well, i do have a witness, Stacy Mason. i dont know whitch way she will go with it.

anyway, if it comes down to it, i plan on filing charges, possable media coverage (i know a few infuental people, and after the stabbing at my school earlyer this year thay wont want that), and then dropping the charges before it goes to court.

I dont want to ruin the man, but i dont want him to do this to anyone else.

I'm pretty sure 40 years ago they didn't spank people in college.

you're all whiney suemonkeys, deal with it.

That's way over the top.

If I was in the media and you came to me with that story I'd laugh you out of my office.

i dident say i would take it to the media

Uh yeah you did.

"possable media coverage"

Your exact words. And that IS way over the top.

you must be under the assumption that i am acting alone, that was not implied or stated

[QUOTE=Mr. Stafford]you're all whiney suemonkeys, deal with it.[/QUOTE]

Only in America.

*sigh*

that sounds like a racial slur


SU'D

Agreed, way over the top. And I really doubt the media will latch onto this, if at all. You weren't sexually assaulted, (but hey, add that too to make a stronger case!), and all you really have against you is a push. And people's definition of a push varies.

I think if you take this to the media, you'll be the one that comes out looking like the bigger dumb ***.

[QUOTE=Mr. Stafford]that sounds like a racial slur


SU'D[/QUOTE]

OH SNAP IM A TERRORIST

If you want an example, see: Cindy Sheehan.

Just because she violated the PDA rule (which, seriously, is pretty insignificant. Whatever action could be taken would be so very minimal), he did place his hands on her and push her, which is so much more against the law.

Elana- I don't exactly follow the part where you followed him, but I don't think I would have if I were you. But, in the long run, he was much more at fault than you were, and bringing it up with the Dean guy in charge was the right thing to do.

Yeah, your case would hold up in no courts. The reason is because you subjected yourself to this so-called "emotional trauma." When at anytime, you could have walked away or you could have refused to follow the teacher in the first place.

You don't really know that. Not following him could have gotten her into even more trouble.

I'd have run that **** through a spell-check before I gave it to DEAN HARTZORG!!

Just pay some gangstas to beat the **** out of him. Much much easier.

Agreed.



Also agreed. She didn't do anything wrong, from what she tells us.

I also think that she is in her right to sue, but it will be hard without witnesses. Staff members can restrain students if they have taken special courses, but only if they phsically do somthing that is harmful to them, or their peers.

I also wouldn't choose a school with PDA rules.

This is the very reason why I do not like, trust, associate, or do anything with the teachers of my school. I simply don't like school teachers, unless of course, I chose the course from my free will. If I were you, I'd stay away from them, but if an incident ever hints into that direction again, take immediate action, and go to superiors. Yes you broke a rule, how ever, the rules are only valid on the school grounds, so they aren't trying to tell you how to run your life, they just want you to behave your self while on premises. There is nothing wrong with kises or hugs or I love you's, nothing wrong at all, but you must consider where you are when you do it.

It's a shame you don't trust your teachers. You feel a lot better if you do. Some teachers I don't trust, nor like, nor had any problem telling them I don't like them or their teaching style after school, but it isn't wise to do this for all teachers.

Also, what are rules but guidlines how to live and behave?

And love shouldn't be limited by display of where you are, and when you are doing it. I think people that do that are ***clowns. Sure, they might make people feel bad, but it might also make them get off their *** and ask some german foreign exchange student out.

I never said the rule was not stupid. I don't trust teachers, because I've had very bad experiences with them before. Still, where would we be with out these guidelines?

Montenegro.

I'm surprised that nobody has mentioned that Teachers have a RIGHT to touch students to keep them in line. They might lose their job, but it is NOT against the law.

At least in perfectly sane Canada.

[QUOTE=Glyde Bane]I'm surprised that nobody has mentioned that Teachers have a RIGHT to touch students to keep them in line. They might lose their job, but it is NOT against the law.

At least in perfectly sane Canada.[/QUOTE]
This is Uni.

*flee*

I think you're all missing the most absurb part, the fact that her college has a rule against public displays of affection. What the hell is the administration thinking? It's goddamn college, not middle school.

Hell, my middle school didn't have anything against kissing, and they'll suspend guys for having hair past their earlobes.

You want to back that statement up?

No.

Also, if you're in America, and not sueing somebody...you should be.

