The Dean of Students Office announced yesterday that three students were found responsible for harassing, though not assaulting, The Primary Source Editor-in-Chief Sam Dangremond at an incident near the cannon.
The three juniors, Elizabeth Monnin, Lou Esparza, and Adam Carlis, had also accused Dangremond of assault, but the Dean of Students Judiciary panel did not find enough evidence to support this claim.
The Dean of Students Office would not confirm the names of the students involved, but both parties acknowledged their involvement to the Daily. The facts surrounding the incident, which took place Oct. 2, remain disputed by both sides.
Monnin, Esparza, and Carlis allege that Dangremond, when faced with assault charges that carry serious disciplinary consequences, lied to the panel. Dangremond says the same of the trio. "They are lying," Dangremond said last night.
"They lied to the panel, and they lying now," he added. "I never initiated physical contact. I yelled at them to stop. I told them the rules governing the cannon, and it didn't do a bit of difference."
According to Dean of Judicial Affairs Veronica Carter, the impartial panel that heard the case last Friday consisted of two student members of the Tufts Community Union Judiciary and three administrators. A University lawyer, who did not have a vote in the proceedings, was also present.
After the panel unanimously found Monnin, Carlis, and Esparza guilty of harassment, the three students were placed on Disciplinary Probation Level I for one year, according to a statement Carter released to the press.
The harassment occurred on the night of Oct. 2, when Dangremond was standing guard at the cannon after members of the Source had painted an American flag symbol over it. At 5 a.m., Monnin, Esparza, and Carlis arrived at the cannon with the intent to "paint over the cannon with a different message," according to the statement from the Dean of Students Office.
Although Monnin, Esparza, and Carlis are members of the Coalition for Social Justice and Non-Violence, they say they were not participating in an official group activity when the incident occurred. Senior Danika Kleiber, speaking on behalf of her fellow Coalition members, said on Oct. 14 that the students were not trying to paint over the cannon, just "make the American flag more inclusive."
"They were not trying to paint over the entire thing," Kleiber said. "They were trying to add to it."
Dangremond disagreed, saying he had the right to defend the cannon's original design. The panel agreed with that assertion. According to the Pachyderm, "by tradition the cannon is painted at night... and then guarded until dawn" (emphasis added by Pachyderm).
Each party has a different account of the events from this point on, and each paints the other as the instigator. Dangremond said the three members of the Coalition attempted to paint their design on the cannon and then physically restrained him. "I kept telling them to stop, that this was a violation of Tufts Policy," Dangremond said, "Lou and Liz grabbed me and restrained me while Adam painted the cannon."
But Monnin said it would have been impossible for she and Lou, who are of slim build, to hold down Dangremond, who is captain of the cycling team. Before heading to the cannon, the students say they practiced non-violent responses, as is the Coalition's practice.
At the hearing, Monnin and Esparza tried to explain to the panel the non-violent strategies they used the night of the incident. But the panel, according to a press release, said that the trio should have acted differently, given their prior preparation.
"Adam, Lou, and Liz, dressed in hooded sweatshirts and bandanas covering their faces, came to the cannon and began painting over it," Dangremond said.
According to Dangremond, Carlis stopped Monnin and Esparza ten minutes into the confrontation. Dangremond went to a nearby emergency phone to call the police and report the assault charges.
The Coalition members say that Dangremond repeatedly pushed them down and made verbal threats. The three retreated to the benches near Ballou Hall to decide what to do next. At this point, they say, Dangremond paced around the cannon and left the scene. Because they feared additional Source members would be arrive, they quickly painted their addition to the American flag design and left the scene.
Tufts University Police Department (TUPD) logged the incident at 5:24 a.m. Three TUPD officers arrived at the cannon and told the students to vacate the area, which they did.
After the hearing, the Source, and The Radix, for which Esparza, Monnin, and Carlis write, made reference to the incident. The Source's latest issue displayed a picture of a trial on its cover with a headline reading "On Trial."
Radix, a self-proclaimed liberal publication, also mentioned the incident. In "An Open Letter to The Primary Source," it was written "the last time someone tried to express a view different than yours on the cannon, your editor-in-chief assaulted them."
The three Coalition members had not yet decided whether to appeal as of last night.
Nicolas Ferre contributed to this report
