Harris avoids civil rights prosecution
Student let off after incident at Virginia Tech
By Victoria Shelor, contributing writer
Posted on April 6, 2006

JMU freshman Karl Alexander Harris signed a plea bargain March 27 admitting that he wrote racist messages on the door of a Virginia Tech student during a visit to the school in November.

Harris, from Dumfries, wrote the message on a dry-erase board attached to the door of a female Virginia Tech student whose parents are from Bangladesh and whose name has not been released.

The written message included, among other racial epithets, “I hate you because you are stupid” and “You deserved to be lynched.”

Sunday, Harris said, “I regret the situation … I had been drinking with friends prior to the event. This does not reflect who I truly am and what I truly believe.”

Harris did not know the victim prior to the night of the incident, according to freshman David Perczewski, a friend of Harris’s.

“It’s something he is not proud of at all,” Perczewski said. “He’s seriously one of the most outgoing kids I know [and] has never had problems with anyone. There are plenty of kids that could stand for the same thing about his character.”

The message was written at around 3:30 a.m., after Harris, three other young men and the victim all rode the elevator to the 12th floor of Slusher Tower at Tech, where the victim lived. The four men were visiting a friend who also lived on that floor.

During the elevator ride, the four men began ringing the emergency bell in the elevator, according to the deposition.

At around 3 a.m. the victim went to the bathroom, where Harris and the three other men blocked the door to prevent her from entering. After asking them to move, the victim pushed her way through. When the victim was back in her room, the men knocked on her door and she asked them to leave her alone.

After Harris wrote the message on her door, the victim immediately called the police.

Harris told the Virginia Tech Police officer who detained him that he wrote the message because he was angry at the way the victim had spoke to him.

By signing the plea bargain, a pretrial diversion agreement was reached and Harris now avoids being prosecuted by the state on the civil rights violation against the Tech student.

The agreement defers his deposition for 18 months during which he will abide by certain regulations stipulated by the U.S. Attorney, John L. Brownlee and probation officer, William Sydnor Jr.

Harris must go through an alcohol treatment program and anger management program, a diversity training program and conduct 300 hours of community service during the 18-month period, after which the charges will be dropped from his record.

Harris is also prohibited from setting foot on the Virginia Tech campus and having any contact with the victim.

JMU’s disciplinary action toward Harris has not been disclosed under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FRPA), which is a federal law that keeps disciplinary records confidential without the student’s permission.

“JMU will not stand for this kind of behavior and language,” said Michael Way, Director of Judicial Affairs. “JMU has never had another civil rights incident like Harris’s, and I’ve been doing this for a long time. I think they have done just about everything they should do as far as punishment.”

Virginia Tech Police Chief Debra Duncan said, “The outcome of this situation sends a strong message that any kind of harassment will not be tolerated.”

The deposition also says that the victim fears for her life to leave her dormitory, has missed academic classes immediately following the incident and has considered leaving Tech permanently.

“I am very sorry for what happened that night and I apologize to the girl, the students at Virginia Tech and all the students at JMU for my actions,” Harris said.