student conduct

If Sean Little Is Found Guilty of Evanston’s Gay Bashing, Should Loyola University Kick Him Out?

Last week we learned of the gay bashing of Daniel Hauff, 33, and an unidentified second victim, who Hauff tried to protect from his three alleged attackers. Their names are Benjamin Eder, Kevin McAndrew, and Sean Little (pictured, L-R). And that last one, according to this news report, is a student at Loyola University in Chicago. Originally charged with misdemeanor battery, the three are now facing felony hate crime and aggravated battery charges. If convicted, should Little get kicked out of school?

According to Assistant State’s Attorney Erin Antonietti, during the train fight where Hauff jumped in to protect another rider being bullied by the three men — and only scared off his attackers after smearing them with his blood that he claimed, falsely, was HIV-positive — Little, 21, called Hauff a “faggot” during the melee and punched him. Antonietti says Little also accused Hauff of “being the other person’s boyfriend.” The fight reportedly began when Little had backed the original victim into a corner, shoved him, and began screaming gay slurs at him. (Little’s attorney Robert Givertz says his client didn’t use gay slurs and the attack was not a hate crime.)

Curiously, the event has yet to make news on the Loyola campus. A search for Little’s name on the Loyola Phoenix newspaper’s website turned up zero results. But Little is indeed enrolled there, and is a junior. He also works at the YMCA Childrens Center in Evanston, where the attack took place. (It appears, though we have not independently confirmed, the other two suspects are not students at Loyola.)

So if he’s found guilty, should his punishment — which could include jail time — extend to his enrollment at Loyola? The school’s Student Handbook, in “The Student Promise,” says students “promise to recognize that each individual person is valuable and has a unique perspective that contributes to the growth and development of all. I will respect the individuality of others regardless of appearance, ethnicity, faith, gender, ability, sexual orientation, or social standing.”

Violations of its conduct policies, the Handbook continues, will be dealt with as such (emphasis ours): “When a student or student organization is found in violation of the Community Standards, any of the following types of student disciplinary action may be imposed. Any sanction imposed should be appropriate to the violation, taking into consideration the context and seriousness of the violation and the respondent’s prior judicial history. In cases of board hearings, a majority of board members must agree on the sanction in order to impose it. Where there is reasonable information that a violation of university policies or campus regulations has been committed against any person or group because of the person’s or group’s race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, age, disability, gender, sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law or because of the perception that the person or group has one or more of those characteristics, the recommendation or imposition of sanctions shall be enhanced and may result in suspension or expulsion.

If Loyola is true to its word, this should be an easy answer.

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