This school is a Methodist College. So it's going to look down on people making out in public, which is exactly what the rule is trying to prevent. This was not making out, it was a kiss, and there are a number of couples on campus who do this all of the time. I know the law pretty well, and statements that can be taken in a lot of different ways like that rule usually actually have a specific implication, but just have to be worded that way because it doesn't look good to right "make-out" on a legal document. There has never been any kind of attempted enforcements against PDA's before, so I think it's safe to assume that mere kissing is not problematic behavior.

Yes, Elana standing in the doorway could easily have been mistaken as theatening behavior, however given the circomstances, anyone with an IQ greater than that of penut butter could see that it was a defensive move. The facts of the situation are that Mr. Ward has never before expressed any attention in Elana in the past. He is in fact a stranger (and I do put enfasis on the strange part). He is almost always in a joking mood. He is very friendly and touchy, even flirtatious, particularly towards girls. He has a very sudden and bad temper. He has verbally threatened students in the past and while i don't know if it is officialy in the records, this is known by other teachers and faculty. HE went out of his way to approach Elana and started the dialog. The fact that he confronted her easily can be seen as the provocation of conflict and in and of itself a very threatening act. Elana followed him, showing that although she dissagreed, she attemped to be cooperative despite Ward's behavior. Ward however was completely uncooperative.

As for the act of moving Elana out of the way, had he walked into her, even knocked her down doing so, but simply walked strait ahead and out of the door, he would not be convicted of assault by any judge in the nation. But he actually took the effort and made the mental decision to place his hands on Elana and use force to physicly move her. This IS assault, perhaps not unprovoced, but certainly unwarranted. Someone who would act in such a manner should not be around young people, bottom line.

Knowing Elana, and hearing stories of Mr. Ward, I have no doubt that there was much yelling going on. The officer no doubtedly was as shocked as Stacy Masson. I could understand the possibility of him simply doing the first thing that came to mind (pulling out cuffs and threatening Elana) in an attempt to simply get ahold of the situation. But it doesn't change the fact that he CHOSE not to do his job in helping her and not persueing Mr. Ward.

I know the law, I've grown up around politics and law and judges and all that crap. This is how any (good) judge would see this case. Granted with a jury of idiots, er, I mean peers, this could go either way. But bottom line, Elana did nothing wrong, he provoced a conflict, she attempted to defend herself, and he chose to act violently.

She was defending herself from someone who was walking away? Yeah right. It's not called defense when you keep someone from leaving, it's called provocation.

I still can't get over the fact that students are taken to the dean's office at the college level.

So his grabbing her and pushing her aside is justified?

No it's not. I just don't like his use of the word "defend." You don't defend yourself from a fleeing person.

Assault, is a threat of violence. Holding an empty gun to your face, assault.

Forcibly standing in someones way, can be considered assault, and or sexual harassment. Trust me, I've been there.

You broke a silly rule. Try not to break it again.

I think some of you are missing this one point:
"Suddenly, he grabbed my shirt with both hands at my collar bones and physically pushed me out the door."

That's pretty threatening, not to mention completly uncalled for.

Okay, one hand on the shoulder and gently pushing to get someone to the side out of the way isn't assault 9and would have been more appropriate), but grabbing someone's shirt near the collarbone? I think that's a little drastic for this situation.

True, but you have to take it with a grain of salt as you've only heard one side of the story.

Yeah, I'm totally only hearing "helpless poor woman" syndrome.

I hear it all the time at work.

In parts of the United States, assault is verbal abuse or other threatening behavior. The actual act of violence is battery.

Any physical contact without consent can be classified as assault and/or battery. Even though Elana might potentially be accused of creating a threatening situation for the teacher, he can still be charged with assault or battery for a violent act. In a fistfight both individuals are able to file battery charges against the other person, regardless of who started the fight. Elana should be able to press charges in this situation but the teacher might be able to, too, depending on how the situation actually played out. At most I would expect a restraining order.

That said, there are no grounds for a civil lawsuit. No lawyer would take your case, the media would laugh at you and it would be dismissed immediately. Assault and battery are criminal cases.

Edit: When that cop was handcuffing you, you should have said "I WANT TO PRESS CHARGES". It would mean losing his job if he didn't take down a statement at the very least. Memorize this for future reference.

Yes, and that's the problem. We're only hearing her side, and situations like these are usually always over-exagerrated.