NEWS
Student pulls knife at Witte
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Also by Ken Harris:
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by Ken Harris
Friday, February 22, 2008
A University of Wisconsin student spoke out Thursday on
charges of disorderly conduct, after allegedly pulling a knife on two students
in Witte Residence Hall following a night of drinking Feb. 1. According to a criminal complaint, UW freshman Brandon
Bensen, 19, pulled a knife on two students, including his roommate. According to UW Police Department Lt. Eric Holen, Bensen
allegedly entered another student’s room late at night while drunk. When the
student tried to make him leave, Bensen pulled out a knife and held it to the
person’s throat. Bensen left the room shortly afterward and returned to his own
room where he also pulled the knife on his roommate. In a phone interview with The Badger Herald, Bensen said he
was very drunk and does not remember very much about the events of the evening,
except that Witte Hall house fellows had gotten involved. “They kicked me out after the knife incident,” Bensen said
of the first confrontation. “There was no actual fight.” He added he does not believe he ever threatened his
roommate, saying there is a good explanation for the second incident. “I don’t remember, but somebody told me I was showing him
what had happened in the other room,” Bensen said. According to Bensen, UW has since allowed him to return to
school, but he can no longer live in university residence halls. He has also been placed on two years probation with UW,
meaning if he violates any other university policy in that period, he will be
expelled. Benson said he must also undergo alcohol assessment and meet with the
associate dean who first handled his case. Bensen is scheduled to make his initial court appearance for
the incident Monday. He said he has been charged with disorderly conduct with a
weapon, which is a misdemeanor, as well as underage drinking. This is Bensen’s second underage drinking offense. His first
offense occurred in October. Bensen said he thinks he will plead guilty Monday, but he is
not sure because he has not spoken with a lawyer yet. University Housing Director Paul Evans said incidents like
this, and violence in general, are very rare occurrences in residence halls. “I think it’s kind of a rare thing anywhere on campus,”
Evans said. “For the most part, the vast majority of our community treat each
other with respect.” Evans added UW has very low tolerance for violence or
threats in residence halls, adding “with anything that serious, it doesn’t
matter if it is your first offense.” According to Evans, alcohol is almost always a factor in
negative incidents like this. “If nobody told me that [alcohol] was involved, I would
assume it was,” Evans said. “Typically, in incidents like this that are out of
the ordinary, most likely there’s a really good chance alcohol is involved.” Representatives from the Offices of the Dean of Students did
not return phone calls as of press time.
Anonymous (February 22, 2008 @ 1:58am):
you got what you deserved, benson
Anonymous (February 22, 2008 @ 2:04am):
I know the guy. He's actually pretty pleasant and normal when he's sober, but he obviously changes when he gets drunk.
Crandon I wish you the best, but seriously, don't drink so much.
Anonymous (February 22, 2008 @ 5:10am):
loser.
Anonymous (February 22, 2008 @ 7:59am):
I support Brandon Bensen. I believe it's time America's youth got a message about respecting the inebriated. You rock, Brandon!!
Anonymous (February 22, 2008 @ 8:48am):
If you choose to booze, you lose!
Anonymous (February 22, 2008 @ 8:53am):
Nice treatment. Rich parents?
Anonymous (February 22, 2008 @ 10:21am):
What a bunch of negative people. Dude that night was kinda scary not gonna lie. Kinda glad they left all the other stuff out.
Anonymous (February 22, 2008 @ 10:23am):
Yo brandon is a really chill dude. He just just an angry drunk. Hopefully he learned his lesson and doesn't drink like that again.
Anonymous (February 22, 2008 @ 1:09pm):
Anyone who gets drunk and holds a knife to someone's throat is NOT "a really chill dude." Hey Brandon, how would you feel if some did that to you?
Anonymous (February 22, 2008 @ 1:23pm):
I bet his folks are very proud. GO BADGERS!
Anonymous (February 22, 2008 @ 2:46pm):
Brandon you deserve a bigger punishment...how about you stop drinking!!!
Anonymous (February 22, 2008 @ 3:43pm):
why did he agree to an interview without a lawyer? idiot
Anonymous (February 22, 2008 @ 11:34pm):
He's and angry young man, like so many of us. What should he do, keep it all inside? I wouldn't waste my time talking to a shrink. I want action if I have to take action myself. I refuse to surrender control of my life to someone who doesn't understand my situation. I know what's best for me.
Anonymous (February 24, 2008 @ 11:53am):
"does not remember very much"
"he does not believe"
"I donât remember"
"somebody told me"
very informative. you know, i actually heard from my brother's friend's roommate that...
Anonymous (February 24, 2008 @ 8:35pm):
First of all I don't think this should be the first news item on the front page of the Badger Herald website, and I also feel bad for the Brandon.
Putting a knife up to someone's neck is well, whatever; I don't think an adjective is necessary. My point, though, is that Brandon made a mistake.
Assuming this guy is a freshman and he is knee deep in all the social changes and demands that accompany it, I don't think everyone should be so hard on him.
When a person does something like this, it's a mistake, and the last thing they need is to be ostracized with their name being publicized front and center on one of the school news websites.
What we should be doing as a university is subtly help Brandon rebound from this. To call him out and alienate him might only be augmenting an issue he may have had in the first place.
So, Brandon, you got drunk, you did something extremely regrettable, but you don't deserve this public mockery. Your name shouldn't have been shown. This is like To Catch A Predator style shit. Shame on you Badger Herald! Did using his name do any good? No. Did using his name do any bad? Yes. It was cheap and scummy of you!
Anonymous (February 25, 2008 @ 1:53am):
His name has already been released you idiot.
Anonymous (February 25, 2008 @ 2:41pm):
His name has already been released -- you're correct -- by the Badger Herald. Maybe you meant to say "his name HAD already been released you idiot." And ... That was obviously before it was broadcast in the fricking student newspaper!
Nonetheless, my point remains that it was cruel of the Badger Herald to do this to a student. It adds to the festering culture of hate and sarcasm established by the BH shout-outs.
And I'm not an idiot because I care for the emotional well-being of a fellow student here.
Anonymous (February 29, 2008 @ 6:03pm):
I would just like to say that he is the one who decided to speak to the Badger Herald so no one should feel sorry for him. This is not his first offense for the police getting invovled with his aggression when he gets drunk. So this wasn't just ONE mistake. He knew that he gets aggressive when he gets drunk and that didn't stop him. And on another note until just recently he posted these links to this article and the blog about him calling him an idiot on his facebook. So it seemed he didn't mind if he was helping people find these articles with ease.
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