Friends of the five charged are still shocked by the events.

When names of the Penn students arrested for the alleged assault of Princeton University student John Brantl were released, friends of the five were shocked.

Other acquaintances, however, said they weren't surprised by the charges against the students.

"Basically I was shocked," College sophomore Liz Schoen, a friend of Thomas Bispham Jr., said. "I can't imagine him doing something like that.... He seems more level-headed than that."

"It all sounds very strange to me," she added. "None of this makes sense."

But others were not caught off guard.

"It didn't surprise me,"said a student who worked with Bispham in the Mask and Wig Club and did not want his name printed. Bispham "is a bad decision-maker. Obviously he acts before he thinks. I don't think he is a bad person -- he just doesn't think of the consequences."

According to the student, Bispham ended his affiliation with Mask and Wig last year through a "mutual agreement" with its members.

Another student, also a member of Mask and Wig, agreed that Bispham's behavior did not come as a complete shock.

"If there was anyone I knew who would do something like this, it would be him," he said. "I could definitely imagine him going along with it as part of a group."

Other students said they were surprised to hear about their peers' alleged involvement pouring motor oil over Brantl and throwing a lit cigarette at him.

"I can't see [Wharton sophomore Tavraj Banga] doing any such thing," said Wharton sophomore Siddhartha Ahluwalia, who attended high school with Banga in Bombay, India. He's a "really nice guy, got his head on his shoulders and would definitely not do the things that people claim he did."

"I think it's really blown out of proportion," Ahluwalia added.

Two hallmates of College freshman Philip Balderston also said they were surprised to hear about the accusations against him.

"He seemed friendly and was easy to talk to," one of the students said. "I thought he'd be smarter than that because he seemed like an intelligent guy."

"I was really surprised this morning to see his picture on the front page of the paper," the second hallmate said of Balderston on Tuesday. "He seemed like a pretty quality kid, and I wouldn't expect him to [do this] because I didn't see him as the kind of kid who would randomly assault someone."

College freshman Benjamin Black, a friend of Balderston, was also caught off guard by his alleged involvement in the incident.

"Phil is an incredibly loyal friend and extremely not violent," Black said. "I felt horrible for them with how publicized it was and everything."

Black, who also knows College freshman David Hochfelder, said news of his possible involvement, too, was unexpected.

"He's a really fun guy and a really good friend," Black said. "From hanging out with him, I don't think he'd do something like this."

A friend of College senior Steven Stolk would not comment on Stolk's association with the alleged assault.

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