Attorney Derek Farmer filed an amended complaint Monday against five Ohio University officials outlining additional reasons why his client, Gregory Richards, was inappropriately arrested.
Richards, who was suspended a week before he was scheduled to graduate from OU, participated in an informal graduation ceremony called Kushinda, proving his intent to participate in the formal graduation procession, Farmer said.
This information was not provided in the original complaint because it was revealed during the September hearing with OU officials, Farmer said.
The lawsuit cites OU President Roderick McDavis; Ryan Lombardi, interim vice president for Student Affairs; Kent Smith, former vice president for Student Affairs and current president of Langston University; Christopher Harris, director of the Office of Community Standards and Student Responsibility; and Jessica White, assistant director of the Office of Community Standards and Student Responsibility.
In February, Richards was in an Uptown bar when a student jumped on Richards’ back and another student, who had called him a racial slur earlier in the day, attacked him.
The student who called Richards the slur continued taunting him at the BP gas station, according to the complaint.
The Athens Municipal Court fined Richards almost $400 and assigned him a two-year probation. His suspension, revised by OU, began June 1.
On June 8, Richards participated in Kushinda, a graduation ceremony put on by OU’s Multicultural Center in which about 70-100 Hispanic, Latino and African American students participate each year.
“It’s a funner ceremony,” said Winsome Chunnu-Brayda, associate director of the Multicultural Center. “It’s a pre-graduation, graduation.”
Participants dance afterward and superlatives such as “person with the best name” and “Court Street champ” are distributed during the ceremony. A faculty member also gives a speech.
Farmer said that since Lombardi was the guest speaker at last year’s Kushinda, he should have known to tell Richards he was not allowed to attend the larger graduation ceremony the following day.
The complaint also cites additional accusations against Harris, who sent a letter to OU officials, including representatives from the registrar’s office, which stated Farmer was only allowed on campus if he got approval through the Community Standards office.
“When a person does this type of thing, it’s a vicious intent, and sometimes it’s necessary to remind the university that protections of the Constitution of the United States do not stop at the gates of Ohio University,” Farmer said.
Farmer wants OU to grant Richards his degree or credit that he earned at OU leading up to his suspension.
“It’s a very good school, and most of the people there are good people and want to do the right thing and see (their students) retain their degrees,” Farmer said.
A mediation between Farmer and the university has been postponed until the end of November.
Neither McDavis nor the university commented on the pending litigation, said Jennifer Kirksey, chief of staff to McDavis.
However, in a memorandum filed through the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, the university claims that Richards has no probability of success because his claims are not valid.
sj950610@ohiou.edu
