Did Racial Profiling Cost a Black Student His Degree?
Compiled by the DiversityInc staff
At Middlebury College's May 22 commencement ceremony, about 100 of the 544 graduating seniors attached labels that read "O'Neil Walker" to their robes and clothing. Walker would have been on that stage, but he was kicked out of the liberal-arts college a few weeks before graduation. The official reason: Walker entered a classmate's dorm room without permission. But the 21-year-old's supporters blame racial profiling.
Walker's troubles began at the start of the spring semester, when a white student who lived in the same building accused him of entering his room in the middle of the night and crashing on the floor. The student, David Hawkins, went to school officials, who attempted to link several other unsolved trespassing cases to Walker, including one that involved s*xual touching. None of those charges stuck, but the college eventually kicked Walker out for being in Hawkins's room uninvited. He didn't fit the description Hawkins gave, but he did fit the profile, the Village Voice reports.
The school's hearings were closed to the public, but officials insist they had strong evidence. Attorney Billy Murphy, who was brought in by one of Walker's classmates, disagrees. "It was a kangaroo court. No lawyers were allowed in, and the burden of proof was set very low," he says.
Walker would have been the first person in his family to obtain a college degree. His mother, Hyacinth Newby, shares her outrage: "They threw him out like garbage. It really hurts, it's really painful."
Despite the setback, Walker intends to get his degree and become—what else?—a lawyer.
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Thursday, June 9th 2005 at 11:32PM
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