Racial Attack Sparks Rally On Mass. Campus

Supporters Of Black Student Claim Excessive Charges After Altercation With 2 White Men

(AP)  Faculty and students at the University of Massachusetts rallied Wednesday in support of a black biology student who faces attempted murder charges after a white man allegedly taunted him with racial epithets, broke his nose and smashed his dormitory window.

About 200 people gathered on the steps of the student union in support of Jason Vassell, who authorities said stabbed two non-students after he was provoked into an argument at his dormitory early the morning of Feb. 3.

The two men, John Bowes, 20, and Jonathan Bosse, 19, survived the stabbings and were not immediately charged in the fight - something supporters of Vassell, 23, note when they complain prosecutors were influenced by race in bringing the charges.

Vassell, who does not have a criminal or violent history, according to friends and faculty, was charged with two counts of armed assault with intent to murder and two counts of aggravated assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. Five days later, Bowes was summoned to court to face civil rights violations, as well as disorderly conduct and assault and battery charges. Bosse has not been charged.

"The behavior of the prosecutors would have been different if these two guys had been African-American," said Michael Thelwell, an Afro-American studies professor at the flagship state university campus.

Assistant District Attorney Frank Flannery said the charges are brought "based on the evidence we have" and said he could not comment further on the pending case.

Bowes' attorney, Alfred Chamberland, did not immediately return a call Wednesday. A message left at Bowes' home in Hancock was not immediately returned. A man who identified himself as Jonathan Bosse's father said his son would not comment.

Supporters of Vassell have created a committee and a Web site to raise money for his defense. They plan more rallies to keep up pressure on authorities to review the charges against Vassell, who has withdrawn from school and is living at his mother's home in Boston with electronic monitoring and a 6 p.m. to 7 a.m. curfew.

"Jason does not represent a danger or a threat to anyone," said his lawyer, David Hoose.

Hoose said since the fight, more information has come to light. He would not elaborate.

"Police made an initial decision on what they saw that morning, but now after talking to witnesses and seeing surveillance video, a fuller picture has emerged of what happened," he said.

Vassell was reacting in self-defense after Bowes and Bosse smashed his dorm-room window and called him racist names, said Tracy Kelley, who is Vassell's girlfriend and said she was in his room the night of the fight.

The altercation began when Vassell noticed the two men outside his ground-floor window, she said. They began to taunt him, she said, and broke the window. Vassell, feeling threatened, called a friend from a neighboring dorm for help. When he opened the lobby door, Bowes and Bosse entered and a fight broke out, Kelley said.

Vassell suffered a broken nose and was treated and released from a hospital.

University police would not comment on why Bowes and Bosse were on campus.

Kelley said authorities are missing the big picture.

"When someone can threaten your well-being and safety and you can't defend yourself, you're skipping over something," Kelley said.

Graduate student Anthony Ratcliff, who spoke at Wednesday's rally, said the incident was indicative of wider societal problems where blacks are automatically assumed to be the perpetrators.

He recalled the "Jena 6" case in which six black Jena High School students initially charged with attempted murder after a 2006 assault on a white student. Charges were reduced, but the original counts caused complaints of harsh, racially motivated prosecution that led to 20,000 people marching in Jena, La.

"This is not isolated or out of the blue," Ratcliff said. "There are similar incidents that happen all over the country," he said.

University spokesman Ed Blaguszewski said while he could not comment on Vassell's case specifically that the administration is "concerned with all episodes of violence on campus."

Vassell was scheduled to appear in Eastern Hampshire District Court on Friday. Hoose said he will ask a judge to change the conditions of Vassell's release.

[michellem99-2009]

Young lady,
It is not what yer wearing but the message ye send. No girl/woman asks to be repaed. I have heard of this school and it is sad ye can''t attend class and learn something.
In Seattle cops told me I have have no right to put some one on their asre. The bloody crimmals got all the rights. This Mainer knows they are wrong. Call 911 and they take their stweet asre time. Skni colour mean noting to me. Time America went back to what works and not worry about he is black she is white. It meaningless as we are human beings of one race.

[victimsofgra]

suzie:

if you have charlie manson outside your house and he wants to hurt you.

Do you :

A: wield a knife and open the door.
B: Keep the door locked and call 911.

Easy answer.

[victimsofgra]

Suzie,

Step out of the box. don''t look at race.

Person one stabs person 2 and 3.
HE STABBED 2 PEOPLE! Those 2 people were unarmed.

If Police officer shoots 2 unarmed people he is at fault.

[SuzieH212006]

Wow - I can''t believe some of these commments - like he instigated the fight by opening the door, a which time, two racist bullys barged into his room and broke his nose, maybe I''m a little slow but I don''t get how this is at all his fault. So if I, a white female, open my door to a stranger and he forced himself into my house and started abusing me and I fought back, it would be the same, I brought it on myself by opening the door???? That is the most f----ed up thing I think i have ever heard, what happened to victims rights? So when a girl gets raped, its her fault because she was probably being provactive or didn''t lock herself in her room cowering from her attackers?

