Student alleges racial beating at Campus Copy

In an incident that stirred controversy across campus this weekend, a Penn graduate student is alleging that he was the victim of a racially motivated assault by employees of Campus Copy Center last week. Gregory Seaton, a doctoral student in the Graduate School of Education, claims that he was first denied service at the store and then violently beaten by several employees. Following Seaton's account - an open letter which hit campus e-mail accounts throughout the weekend - University Police have mounted an investigation into the allegations. The incident was initially classified as a simple assault. However, representatives of Campus Copy Center, located at 3907 Walnut Street, deny the charges of a racially motivated assault. Seaton declined to comment further on his allegations, as he is currently in discussions with a lawyer. In his e-mail, Seaton claimed that when he arrived at Campus Copy Center last Tuesday, Ron Shapiro, son of Campus Copy owner Stan Shapiro, was paged to the front to help process his order. When Ron Shapiro arrived at the front, he instead began assisting Erling Boe, a professor in the Graduate School of Education. According to the letter, a confrontation then ensued. "The attendant gently reminded Mr. Shapiro that I was the person for whom he was retrieved," Seaton wrote. "Mr. Shapiro dismissed us both with a glance and continued to assist the professor." The letter goes on to describe an escalating verbal exchange between Seaton and Shapiro which finally erupted into a fight. "He [Shapiro] began to point his finger into my face," Seaton wrote. "I wasn't going to let him physically bully me and I was extremely upset, so I pushed his hand out of my face, knocking his glasses off." At this point, Seaton maintained a group of white male employees came from behind the counter and assaulted him, punching and kicking him. "One person grabbed my neck and was choking me, another punched me in the back and kidneys, while yet another punched me in the face and kicked me in the head," Seaton wrote. However, Shapiro released a statement - which has also been circulating campus by e-mail - disputing many elements of Seaton's story and stating it was actually Seaton who was out of line. Shapiro said that he has frequent business with Boe and he assumed that he was called out to assist with Boe's order. "I walked out and saw Dr. Boe standing there, and I just assumed it was him," Shapiro said in an interview this weekend. Furthermore, Shapiro says that Seaton's charges of racism are false. Shapiro's statement also claimed that the incident only became physical when Campus Copy employees subdued Seaton after he allegedly punched Shapiro. Shapiro claims that Seaton sustained no injuries, only a ripped shirt. Boe, a principal witness in the incident, was not available for comment this weekend. University Police launched an investigation into the incident after Seaton's letter was eventually passed to them by the Undergraduate Assembly. According to Penn Police officials, when an event is determined to be a simple assault, officers can only advise the parties involved to seek Private Criminal Complaint with the Philadelphia District Attorney's criminal complaint office. Arrests cannot be made unless the police witnessed the event themselves. An aggravated assault requires that the victim sustain injuries serious enough to result in a hospital visit. "The end result of our investigation could still result in advising both parties to seek resolution through the District Attorney's office, as well as the Philadelphia Human Relations Commission," Interim Vice President for Public Safety Maureen Rush said in a statement. "In the meantime I ask that all parties remain calm and not rush to judgement." Last night, Rush said that the police report did not note the bloody lip and nose that Seaton's letter claimed he sustained, but said that even these injuries would have been insufficient to constitute aggravated assault. "Aggravated assault is much more than a bloody lip or a bloody nose," she said. Rush also said that she stands behind the decision of the officers who arrived at the scene, who identified the incident as a simple assault rather than aggravated assault. "At the time, I think that [simple assault] was exactly what the officers were confronted with," Rush said. Pending the results of the Penn Police investigation, UA Chairman Michael Bassik said that the UA has temporarily suspended all undergraduate student group accounts with Campus Copy Center and has also asked the University's Business Services division to look into doing the same. But while he said that he was "shocked" by the letter from Seaton, Bassik said that the UA wanted to establish firm findings before they made any final decisions. "We want to make sure that we get all the facts before we take any permanent action," Bassik said. The controversy surrounding the Tuesday incident has swept across campus, prompting an open discussion last night at W.E.B. DuBois College House. Penn Police Sgt. John Wylie, who is in charge of the ongoing investigation, and Director of Special Services Patricia Brennan were present to discuss the issue. Wylie attributed the late start of the investigation to the fact that the Penn Police did not know that Seaton was dissatisfied with their service until Saturday. "I was just made privy to this [Saturday]," Wylie said. "We are expediting this as swiftly as we can." Neither Wylie nor Brennan would speculate what the University's response to the incident would be. But Brennan encouraged students to take complaints to the police department or other resource centers, like the Division of Special Services, if they have complaints against police. "If you are afraid of going to the police department, then go to a resource center," Brennan said. Seaton was also present with his lawyer but left in tears soon after the presentation began. After the general meeting, student leaders from several organizations including UMOJA, the UA and the Graduate and Professional Student Assembly met to discuss a strategy for responding to the incident. "It's very important to us that one, how do we hold accountable the businesses around us, and two, how do we, as students of color get service from the Penn Police Department," UMOJA Political Action and Research Committee Coordinator Kimberly Noble said at the event last night.