2008 Woodie Awards
Manhattan College Student Arrested on Murder Charges
Ayman Marji Faces Potential Jail Time
Jonathan Stone
Issue date: 2/16/05 Section: News
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Marji, a student in the School of Education, was released on $150,000 bail. As a dual citizen of the United States and Jordan, he has promised to follow the conditions of his bail by showing up to his court dates and not flee the country.
According to authorities, there was a feud between Marji's family and Torres's Family. The night before Torres was shot, he was suspected for shooting at a member of Marji's family.
Manhattan College has placed Marji on Involuntary Leave of Absence under conditions one and three of the Community Expectations and Behavior section in The Student Handbook 2004-2005. Condition one states "Any conduction which would violate the criminal codes of any New York City, New York State, or federal government agency." Condition three states "Any behavior that is contrary to the order requisite for the educational community, including but not limited to, conduct which threatens or endangers the life, health, safety, or well-being of self or others."
Michael Santangelo, Marji's lawyer, said, "He certainly wanted to be in school, attending classes, rather than sitting around waiting to go to trial." He also stated that he was disappointed that Manhattan placed Marji on Involuntary Leave of Absence.
According to Dr. Colette Geary, Dean of Students, Marji posses a threat to the school community. Once more details are released on this incident, a disciplinary hearing can be scheduled and the situation can be fully evaluated.
"I think this is a very unusual time for Manhattan College. It is a very safe community. This off campus event does not affect campus security, but it is unsettling to see several of our students involved in such serious matters," said Dr. Geary.
On the topic of campus security, Manhattan College works hard to keep the campus free from such incidents. According to Brother Robert Berger, Vice President of Student Life, there is a statistical survey every four years. Based on the feedback from that, continual problems will be addressed and systems that are working will be maintained.
Freshman Andrea Paciga said, "Living on campus I have never felt threatened by anyone or felt like I was in danger in any way. Even though this event took place off campus, this shows that you cannot trust anyone, and you must be alert."
Joe Cuccurullo, a student from the School of Business said, "It is disturbing what this school community has going on. On campus everyone is generally nice, saying 'hey' or 'what's up' when you walk by them. You don't stop to think that the person you just said hi to could be a potential murderer."
A student who wishes to remain nameless and dorms in Chrysostom said, "There are a lot of sick people in the world. Even though this took place off campus, if an event like this were to happen on campus, I'm very confident in the way Manhattan College would handle the situation. If someone is pointing a gun at you with the intent to shoot you, there is nothing you can really do beforehand to prepare for that."
*The Journal News contributed to this article.