginia’s College at Wise may learn whether school officials are convinced he’s nothing like the character he described in a story his creative writing class found disturbing on Feb. 28.
Steven Daniel Barber, 23, an Iraq veteran who enrolled at UVa-Wise in August, was expelled Feb. 29, the day after sharing a story he wrote about a character in an English class who contemplates murdering his professor before turning to thoughts of suicide.
Chancellor David Prior heard an appeal of the expulsion Monday. Though Prior was unavailable to comment, Barber said Prior will announce today whether he will uphold his expulsion. At the time of his expulsion, Barber had been working on a double major in political science and administration of justice and maintained a GPA of 3.9.
“One of the first stories that we read was about a girl who murders her boyfriend, and it was graphic in the act with the blade going in his back and blood spraying everywhere and all this crazy stuff. And you know, a couple of us told jokes — you know, I don’t want to date her, that kind of thing. But nobody took it seriously because everybody can separate the author from the character,” Barber said Monday.
“In my story there is no violence. He doesn’t do anything other than drinking and drug use and writing. There is no violence. But yet, everybody assumes that the character is the writer, which couldn’t be further from the truth,” he added.
After he submitted the story, officials searched Barber’s dorm room for the weapon his character kept under a pillow. Though no weapons were found there, Barber told Sgt. Randy Wyatt with campus police he had a .45-caliber handgun, a small .22-caliber Derringer, and a 9 mm handgun in his car and that he had a permit for them.
Barber said he believes a policy prohibiting weapons on campus violates state law prohibiting governmental entities from restricting the possession of firearms.
Barber added that he often refers to what happened at Grundy’s Appalachian School of Law as an example of why students should be allowed to have guns on campus.
“This guy goes in, he shoots — I think he killed three people — and two students run out to their cars, they get their weapons, they get their pistols, and they run back inside and subdue the guy. Nobody remembers that because it had a low body count, and the reason it had a low body count is because two students ran back inside with their weapons and subdued the killer,” he said.
The discovery of the weapons coupled with the story his classmates found disturbing led campus officials to require Barber to undergo a series of mental heath evaluations. As part of the process, he was escorted by campus police to a Frontier Health facility in Big Stone Gap.
Wyatt said in a report that he was waiting in the lobby while Barber met with a counselor. Wyatt said he received a page from Dean Jewell Worley. Wyatt said in the report that Worley then told him that Barber was “going to be committed” and had been expelled and banned from school property pending a March 6 hearing with Vice Chancellor Gary Juhan.
Wyatt was not available to explain what he meant by the term “committed,” but Campus Safety Chief Steve McCoy said Monday that it meant Barber was “involuntarily transported” to Ridgeview.
Temporary detainment is “similar” to involuntary commitment, “as far as a police officer is concerned,” he added.
“A TDO (temporary detainment order) is different from commitment,” Barber said. “TDO is just that some crisis counselor decided there was probable cause that you are crazy. Involuntary committal is when the judge says, not only is there probable cause, it’s decided that you actually are crazy.”
Commonwealth’s Attorney Marcus McClung said Monday that the differences between detainment and committal are not relevant to Barber’s case. His handgun permit would have been suspended during the execution of the TDO, he said, and to reinstate it Barber would just need to present favorable evidence at an appeal, such as a finding of mental competence.
When asked whether possession of the handguns on campus might still warrant the student’s expulsion, Juhan said, “There’s nothing that’s that clear-cut.”
“Each case is looked at individually — given the history, given the events that surround it and what got us to that point,” he added.
Barber said his last run-in with Juhan concerned the vice chancellor’s attempts to censor an underground newspaper he and some friends distribute on campus.
“Notes from Underground” concerns college politics, with varied topics including the lack of an American flag on campus and the possibility of racism affecting how the SGA handles funds distribution, Barber said.
As for his questionable story, Barber concluded, it’s “just a free speech issue.”
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deepdiver
Activist Member
| Joined: | Mon Apr 2nd, 2007 |
| Location: | Missouri USA |
| Posts: | 4629 |
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Posted: Tue Mar 11th, 2008 06:03 pm |
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capablanca911 wrote: Hey guys, the story broke in my local paper:
http://www.timesnews.net/article.php?id=9005490
It's a great write-up, IMO.
And I just got the call--I've been expelled.
Terrible. I'm so sorry to hear that it went that way for you.
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Repeater
Regular Member
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Posted: Tue Mar 11th, 2008 07:24 pm |
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capablanca911 wrote: Hey guys, the story broke in my local paper:
http://www.timesnews.net/article.php?id=9005490
It's a great write-up, IMO.
And I just got the call--I've been expelled.
If this is any comfort, you are not alone. The Fire provides information on student free-speech rights, including information on cases like this one:
Valdosta State University: Student Expelled for Peacefully Protesting Parking Garages
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Mike
Super Moderator
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Posted: Tue Mar 11th, 2008 07:43 pm |
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| Another news story: http://www.tricities.com/tristate/tri/search.apx.-content-articles-TRI-2008-03-11-0003.html
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deepdiver
Activist Member
| Joined: | Mon Apr 2nd, 2007 |
| Location: | Missouri USA |
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Posted: Tue Mar 11th, 2008 08:16 pm |
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I would strongly suggest contacting Mike Adams. He is a huge supporter of 2A rights and he is also very active with student freedom of speech issues. He has helped other students contact advocacy groups/think tanks which have mounted a legal defense for students in situations such as yours. This would be right up his alley. He is also a professor of criminology at UNC-Wilmington and is well versed in the politics of leftist campus administrators. Here's his home page with contact info on the left:
http://www.dradams.org/
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deepdiver
Activist Member
| Joined: | Mon Apr 2nd, 2007 |
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Posted: Tue Mar 11th, 2008 08:25 pm |
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“This is the kind of thing we are going to take seriously until we know otherwise,” University Vice Chancellor Gary Juhan said Monday. “If we make a mistake, we will err on the side of the community.”
