College Response to Bryan Hall Incident, January 26
The administration of Guilford College has been proactively responding to an altercation in the Bryan Hall courtyard on campus since it occurred at approximately 12:30 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 20, 2007. The College’s response is founded on the commitment to the welfare of students, the maintenance of a welcoming and safe environment and accountability to core values that include community, diversity, equality, integrity and justice.
According to available evidence, including reports from staff and students on the scene, the altercation in the Bryan Hall courtyard on Jan. 20 lasted less than five minutes and involved physical violence and alleged verbal abuse and possibly hate speech during and after the incident. The Guilford students involved in the incident were acquaintances and residence hall neighbors with no history of conflict. At least some of the students were under the influence of alcohol. International students and student-athletes enrolled at Guilford were involved as well as non-students. About a dozen individuals participated either in the fight or attempts to break it up. Individuals refused medical treatment immediately after the incident, but they received medical attention the following afternoon.
Almost everyone who is characterizing the event was not there, and is merely repeating, and may be distorting, what others have told them. Media reports have also been distorted.
The College learned that on Sunday, Jan. 21, some of the students who were involved in the incident filed criminal charges that led to arrests on Monday, Jan. 22, by the Greensboro Police Department of three other students. The students who were arrested and taken into custody were released on bond, and their status as students at the College is unchanged. Criminal charges are completely separate from the College judicial process.
On the afternoon of Wednesday, Jan. 24, the College held a Quaker Meeting for Worship and an open forum in the tradition of Meeting for Worship with attention to business. Students, faculty, staff and others from the greater community participated in the two events. On Thursday, Jan. 25, students organized a series of events on campus that included opportunities to discuss and reflect on the incident.
On Jan. 25, five students received “internal charges” and were turned over to the fact-finding phase of the faculty-student judicial hearing process. The College will make no comment on specific details of student judicial records or pending judicial cases, pursuant to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), a federal law that protects the privacy of student education records.
Also on Jan. 25, the College learned that two additional students were arrested by the Greensboro Police Department on criminal charges related to the incident. Their status at the College is unchanged.
The entire Guilford College community is in a period of reflection and healing following this regrettable incident. Some individuals involved in the incident sustained injuries, for which the College expresses sorrow and sympathy and a hope for speedy recoveries.
Jan. 26, 2007