The Quadrangle

Issue date: 3/9/05 Section: News

In light of recent events on campus, students still feel they enjoy a safe environment

Manhattan College prides itself for its small, comfortable atmosphere in a respectable and safe neighborhood on the outskirts of Manhattan: "the best of all worlds," claims the promotion video for prospective students. But in respect to recent events on and off campus, does such a reputation still hold true?

Though usually a quiet school in terms of making the nightly headlines, some events have brought the school to the forefront, urging the question of how secure students feel on campus with so much violence outside of campus.

In the past couple of months, Manhattan has experienced its fair share of violent events. On January 31st, David Segal, a junior, was arrested due to arson charges regarding a United States Army Recruiting station in the Parkchester section of the Bronx. He was a well-known political activist on campus and started his own controversial independent magazine, The Radical Jasper, which he had been distributing on campus about once a month for the entirety of the fall semester. Segal had also already been arrested once before for protesting at the Republican National Convention, and was reportedly involved in a national day of vandalism against military posts by anarchists. He is currently suspended from Manhattan involuntarily, and awaits his court hearing from his home in Connecticut after posting bail.

Another student, Ayman Marji, was arrested over winter break for the murder of Omar Torres on December 18th. A commuter, Marji is suspected of shooting Torres in his native borough of Brooklyn. He was released from jail on $150,000 bail but must show up at court dates and, since he is a dual citizen of the U.S. and Jordan, stay in the country. While waiting for his court date, he, through legal representation, asked the school to allow him to return for the time being. That request was denied. Like Segal, Marji has been placed under "involuntary leave of absence" by Manhattan College at the moment.

More recently, senior Robert Kramisen assaulted philosophy professor Dr. Seamus Carey. With a history of assault, Kramisen is also named in a fight that occured last semester, where he assaulted David Segal, and threatened violence against his friends after he came to the WRCM broadcast booth after hearing Kramisen's opinion on his zine. With violence occuring by Manhattan students both off and on campus, some may fear that violence is an increasing trend among Manhattan College students.

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