Editor,

I am writing to express my views on the J-Board hearing for Grey Norton and Mike Cadoux. A few weeks ago, I signed a petition in support of Grey and Mike; however, that petition did not really represent my views on this incident.

First, I would like to say that after living with both Grey and Mike for about a year and a half now, I don’t believe their actions on the night of September 9th really represent what kind of people they are. I feel I know them both pretty well and neither one of them has ever given me reason to believe that they would behave the way they did that night. Ordinarily they are both kind, intelligent people.

However, their actions that night were irresponsible and disrespectful. I’m sure no one disagrees with that. I know they deeply regret having behaved the way they did. Professor Thomas is my faculty advisor, and she is a brilliant woman and an excellent professor. I feel lucky that she is a part of the Pomona College community. I am sure that, had I been in her shoes, I would have reacted the exact same way. It’s unfortunate that this incident occurred at all. I feel genuine sorrow for all involved parties. For Grey and Mike, this incident has permanently changed their lives, and they will pay for it for a long time in the future. For Professor Thomas, this incident has obviously affected her life as well. I would fully understand if she wanted to move off campus after this, especially considering some of the things I have heard being said about it. She is not to blame for what happened.

As far as the J-Board trial, the only real issue I have with it is that the jurors were able to read about it in the TSL before the trial began. In the real justice system, jurors are not supposed to have access to media that might sway their opinions. If they are exposed to such information, some sort of screening process should occur to weed out potential jurors who might have already formed their opinions. I don’t know if the J-Board members were swayed by the article they read, or if they even read it, but I hope at least they were questioned about it so their impartiality could be determined prior to the trial. I don’t think the TSL should have published that article before Grey and Mike went to trial. That seems somewhat irresponsible to me, although newspapers have every right to do it.

In response to the letter written by the Pan-African Students Association, I would just like to point out that the amount of time it took for the issue to come to trial might have had to do with the process of gathering information and preparing for trial.

I don’t know what Grey and Mike’s punishment should have been. I am not going to pretend I have all the answers. I do think the real issue here is about alcohol use and abuse and the responsibility of every person who chooses to drink to behave responsibly and to discipline themselves not to get into situations like this. There have been several incidents on and off campus involving Pomona College students getting drunk and provoking/participating in similar altercations, both verbal and physical. If Pomona is really concerned about it’s reputation, maybe this is the issue they should be considering.

There is no doubt in my mind that Grey and Mike would not have behaved the way they did had they not been drinking that night. I also believe that Professor Thomas would have really liked both of them had she gotten to know them in another setting. Unfortunately, this is irrelevant. I still consider Grey and Mike my friends. They made a mistake and they are paying for it. I wish people would not judge them based on this isolated incident; but I can’t tell people how to think, especially not people who didn’t know them before. I hope that everything works out for the best for Grey, Mike, and Professor Thomas, and that nothing like this happens again at Pomona.

Sincerely,

Lydia Lucas ’04