Charged students could be deported

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Three of the five Penn students charged with last month's assault of Princeton University student John Brantl are international students -- which means they could face deportation if convicted on the felony charges.

Two of the charges they face -- aggravated assault, the most serious charge, which carries a minimum sentence of 10 years, and criminal conspiracy -- are considered felonies in Pennsylvania. The remaining charges -- simple assault, reckless endangerment of another person's life and terroristic threats -- are misdemeanors, and would not mean deportation for the students.

"If you are not a citizen of the United States and you are convicted of a criminal felony, you serve your time in the U.S. and then you are deported," Penn Legal Studies Professor William Tyson said.

College sophomore Thomas Bispham Jr. is from Hong Kong, Wharton sophomore Tavraj Banga is from India and College senior Steven Stolk is from Portugal. The remaining two students, College freshmen David Hochfelder and Philip Balderston, are from New York and Pennsylvania, respectively.

Although the five have been arrested and charged, a preliminary hearing on Dec. 17 will determine whether or not there is enough evident for those charges to hold up in court.

In addition to the criminal proceedings, the Office of Student Conduct of the University is also conducting an internal investigation to determine what, if any, action the University should take against the students. One possible outcome of this investigation is expulsion for the students, which could also lead to deportation of the international students.

"If you [have a student visa and] you can't go to school -- your visa is no longer valid," Tyson said.

The five students have been accused of assaulting Brantl in a Quadrangle lounge, pouring motor oil on him and flicking a lit cigarette at him.

A friend of the students who wished to remain anonymous said she believes that there is not enough evidence to convict all the students of the felony charges.

"Of the three kids who are international, only one has a case against him," she said. Other Penn students "are saying all this crap, but they could have walked in there too and been in trouble."

She explained that some of the students who are now being charged were simply present during the attack, but did not participate, and thus do not deserve to be facing possible deportation.

"You have to explain what happened before you take such extreme steps," College freshman Celeste McDonald said. "This seems like a bit of an extreme step."

Other students, though, feel that the students' actions warrant the penalties.

"It seems severe," Wharton freshman Erik Violante said. "But you have to serve the right penalties."

Violante, who is also an international student, said it is "up to the students" to learn the possible consequences of their actions while in the United States.

He added, though, that international students do not receive a lot of training in regards to the criminal laws of the United States before arriving in the country.

"Most of the information is about the student visa, how we can't work, basic stuff," Violante said. "You don't expect to be" convicted of a felony.

Other students agreed that, regardless of knowledge of American laws, the students deserve serious penalties.

"I think that the students were very aware of the gravity of what they did," College freshman Sarah Bealer said. "They should face deportation if they're convicted because they had time to consider what they were doing."

She noted that one of the students had allegedly entered the lounge approximately 30 minutes before the incident took place and harassed Brantl before returning with the other four students.

All five students have also been linked to the secretive Owl Society. The three upperclassmen are members while the two freshman are reported to be pledging the organization.

If enough evidence is found to hold the students to any of the charges, a date for the trial will be set.

Another possibility is that the students and the District Attorney could enter a plea bargain. In an earlier interview, Jeff Kolansky, Bispham's attorney, said he was "more than willing to talk about a non-trial disposition."

But Tyson said that it is unlikely that any such agreement will be reached before the preliminary hearing.

"I don't think that would ever happen," he said. "A student would be a fool to plea bargain [at this stage] because they haven't been convicted of anything yet."

Meanwhile, the University has taken no formal action against the students.

According to their friends, they are continuing with their coursework as final exams approach.

"They just had their mug shots on the front of the DP and they still have to go to classes -- that's humiliating," one friend explained. "They have finals and they have this to deal with."

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