CNN-Princeton beating- 6/7/07

Colleges & Universities Princeton University
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<p>A Princeton student previously cited for sexual assault and for beating a fellow student in a separate incident has again beaten a student into serious condition. The Princeton victim sustains a broken eyesocket, cheekbone, nose and other injuries. </p>

<p>How many sexual assaults and beatings does it take for Princeton to remove a violent student from the Princeton community where he has clearly demonstrated that he is a physical threat to other students’ lives and wellbeing? Its always a mystery how these kinds of students get accepted and get away with this over and over.</p>

<p>Two Students Charged with Princeton Assault</p>

<p>TRENTON, N.J. (AP) - June 7, 2007 - A Princeton University lacrosse player and another player from a Virginia school face aggravated assault charges after another Princeton student was severely beaten on the university’s campus, authorities said.</p>

<p>icholas S. Hermandorfer, a 22-year-old Princeton student from Clifton, Va., and Adam Fassnacht, a 22-year-old University of Virginia student from Burke, Va., were released this week after each posted $50,000 cash bail, Princeton Borough police Lt. David Dudeck said. </p>

<p>The beating took place in the early morning hours of June 1, amid the annual campus-area parties that take place at the Ivy League school on the weekend before graduation. </p>

<p>Dudeck said Hermandorfer and Fassnacht came across a male student who was talking to a young woman in a campus courtyard. Fassnacht started beating the male student, and Hermandorfer soon joined in. </p>

<p>The victim, whose name was not released, sustained a broken eye socket, a broken cheekbone and a broken nose, Dudeck said. He was treated at the University Medical Center at Princeton, but was later referred to a specialist. </p>

<p>Hermandorfer and the victim have fought in the past, Dudeck said, adding that the university had previously suspended Hermandorfer for beating the other student. </p>

<p>Hermandorfer had also been previously charged with sexual assault on campus in December 2005, but the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office dismissed the case the next month when the victim did not cooperate with investigators, according to court records cited by The Times of Trenton in a story published Thursday. </p>

<p>Cass Cliatt, a Princeton University spokeswoman, declined to comment, citing federal student privacy rules. She said the school runs its disciplinary processes independent of what takes place in the criminal justice system. </p>

<p>Fassnacht did not immediately return a message left Thursday afternoon from The Associated Press. </p>

<p>(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)</p>

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<p>CNN said Hermandorfer worked for Republican Senator George Allen in Virginia as a staffer in July 2006.</p>

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<p>How did he get admitted in the first place with such violent tendencies?</p>

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<p>Probably a legacy or just a rich kid. Otherwise they would have kicked him out the first couple of times. Did you look at where they said he worked. Poor kids that were beat up, assaulted and beat up. They will bury this just watch. It was all over CNN today like a few times over and over.</p>

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<p>At the beginning of the opening post it stated that he was a lacrosse player, hence a recruited athlete. His aggressive nature (at least on the lacrosse field) was probably a part of what got him in in the first place.</p>

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<p>This is a terribly ugly case but the student is neither rich nor a legacy. He was a top student and athlete in high school and is on both the Princeton football and lacrosse teams. It appears that the previous incident was a fight with the same student who was beaten this time. There may be more to the story but I doubt there is anything that will save him from a well-deserved expulsion. This is highly unusual at Princeton which has a very low crime rate and there is no room at Princeton for people who behave like this.</p>

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<p>i hope he gets his ass kicked out of Princeton.</p>

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<p>Actually my friend who is a junior says he is both rich and a legacy and an athlete and he is from Virginia. Why was his behavior overlooked in 2005?</p>

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<p>Hedoya, I’m afraid your friend is absolutely wrong and you should try to avoid spreading unfounded rumors. This guy is definitely neither a legacy nor rich as you claim. From publicly available sources you can learn a little more about him by checking out his profile on the Princeton athletics web site.</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.goprincetontigers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=46874&SPID=4265&DB_OEM_ID=10600&ATCLID=535633&Q_SEASON=2006[/url]”>http://www.goprincetontigers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=46874&SPID=4265&DB_OEM_ID=10600&ATCLID=535633&Q_SEASON=2006&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>I haven’t been able to get any information about the earlier incident that involved these same two students but, regardless of that history, this is inexcusable and highly unusual at Princeton. First, I would say that he has forfeited his place at Princeton by this behavior. Furthermore, I would say that he needs help. Finally, I would say that I feel terrible for the student who was injured.</p>

