Two Penn seniors arrested last Thursday for assaulting police officers at a sorority event at World Cafe Live will be in court this morning to fight the charges against them.
An 8:30 a.m. preliminary hearing -- at which a judge will review the facts of the case and decide whether or not to proceed with charges -- will be held at the court-house at 55th and Pine streets.
Wharton senior Matt Blaszko and College senior Zach Kerner were arrested at the Big Man on Campus event, which was sponsored by the Alpha Chi Omega sorority. They were the only two students arrested when an altercation escalated in a crowd of 400 to 600 students, bouncers and police at the venue at 3025 Walnut St.
Capt. Ben Naish of the Philadelphia Police said that Blaszko was "charged because during the course of [police] trying to disperse a crowd he began to swing his elbows and [an] officer was struck."
Blaszko is being charged with simple assault and disorderly conduct.
Kerner was arrested for similar reasons by the Penn Police when he allegedly struck a Penn Police officer in the chest, Vice President for Public Safety Maureen Rush said.
Kerner is being charged with disorderly conduct, simple assault, aggravated assault, resisting arrest and reckless endangerment of another person.
Kerner's lawyer, Jeffrey Sigman, did not respond to calls for comment.
The two seniors spent more than 24 hours in holding cells after their arrest but were released early Saturday morning on $2,000 bail.
The sorority event attracted huge crowds of students, who were prevented from entering the venue through the main entrance to allow attendees from an earlier event to leave. Students were asked to move to a side entrance, where some waited for about half an hour.
A World Cafe Live employee called the Penn Police at about 10:25 p.m., reporting a crowd-control problem. Students were reportedly asked several times to form a line and step away from the door.
City and Penn Police soon arrived and restrained a bouncer who was allegedly becoming violent. They asked students to leave, and, due to the large crowd, a call for backup was made summoning all units in the district to help disperse the students.
But, as students left, the situation escalated into a confrontation between students and police.
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