The Michael Weiser Harassment Case
The Case
On February 15, 1993 it was reported in the BDH that the UDC had dismissed
Michael Weisser '95 without possibility of readmission until fall 1997.
The events that led to the decision occurred on November 20, 1992. That
night, a female student cashiering at Josiah's asked Weisser not to eat
fries in line. Incensed, Weisser (who was said to have been intoxicated at
the time) returned to his rooom and left three threatening messages on the
female student's answering machine.
The next day, Weisser realized what he had done and contacted Police and
Security, seeking to assure the female student that he had made a mistake
and that she was in no danger.
Meanwhile, the female student had filed a complaint with the Office of
Student Life. Weisser was brought before the UDC on charges of violating
Section II.b (flagrant disrespect) and IV. (harassment) of the Standards of
Student Conduct.
The UDC found Weisser guilty and rendered a penalty of dismissal until Fall
1997. Fall 1997 was, not coincidentally, the first semester after the
female student's expected graduation from the PLME program (Spring 1997).
Our Stance
While the ACLU does not dispute the UDC's finding that leaving intimidating
messages on an answering machine is harassment and should be punishable, we
have serious reservations about the manner in which the UDC arrived at its
decision to dismiss Weisser until Fall 1997.
By dismissing Weisser until his victim had graduated from Brown, the UDC
endorsed a "victim specific" method of sentencing. We believe the
punishment should fit the violation, not the victim.
One wonders whether the penalty would have been different had the victim
been a second-semester senior. Would the penalty have been a one-semester
dismissal, not a four-year dismissal?
This case highlights our long-held belief that the UDC should adopt
sentencing guidelines. We proposed such guidelines in our 1995 proposal on
reforming the UDC.
