We as students often question the severity of punishment at QU. I can accept the fact that if a student here is underage, they cannot drink or they will be punished. It is when something that truly deserves punishment is virtually overlooked that I take issue with the attitude and priorities of this institution.
Two male athletes at Quinnipiac are accused of assaulting a female student. Two men, who are of importance to this school, are accused of urinating on a freshman and have the same punishment as a student caught for drinking. Being written up a handful of times for drinking can get a student in more trouble at this school than committing a truly despicable, disgusting and emotionally harmful act to a young woman. Harming your own liver is looked down upon by this school more than harming the emotional well being of a student. If Residential Life wants underage students to live in fear of being in trouble for alcohol, I am OK with that. I have a problem when students are sent the message that they should fear their own safety at a school that did little to punish those who violate it.
It is hard not to notice the favoritism at this school. I have no problem with student athletes, I love attending Quinnipiac sporting events and I am friends with some of the athletes at this school. I do, however, have a problem with the fact that they are blatantly held in a different light than anyone else at this school. If a non-athlete were to have done the same thing as these two men did, they would not have been in the news like the University feared would happen with this story. I would bet that they would be expelled. This school is more concerned about its reputation and its impact in the media than they are with justice and compassion to the students that trust that they are treated fairly and are safe.
Go to ESPN.com. Type the word Quinnipiac in the search. Nothing on our basketball players peeing on a fellow student pops up. Well done Quinnipiac, there won’t be any parents who hesitate to pay $30,000 a year to send their children here. The push to solidify this school as an up-and-coming university is the only thing on the administration’s minds. There is nothing wrong with the media knowing that a student at this school is not perfect. There is something wrong with a university turning its head the other way when it sees something it doesn’t like looking at. If this school wants to be perceived as a perfect school in a picturesque New England setting, it cannot keep sweeping the dust under a rug. If the news read that Quinnipiac had to expel two athletes for committing an act that violated another student, I don’t think anyone would question the legitimacy of the college. When people start realizing that Quinnipiac ignores problems as a way of making them go away, we have a problem.
Next year, I am sure that even more students will apply to this university, and I am sure that our new athletic facility will be a great success. In ten years this college might be viewed in the same light that a certain New Haven school is. I love aspects of this school and I truly hope that this happens; however, things need to be overhauled in order for this school to truly be a success. I am not scared of knowing of some of the problems with this school. I am scared that there is an image of perfection that this school is trying to convey.
The students at this school may have a reputation of being apathetic, but what needs to be understood is that more people care than this school and community realize. To most of us ignorance does not equal bliss. I for one am starting to see the rug rising where most of our dirt is swept under. I am not pointing fingers and I am not accusing anyone of corruption or wrongdoing, I merely think that when things happen at this school we need to ask questions rather than shrug our shoulders and go to Toad’s. When we get pissed on, we need to piss back.
Gerald Kent
Quinnipiac student
