Late Sunday night we published a written transcription of an interview with Cori Jackson. The story of his suspension had been brought to our attention early in the month, but Caleb and I were not able to sit down with Jackson until last Friday. Caleb and I are on the editorial board of the Collegian, though we are not part of the news section, and we informed the news editors of the situation as we understood it. From there we had the interview, recorded it and I transcribed it on Sunday. Both we at the Underground and representatives from the Collegian spoke with Jackson about getting his story told in these outlets and, at the time, he was supportive of our attempts to get his story out to the public.
We chose to publish the exact words of Jackson, as we thought this fit best with our mission to allow suppressed stories to be told by those who lived them.
By midnight, I had become aware that Jackson had informed his attorney about the publications, and his attorney counseled Jackson to have them removed. As these words are Jackson's and not ours, we complied.
Though Caleb and I truly want Cori's story to be told to the Butler community in the format we originally chose, we will continue to refrain from making the transcript available on the Underground. Our colleagues at the Butler Collegian will be publishing a story in tomorrow's April 1st issue regarding the proceedings at the university and at BUPD.
In the brief discussions I've had with Cori about the progress of his case (and the possibility of reposting) he has expressed regret about not feeling comfortable supporting the release on the Underground and in the Collegian. His response to our efforts was positive, but he avidly expressed his desire to wait. Cori is to see a judge regarding his case in the coming days and he is hoping that the progress of the case will go in his favor. For that reason, he does not want any publications here to complicate that possibility.
Though further portions of the interview we presented and further information are to come to light tomorrow, this blog is about harboring a respectable space for dissent and opinion. A free flow of information does not necessitate an uninhibited one, but does necessitate respect.
I am aware that copies of our Sunday post exist and I ask that you maintain these responsibly. I also encourage everyone to pick up an issue of the Collegian in order to read new details about story which Caleb and I were unable to present originally. We will keep the updates coming and ensure that injustices are not kept quiet; that they are not swept under the rug by administrators as a complicated guise of bureaucracy.
-Jon
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I think it would interesting to get the administrators side on this issue. I wonder if The Collegian could give the other side of the story.
ReplyDeleteJon,
ReplyDeleteSince I've graduated it seems I'm hearing all these stories about stuff going down at Butler. I am out of the loop obviously but I appreciate what you are doing. I had a friend email me about the C. Jackson story and so I "googled" it just wondering if I could find anything else about it. It led me to your page. Anyways, thought you might like this quote by my favorite author Camus (from Resistance, Rebellion and Death essays)
"A free press can of course be good or bad, but, most certainly, without freedom it will never be anything but bad. . . . Freedom is nothing else but a chance to bet better, whereas enslavement is a certainty of the worse."
Amy
Can someone at least make a neutral statement of the allegations? I am a BU alum and I am trying to find out what the hell is going on.
ReplyDeleteIs there theft alleged? Vandalism? What?
From what I understand its an accusation of a laptop theft, and maybe a few lesser items.
ReplyDeleteA few truths:
ReplyDeleteCori Jackson does not have a record. Butler University sent their case to the local DA with the records of a local man with a similar name. This other man had a record. It is not clear as to why BUPD would proceed with criminal proceedings on the back of such sloppy investigative work.
Office Criswell is quoted in the Collegian as saying that "there wasn't anything in the apartment. [The laptop] had already been gotten rid of." Leaving the grammar aside, officer Criswell words indicate that Jackson was presumed guilty until proven otherwise.
The laptop in question is a Butler Pharmacy computer, approximately 2-3 years old with a hideous sticker on it marking it the property of the University and it has a Butler encryption program. This is hardly an item that could be readily or easily fenced. The computer has very little value on the open market. Jackson has his own laptop on campus.
The other items in the backpack included 200 cash, a graphing calculator, and an ipod touch. None of these items were harmed or removed.
Cori Jackson was an excellent student before transferring to Butler with a spotless disciplinary record, yet Dean Stevens found that he lacks credibility.
A few more truths: The backpack was left in the bookstore. It was in the line of site of a camera the entire time from it being left by the student to the time Cori picked it up. The fact of the matter, no matter if the laptop was in the backpack or not, Substantial amounts of money were missing, as well as other items amounting to over 350 dollars at least. The odds are, that even if the laptop was not in the backpack as the student claims, then these things were. They are now missing. Only one person picked up the backpack, and it was cori. In addition cori did not go directly to turn in the backpack, he walked out through Starbucks and then an undetermined amount of time passed, follow which he turns in the backpack. Now, i could accept that the laptop was not in the backpack and that the student misplaced it elsewhere. But, for all of the items to disappear, now that is a trick.
ReplyDeleteHere are a few more facts. A sticker can be removed. And as Anonymous above states "It has a Butler encryption program." Which is is correct. But, "The Butler encryption program" is located on the harddrive. Pop out the harddrive, pop in a new one, and its as if the machine never had any form of security. Unless butler has lojack installed on the motherboard of the computer, in which case it would be located the instant it connected to the internet (and this conversation would never have taken place) Then selling this laptop is not a difficult task.
I am not jumping to conclusions, but these are facts. (as I understand them)
Also, a variety of programs exist on the internet to zero a harddrive to its original state, regardless of the file system, or encryption of the drive. So replacing the harddrive is not necessary. These programs need only be burned to a bootable cd/dvd, and then all that remains is to reinstall the OS... its like its never been used then.
ReplyDeleteBUMPITY BUMP!
ReplyDeleteAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA, you guys believed him... hahahahahaa
ReplyDelete