For brutally beating up a fellow student at the University of Arizona for no apparent reason at all, two White students have been arrested and are facing misdemeanor assault charges.
The boys, Matthew Frazier and Matthew Rawlings, are reported to have beaten the Black student, kicking and punching him as they called him the n-word.
Arizona Daily Star reports that when the news broke on campus, at least 300 students hit the school streets, protesting and demanding the two students be immediately expelled from the university.
The student-protesters held signs and chanted “We Want Justice” and “Black Lives Matter.”
They also argued that the school’s campus is unsafe for students of colour and demanded increased safety measures, reports the Grio.
Three days later, the two underclassmen at the school’s Business College were arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor for the incident which took place near the school’s Arbol de la Vida dormitory, Tucson.com reports.
“This has a very big and obviously negative impact on students’ mental health, their sense of belonging, and their feeling of safety campus. It makes me sad,” said KC Williams, the school’s Director of African American Student Affairs.
The unnamed Black student reportedly made a complaint on what transpired with the campus police, detailing the assault and naming Frazier and Rawlings for also calling him the N-word.
He added that the suspects punched him in his head and kicked him repeatedly as he lay on the ground.
A comprehensive report on the matter details that the student had minor scrapes on his hand, elbow and knees. A witness, who reportedly did not know the attackers, confirmed the victim’s accounts, reports Tucson.com.
Further details were captured in the report that was made available a day before the arrest of the two boys.
So far, Rawlings has admitted that he drank alcohol and blamed the victim, saying that he “yelled at him”. His friend, Frazier, has, however, denied drinking and said he never left the house, even though he had blood on his shirt, according to reports.
Robert C. Robbins, the school’s president, while speaking about the report, vowed they would “aggressively pursue all avenues of justice”.
Already, members of the Black Student Union at the school, which organized the protest, met with a member of the university administration but have declined to disclose the contents of the meeting.
