Student sues U. for breach of contract

Jacobwitz claims he was mistreated in the 'water buffalo' incident College graduate Eden Jacobowitz, who made national news in 1993 as the central figure in the infamous "water buffalo" incident, has sued the University, alleging that he suffered damages arising from the aftermath of the episode. Jacobowitz's law suit, filed in February, seeks $50,000 and cites the University for breach of contract, reckless intentional infliction of emotional distress, invasion of privacy and defamation. On Jan. 13, 1993, Jacobowitz shouted, "Shut up, you water buffalo," out of his High Rise East window to black sisters of the Delta Sigma Theta sorority. Five of the sisters charged Jacobowitz with racial harassment under the University's hate-speech policy. While Jacobowitz admits to calling the women "water buffalo," he maintains that his comment had no racial undertones. The five female complainants eventually dropped all charges in May 1993, after deciding they could not get a fair hearing, according to Gloria Twine Chisum, a University trustee who briefly advised the women. Jacobowitz -- who graduated from the College in December -- and his attorney, Edward Rubenstone, have requested several documents from the University while in a period of discovery -- the first step toward a trial. Among these documents is a detailed 10-page University Police report written the night of the incident. Only one page of this was submitted as evidence during the 1993 Judicial Inquiry Office hearings, according to Jacobowitz. Jacobowitz accused the University of conspiring with the five sorority sisters to pursue racial harassment charges they knew were false. He said he has no doubt that the University offered something to the complainants, adding, "Penn has administered an amazing injustice." Jacobowitz said a University official told him and Rubenstone of the bribery offer. "To go back to that period, you had an enormous fractionalization of the campus at that time," Rubenstone told The Associated Press. "The minority groups were extremely vocal and the administration felt it had to appear on the right side of the fence, even though they knew the charges were false." Colleen Bonnick-Lewis, 25, one of the complainants, said that at the time of the incident rumors ran rampant on campus. She also said she had heard that the University was making a deal with Jacobowitz, according to AP. "I don't see why at this point he won't let it rest," Bonnick-Lewis said. "He offended us. I think he is trying to make a name of himself or make some money." In addition, Jacobowitz must try to prove that the University failed to investigate the charges properly and did not release all the evidence during the proceedings. Assistant General Counsel Frank Roth said the University has hired attorney Arthur Makadon to represent it in the preliminary objections, with the goal of preventing the case from going to trial, he said. "The case has no merit and we are vigorously defending it," Roth said last week. But Jacobowitz said that because the proceedings were eventually dropped, he was never given the chance to be proven innocent. "Now I am seeking public vindication because I did not violate any University policy," he said. "The University figured it could blame all of the school's racial tension on one white, Jewish kid," Jacobowitz added. "What they didn't realize was if they pushed me too hard, I would start fighting back."

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