“Everybody knew this guy and he was drinking and driving a lot,” said one professor who asked not to be identified. This was the quote that was posted in the New Haven Register on April 20 after the death of a good friend on campus, J.P. Medeiros.
Speaking on behalf of J.P. Medeiros, I am furious at this quote by a gutless Quinnipiac professor. It harms his character and most of all it is not true.
What kind of school do we go to where a professor makes a false statement about someone’s character directly following their tragic death? Not only does this professor make such a powerful statement, but he can’t even say his own name after it.
Quinnipiac should be real proud that they are making a student of theirs that was loved by so many look like a chronic drunk driver.
Let me tell you the truth about the type of person J.P. Medeiros really was. Maybe this can help this Quinnipiac professor with some truthful insight in to his life. J.P. did not drink and drive. In fact, J.P. didn’t have much time to go out as he was a Physical Therapy major. He studied more than he came out with his friends for the most part because he loved what he was doing.
Along with tackling one of the hardest majors at Quinnipiac, he was also an Orientation Leader for two years, working also with Intramurals.
J.P. was one of my first friends here. When I came here as a freshman, he was a sophomore, and I remember him helping me move in. When all that was done, he asked me to hang out with him and his friends later on that weekend.
From then on, I became a good friend with not only J.P., but also with the rest of his room. He even got me on his adult league hockey team.
A very welcoming person, he always had a smile on his face and a little story to tell you. Everybody knew J.P. on campus because he was a friendly kid who would say hello even if he didn’t know you. He was also very into the Quinnipiac athletic program. J.P. was a huge fan of sports, especially hockey, where you could see him at most of the games. By himself, J.P. gave this whole campus a better atmosphere.
So this is why it saddens me to read false statements about a kid that I, along with the whole campus, cared about.
It is good for Quinnipiac that J.P. had so many friends and that we all know that he didn’t “drink and drive a lot.” It’s just too bad that we have professors that would make such powerful remarks without any basis for them.
Comments similar to the one in the New Haven Register could set a whole campus off as we loved J.P. so much. We knew who the true J.P. Medeiros was.
Maybe Quinnipiac and this professor should consider an apology to his family, friends, and most of all the people that didn’t know him, for making such a horrible comment and hurting the character of an awesome person.
The whole campus and your friends will miss you dearly. We love you J.P.
Matthew LeBlanc