Frightening events at Rutgers

I'm not really plugged in to the Rutgers community; I rarely read the newspaper, I don't have many friends on campus, and I don't have much (if any) "school spirit," but some rather disturbing news has been making the rounds over the past few days. I haven't been able to find any news reports or details about either of these reports other than what I have been told my professors and students who were sent an e-mail, but the weekend before last someone was murdered right outside the building where I have my human osteology class. No one seems to know any details about it other than it happened, but it certainly makes me a little uncomfortable going there to study late at night.

Another disturbing event that took place at Rutgers also has recently come to light, although it happened years ago and is academic in nature. During the 1990's David Oestreicher was an anthropology graduate student at Rutgers working on the Lenape Indians. At the time Oestreicher was studying under the professor William K. Powers, but things went sour when Oestreicher inadvertently invited Powers & his wife to a party where the woman Powers was having an affair with was also present. Powers didn't go to the party, but it marked a definite turning point in the professor/student relationship.

Powers was so angry that he accused Oestreicher of plagiarizing the work of another anthropologist, and even though the claims lacked merit Powers was steadfast in his condemnation. In 1997, however, Powers admitted in court that he had never actually read Oestricher's work and was not even familiar with the area of research the student was involved in. Even worse, this was not the only case of impropriety involving Powers, and other students and faculty added to the list of problems with the professor. Oestreicher did get his degree and Powers left Rutgers (with a $92,000 settlement for being released from the university in hand), but Oestreicher still felt that Rutgers had not done him justice and filed suit. The lawsuit ended a few months ago, although details about it are not mentioned in the university newspaper article that ran the story. Oestreicher still doesn't have warm feelings towards Rutgers, however, and was quoted in the Targum as stating;

The fact is, you really can't understand how Powers was able to get away with so much without understanding the other part of the equation: Why did [Rutgers] allow him to get away with so much? ... They were the enablers and I've always believed that they were more guilty than him.

Update: After a little digging, I found another Targum article about the suit. Rutgers cleared Greci Green, David Oestreicher and Mark Speeney of charges of academic misconduct levied by Powers, issued an apology, and cut the three a single check for $525,000.

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Since the murder technically happened off campus (just across the street, mind you) and the victim wasn't affiliated with Rutger in any way, there is apparently absolutely no danger to Rutgers students according to the RUPD. Lisa's been encouraging people to email RUPD, and they've been sending a standard "no worries, it's not our problem" reply, but the more people who email, the better. Chief Rhonda Harris' email is Rharris@publicsafety.rutgers.edu. I encourage anyone who is associated with Rutgers to email her and complain. Her assertion that there's no problem for Rutgers is nonsense.

As for Powers, what a jackass. If you have an affair, be prepared for face the consequences, moron. That includes being found out, and being invited to places where your mistress also is, because the thing about affairs is that not everyone knows about them. As for him getting off light, well, this is Rutgers, and the admin doesn't know their ass from a hole in the ground, so it's not a big surprise. I feel bad for Oestreicher; no one deserves this kind of treatment, especially not from a dishonest, egotistical prof.