[keithle1]

No one is going "back to Africa." They don''t have enough cellphone towers there.

[dbsavoy-2009]

victimsofgra said: When did it become self defense to stab someone that has NO WEAPONS?
---------------------------------

C''mon bucko, you know the answer to your own question, don''t you:

When you''re white!

[dbsavoy-2009]

What a pack of IvoryAss hypocrites in here. Everyone''s a barracks lawyer all of a sudden, huh? Well, he opened the door, well they only smashed his window and called him a N******. I''d like to see your trenchant analysis if a coupla brothers did the same thing to one of your little frat boy pals. "libsrweak". good handle. "consrcunts", more like. Except a good "liberal" knows that the whole liberal - conservative divide is bogus. This isn''t f*ckin'' economics, pal. It''s whether you have any d*mn justice in your blood.

[victimsofgra]

my2centss

You are correct, the black guy opened the door.
If you have bad guys outside of your house, are you going to be letting them in? NO!

So by letting them in he is obviousley looking for trouble, and most likely instigated the act.

[my2centss]

"..., called a friend from a neighboring dorm for help. When he opened the lobby door, Bowes and Bosse entered and a fight broke out, Kelley said."

If Vassell would have been outside he might have a point. Being that he called his buddy(instead of the police) and opened the door thus allowing Bowes and Bosse into the secured, locked dorm. There is something a little different than self defense.

[victimsofgra]

DirtyDuzzin:

When did it become self defense to stab someone that has NO WEAPONS?

[dirtyduzzin]

victimsofgra
Sounds to me that they entered the dorm and started the fight. Two against one. By the way, when did it become o.k. to break people''s windows and threaten them on these beloved college campuses we so admire.

[tomanyt]

robcanaday..."The point I was making is the media shows only parts of the whole picture to encite racial tension." So this is some sort of media conspiracy to pit the white against the black????

[tomanyt]

Here we go again. Anytime you say something about a black you are a racists if you are not the same color. If its so terrible here with all the "racism", why don''t they go back to the Africa there so proud of???

[robcanaday]

Well I guess people, like some that have commented on here, are unable to read! I said the video I saw. The point I was making is the media shows only parts of the whole picture to encite racial tension. BTW there was ONE white woman attacking ONE black woman and the rest around them were trying to break it up. I never said it was right because of that either. Please dont fall for the reteric.

[victimsofgra]

Stabbing someone because they threw a rock threw a window is NOT self defense No matter what color you are.
When police go through training they are taught to only use deadly force if your life is in danger.

It is common sense. A broken window cannot kill you, a knife peircing your body WILL harm you and can kill you.

[gheemaster38]

I am beside myself! I watched the vidoe of the reporter that was supposed to have been attacked covering a murder story in the Carolina''''s. All I saw was one white woman attacking one black reporter. They lead us to believe that she was mobbed by racists

robcanaday

I don''t know what video you were watching but the one I watched had several white people surrounding a black woman on the ground. SOme were holding her down and others were hitting. Dont try and make light of this either. By the way, on this issue if the roles were reversed and a 2 black guys were yelling racial slurs and shattered the window of a white guy and then when the white guy opened the door they came in and started a fight and both of them ended up stabbed-It would be considered self defense no matter whom started it or said what first, so forget about making excuses. Self defense should swing both ways.

[victimsofgra]

The Black guy stabbed the white guys. That is attempted murder.


Throwing a rock through a window and calling someone a Ni**a is not comparable to murder. Its vandalism, not a hate crime.

Last time I checked we live in a free world. So that means I can call you anything I want, as long as I don''t hurt you.

What is next? Bill O'' Reilley can''t call people stupid, and Rush L can''t call you a blabering idiot because it hurts your feelings?

Stabbing is un-forgivable no matter what they called him.

[noloyalisti]

We know the police force has been militarized and has been infiltrated by former brainwashed military personnel. Even in the most progressive cities like Berkeley, there is police hatred toward the young and less wealthy. The less wealthy in our society are people of color.

This means that there is an open door for unfair treatment of minorities. I would be inclined to doubt ANY police report regarding this matter and would automatically suspect foul play on the part of the white people and the police (in this an almost any other situation).

[pepperp1]

OMG...DEMS kiss Nov...you must be isolated in a bubble... Goodbye

Barack Obama''''s mentor Hillary aint never been called a .....


culture controlled by rich white people

................God *** America............

http://www.youtub
e.com/watch?v=iPjVp3PLnVs

Ahh Senator McCain I be sending a contribution later today hate is hate and I want none of it.

http://thepage.time.com/


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Posted by shutupNvote at 11:54 AM : Mar 13, 2008



Ok so where are State National Guards heated discourse is ok but ...lets also recoginze it can create great harm while things are being resolved....

[rowdytexan2]

Wonder what this young man did to inspire these other two young men to throw a rock in his window and call him names?

Don''t present this as a one-sided story for sensationalism, that old dog just doesn''t hunt anymore.

Racism is a TWO-WAY street in 2008! There''s absolutely no call for it at any time.