Panel to review judicial process

Sparked by 'water buffalo' case The administration has created a three faculty-member Board of Inquiry to examine how University judicial procedures functioned during last semester's controversial "water buffalo" racial harassment case. The board was established by Interim Provost Marvin Lazerson and Vice Provost for University Life Kim Morrisson after they received complaints that University judicial policies were not followed correctly by both sides in the case, Executive Assistant to the Provost Linda Koons said. Mechanical Engineering Professor Jacob Abel, who is heading the board, said the board will talk to everyone involved in the case. Members will also review the language of the judicial policy and racial harassment codes to determine if they are too ambiguous or contributed to problems in the case. "The first thing is to inform ourselves as deeply as possible with the procedures involved and learn a little about what was behind them," Abel said. "We are interested in the intent [behind the judicial policies]." By using a real case to evaluate the judicial system, the board will be be able to determine "whether things work or don't work," Abel said. The board's other members are Medical Professor Emeritus Anna Marie Chirico and Associate Nursing Professor Roslyn Watts. The three faculty members were selected by Lazerson and Morrisson and had not expressed particular interest in the case, Abel said. The "water buffalo" case involved College sophomore Eden Jacobowitz, who was charged last semester with racial harassment under the University judicial code after he called black sorority sisters "water buffalo." By the time the charges against Jacobowitz were dropped by the five women complainants – who claimed the media coverage had deprived them of their right to an impartial panel and a fair hearing – the case had garnered national and international attention. "There is a set of procedures for carrying out [a judicial] investigation," Abel said. "And we are going to look at [the policies] and look at what was done in the [Jacobowitz] matter and then determine if the procedures that were called for were followed." The administration expects the board's report to be completed by October 15. But Abel said the board has not yet met or begun any investigation, and the report probably will not be completed on time. "Everyone is in a great hurry and we would like to have [the report] out as early as possible," he said. "But we want to hear from a lot of people. The target date is too little time." Interim President Claire Fagin's Commission on Strengthening the Community, chaired by University Trustee Gloria Chisum, may use the board's final report as a reference in its own discussions of the University judicial system. "I think the provost and the vice provost are hoping our work could feed into this Commission and give them some added insight for what they are considering," Abel said. The Commission is expected to issue a preliminary report in January and reach final recommendations on March 31. None of the participants in the incident, including Robin Read, the Judicial Inquiry Officer in the case, could be reached for comment yesterday.