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<p>Please read the above article I referenced which I have provided in part below- that refers to his history while at Princeton.</p>

<p>So once again I ask why wasn’t he expelled from Princeton for that behavior? </p>

<p>Perhaps someone lobbied to keep him in the first two times? My friend says he’s rich. He lives quite well. Your profile about his athletic distinction says that his father is a “lobbyist” how does this prove that he is poor? Excuse me? Why because he plays Lacrosse? Because he attended Robinson High School in Fairfax, Virginia?? Robinson is located in Fairfax, Virginia this is not a poor mans high school. It is just a public school in a rich area.</p>

<p>And please do not accuse me of spreading rumors. You can blame, CNN, AP WIRE, local newspapers but do not blame me that is inappropriate. I was told by my friend that the rumor on campus was that the first two times Princeton or someone managed to hush it up because the incidents were extremely serious! And these were classified as “beatings”. A broken eyesocket is quite serious as is sexual assault. See below</p>

<p>"Hermandorfer and the victim have fought in the past, Dudeck said, adding that the university had previously suspended Hermandorfer for beating the other student. </p>

<p>Hermandorfer had also been previously charged with sexual assault on campus in December 2005, but the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office dismissed the case the next month when the victim did not cooperate with investigators, according to court records cited by The Times of Trenton in a story published Thursday. "</p>

<p>And I am happy to hear that you are concerned about the injured Princeton student and hopefully the young female Princeton student who was obviously afraid of testifying against a wealthy, lacrosse player while at Princeton.</p>

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<p>By the way, in 2006 the Robinson student body was 68% white, 6% black and 9% hispanic, and 17% Asian. Students are drawn from communities like Oak Walk, Country Club View, Middle Ridge, Fairfax and Clifton.</p>

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<p>Now Hedoya, you seem to have an agenda to push here. This is not a story about Princeton. It’s a story about one student whose actions have apparently earned him an expulsion. I don’t think you’ll find anyone on this board or at Princeton defending this student’s outrageous and probably criminal behavior. (I’m assuming that he’ll be found guilty of the crimes of which he is accused.) However, you’ve already been proven wrong about his being a legacy. I can assure you that you are also wrong about his being stereotypically “rich.” I believe you don’t have any information other than what has been presented in the press. I have a bit more. Neither of us knows the facts associated with the earlier incidents. Perhaps he should have been expelled for those. We can only speculate. What I can state as fact is that Princeton treats these things quite seriously and has apparently already suspended this student once before. I feel confident he will be told to leave the University permanently, again, assuming that the current published story is found to be factual. Justice will be done here.</p>

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<p>All I asked was ‘Why wasn’t he kicked out for sexual harassment and assault previously?’ And that question pertains to Princeton policy The reason you can’t find anything was obviously because it was buried in 2005 until it came out on CNN and on the AP wire and all over the internet. I have no agenda. His uncle went to Princeton. Why are you debating this???</p>

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<p>i agree with hedoya. </p>

<p>sexual harassment sounds like a pretty big offence to me to merit expulsion…</p>

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<p>Hedoya, I have to say I’m simply suspicious of your motives and insinuations about the Princeton administration because of your past negative postings. You began this thread by suggesting that this student is a rich legacy being protected by the university administration and allowed to run wild. You are wrong on all counts. His previous altercation with this same student resulted in a suspension. That’s quite serious. In light of his current apparent behavior it should, perhaps, have resulted in an expulsion back then, rather than simply a suspension. Should these current charges be found to be true, it will no doubt result in an expulsion this time.</p>

<p>I agree completely that sexual assault should be immediate grounds for expulsion. That is certainly University policy. The problem here is that the University is in a difficult position if the charges cannot be proved true. No university in the country will expel a student without strong evidence (though that evidence needn’t rise to the level required by a court). The problem with judging the University’s actions in this case is that neither of us has a knowledge of those facts. I’m assuming the University felt it lacked sufficient grounds for taking action on those assault claims. </p>

<p>So, if there is any disagreement here, it is about your facts and insinuations rather than about the apparent character of this student. Princeton is quite intolerant of violent behavior among students and will mete out the appropriate punishment. This would be true even if the student had a building named for his family, was a tenth generation legacy or the star quarterback. Count on it.</p>

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<p>Hopefully a broken eye socket and a fist print taken from the Princeton students face matching the Princeton attacker will be enough to convince the Princeton Pep squad that something is wrong.</p>