After Justin Wynter's assault case was dismissed last Tuesday, students across Penn's campus are questioning the actions of both the University Police and The Daily Pennsylvanian.
Wynter was arrested after allegedly entering a female student's room in Harnwell College House early in the morning of Sept. 27. He was later arraigned on related charges that were all dismissed on Dec. 2 due to lack of evidence.
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"I'm happy for him -- it's unfortunate that he had to go through it, but I'm glad that he's able to finally get back to why he's at Penn, which is to study," the Wharton sophomore added.
Though Wynter can now officially put the incident behind him, Washington explained how he was disappointed with the coverage of Wynter's arrest in The Daily Pennsylvanian.
"I was displeased with the way the DP covered the story, but that's all in the past," Washington said. "I'm not going to cry over spilled milk."
Engineering senior Justin Cheng felt Wynter's arrest was an example of a serious police "blunder."
"The general abuse of police power is astounding," Cheng said. In order to clear Wynter's name, Cheng felt that it is the University's responsibility to affirm Wynter's innocence.
"The University has to do something to clear his name up," Cheng said.
Other members of the community expressed their discontent with the coverage of the incident.
Elan Fuld, a sophomore in the College, felt Wynter was unfairly portrayed in the media after his arrest and before he was actually convicted of any charges.
"I think the real issue is that you're publishing someone's picture in the DP before you even know if they're innocent or guilty, and this is a case in point," Fuld said.
In addition, he said though the issue became "very racially charged," he felt Wynter's case was an example of why pictures of students in Wynter's position should not be published in the newspaper, regardless of race.
Students noted that Wynter will have a difficult time adjusting to life at Penn next semester, due to all of the negative attention he has received as a result of his arrest.
"I can't imagine dealing with the kind of repercussions that he's going to face, socially," College freshman Sheila Houser said.
However, Washington is confident that Wynter will be able to move on and hopes that everyone will be able to learn from Wynter's situation.
"I just can't express enough my joy for him just because I know what kind of person he is," Washington said. "It's unfortunate that many people have a skewed perception of how he is."
Darcy Richie, chairwoman of the United Minorities Council and a College senior, explained how "this is a good example of the difference between incidents on a university campus and incidents outside of the University campus."
"The repercussions are different," she said. "Bringing false charges" has more potential to scar someone who is a member of a university community, like Wynter, she added.
She expressed her hope that the University is as careful as possible when bringing charges against a student.
"I would just hope that they would have some type of protocol that is unique to University life that might help other people in this situation," she said.
However, Fuld disagreed. "I don't think University students should be treated any differently" than those outside the University community, he said.
Richie is certain that Wynter will be able to successfully readjust to life at Penn after this difficult semester.
"It sounds like he has an incredibly supportive family, so I think that's going to be the strongest thing," she said. "I would just hope that everybody can be understanding and move on."
