NEWS
Residents support Morin at appeal
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by Katie Quaintance
Wednesday, December 11, 2002
Students from the University of Wisconsin residence hall Witte B arrived at Slichter Hall early Tuesday morning to support housefellow Matt Morin at his final appeal hearing.
Several students had an opportunity to speak on behalf of Morin, who faces termination for lending his key to a friend. Although not all residents were able to speak since the meeting’s time was capped at one hour, Morin said he appreciated the gesture.
The appeal allowed Morin to present his case and University Housing officials to reexamine the decision.
“I think that things went well,” Morin said. “I feel many important things were brought up that will need to be considered.”
Dean of Students Luoluo Hong stressed the need for appeals processes in such cases.
“If, in this case, Matt feels there was something more to be said, we should hear it,” Hong said. “It’s important for there to be an appeals process any time we face a personnel termination.”
UW student Roman Patzner said he hoped Morin’s support base would be a factor in the final decision.
“I would hope that housing would really look at how much residents want Matt to stay,” Patzner said.
However, the University Housing director said residents will not have much impact on the final decision, given the severity of the offense.
Walking the line between fairness to student safety and university employees makes the situation more difficult, according to Hong.
“The situation is tough because we need to protect the students but also be fair to housefellows,” she said.
The final ruling on the case is forthcoming; no date or time has been set.