Um yeah. This guy shouldn't be the principal of a failing inner city day care for crack babies.
I'm sorry, Mr Juhan, but my reading of the constitution only finds protection of individual rights. Our founders talked extensively about erring on the side of individual rights and our entire judicial system was therefore based on the very concept of erring in favor of individual innocence. Nothing about community rights there. Now, on the other hand, the writings of Marx and his followers talk extensivily about erring on the side of the community.
You have identified yourself for what you are Mr. Juhan and give further proof, as if it were needed, that Joe McCarthy was right all along even though his tactics needed work.
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Neplusultra
Regular Member
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Posted: Tue Mar 11th, 2008 08:33 pm |
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deepdiver wrote: I would strongly suggest contacting Mike Adams. He is a huge supporter of 2A rights and he is also very active with student freedom of speech issues. He has helped other students contact advocacy groups/think tanks which have mounted a legal defense for students in situations such as yours. This would be right up his alley. He is also a professor of criminology at UNC-Wilmington and is well versed in the politics of leftist campus administrators. Here's his home page with contact info on the left:
http://www.dradams.org/
I would strongly second that! I read Dr. Adams column regularly and I'm pretty sure he'd love to jump all over this.
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peter nap
Regular Member
| Joined: | Tue Oct 16th, 2007 |
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Posted: Tue Mar 11th, 2008 09:24 pm |
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I'm sorry Stephen!
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Mike
Super Moderator
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Posted: Tue Mar 11th, 2008 09:49 pm |
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| Another article: http://www.cavalierdaily.com/CVArticle.asp?ID=32697&pid=1697
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massltca
Regular Member
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Posted: Tue Mar 11th, 2008 10:05 pm |
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LEO 229 wrote: I would still have taken my chances that the warrant would not be obtained successfully.
As I said... some schools are going overboard.....
I would have too, nothing is gained by consenting to a search. If they searched his vehicle anyway then at least his rights would be intact, now he can't contest any of it.
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capablanca911
Regular Member
| Joined: | Sat Mar 8th, 2008 |
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Posted: Tue Mar 11th, 2008 10:09 pm |
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Jeez, I'm getting crucified at ar15.com I'm stuck on stupid at the moment--can't figure out how to post there to respond lol
I didn't really expect that level of cynicism on *these* boards. Oh well.
Here's the update: http://www.timesnews.net/article.php?id=9005496
I picked up all the documents re: my suspended permit. It's a 3 day wait on getting copies of my medical records.
I move out of my dorm tomarrow.
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massltca
Regular Member
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Posted: Tue Mar 11th, 2008 10:09 pm |
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LEO 229 wrote: We do not know the details of what he said in person on his feelings or intentions.
They committed him and that is not as easy as you think. I have seen this first hand.
But to write a story..... this is not enough grounds to push for searches. They really need to ask him more and identify this was for real. Maybe they did.
If I wrote a fictional story about killing a member of congress and used realistic details.... does this mean I fully intend to do it? Remembering that it IS a story and many people have written then never intending to ever do it.
Now that he has been committed does this make him permenently inellegible to own firearms? 
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massltca
Regular Member
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Posted: Tue Mar 11th, 2008 10:12 pm |
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| Are you going to be able to get your CHP and guns back?
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massltca
Regular Member
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Posted: Tue Mar 11th, 2008 10:17 pm |
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hsmith wrote: pretty @#$%ty story, but a reminder to all - trust no one, never consent to search (but never resist), and DEMAND a lawyer ASAP. Sadly, there would have been no grounds to search the car if you kept your mouth shut.
Crappy situation all around. Best of luck and thanks for your service.
+1
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capablanca911
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Posted: Tue Mar 11th, 2008 10:28 pm |
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I wasn't involuntarily committed, I was issued a temporary detention order.
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capablanca911
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Posted: Tue Mar 11th, 2008 10:31 pm |
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Campus Police are going to give the guns to my dad, pending my hearing to reinstate my permit (which will establish that I was NOT involuntarily committed).
But requesting that hearing will have to wait until I have the medical records.
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VCDL President
Regular Member
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Posted: Wed Mar 12th, 2008 12:47 am |
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capablanca911 wrote: Jeez, I'm getting crucified at ar15.com I'm stuck on stupid at the moment--can't figure out how to post there to respond lol
I didn't really expect that level of cynicism on *these* boards. Oh well.
I remember when I first broke the news about the BATFE going to people's homes to see if family, friends and neighbors knew they were buying guns at a gun show - I, too, was crucified for a while on some boards. BS flags were flying everywhere. When the information finally came out in the press, then the crow-eating began.
Looks like it is time to sue the school over what is clearly BS.
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capablanca911
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Posted: Wed Mar 12th, 2008 01:23 am |
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That's the plan. I don't know what tomarrow holds--but I know Who holds tomarrow.
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Thundar
Regular Member
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Posted: Wed Mar 12th, 2008 04:10 am |
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LRS76251 wrote: Although they have state certifications, most campus police couldn't catch a cold it if caught them first. Most of them are pretty incompetent officers. They should leave investigations to REAL professionals and go back to playing barney fife on campus. I'm a cop and I know they are idiots because I've seen how they conduct themselves first hand. When we go on campuses across the country to do security details for political candidates, most of us end up walking away shaking our heads in disbelief.
It amazes me that you think that campus police are not real professionals. Most are competent peace officers and are excellent at community policing. The degradation of the very important work that they do with a Barny Fife comment drips with the arrogance of a Federal JBT.
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