Has anyone seen this yet? I did a search but didn't find anything.

"Rotten to the Corps: A Question of Justice at Texas A&M"
www.houstonpress.com/2008-01-24/news/rotten-to-the-corps-a-question-of-justice-at-texas-a-m/

It's a long article and a big f'd up situation.

[The topic title has been changed. The title of the article obviously suggests where this publication is coming from. This forum is not going to be used as a forum for Corps bashing, so keep that in mind as discussing this topic -- Staff]

[This message has been edited by TexAgs staff (edited 1/23/2008 3:44p).]

you are shocked about this?

[You are treading on thin ice -- Staff]

[This message has been edited by TexAgs staff (edited 1/23/2008 3:56p).]

some people ruin it for the rest
hth

I guess I don't understand... did they go to court? Were they found guilty? Even if they were, why should they be kicked out of school?

I'm a little shocked. How is it that a case as easy as this is dismissed and the sanctions dropped without any reasons given and the administration and officials just saying "just let it go". It doesn't make any damn sense.

I love the Corps and think they are a vital part of this institution. My dad was in the Corps and I have lots of good friends that were in the corps.

I just don't understand how this stuff can just get swept away.

there are idiots in every organization

Should have been some sort of charges here...that makes no sense.

page1

From the article:

quote:

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When Helle and Ramirez received word they would be investigated, they hired attorney Jody Mask.

Mask is a 1996 graduate of Texas A&M and former member of the Corps. He served in the Parsons Mounted Cavalry and worked on the Aggie Bonfire during his junior and senior years.

Mask later attended law school at the University of Houston, and he is still active in the A&M community. He often speaks to groups of cadets' parents, and he once was the keynote speaker at an event at Kyle Field.

Mask refused to allow his clients to discuss the case with the Houston Press.

"Not that my clients have anything to hide," Mask says. "They suffered too. My boys have suffered like you would not believe."

According to Mask, both Helle and Ramirez lost weight and allowed their grades to drop after the fight. They endured constant anxiety, Mask says, from the fear of criminal prosecution and punishment from the university.

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Maybe they shouldn't have assaulted the guy. But then again, they brought the suffering upon themselves. Maybe they'll let me and the guy that got assaulted hold them down and punch them until their eye-socket caves in. Maybe.

quote:

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Mask (attorney for the Corps guys) refused to allow his clients to discuss the case with the Houston Press.

"Not that my clients have anything to hide," Mask says. "They suffered too. My boys have suffered like you would not believe."

According to Mask, both Helle and Ramirez lost weight and allowed their grades to drop after the fight. They endured constant anxiety, Mask says, from the fear of criminal prosecution and punishment from the university.

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Yeah, that's the same.


dammit, username!

[This message has been edited by NeuroticAg (edited 1/23/2008 3:11p).]

Toss em out of the school

Yes, because nonregs never get in drunken fights after leaving north gate.

Buck, the corps is the most visible organization aty a&m, and will always get a lot more scrutiny as a result.

I fail to see what this has to do with the Corps of Cadets. They weren't in uniform, they weren't even on campus. It's not like they were the leaders of some big movement to go out and beat the crap out of non-regs. Seems to me they were just college guys who made a bad decision. Should they be punished? Yeah, if the account of the fight in the article is completely accurate. It's not really cool for two guys to just attack another. Expelled? I don't think so. Guys get in fights ALL the time in CS. If the University expelled every single one that did, the male student population would probably be cut in half.

abc, it went to court but the prosecutor, Kuboviak, dismissed the case a week before trial with the sole reason: "In the interest of justice." It has never finished trial

The A&M administrators reviewed the case and "The university eventually found Helle and Ramirez guilty of physical abuse, along with several other violations of school code."
"...Helle and Ramirez had been suspended from the university for one semester and kicked out of the Corps. Furthermore, Helle and Ramirez were to make an effort to pay Zach's medical bills — which had grown to nearly $60,000 — before they could return to the university. And when they were allowed back on campus, the cadets were ordered to stay 50 feet away from Zach."

Months later it was found out that all these sanctions had been dropped and both guys are in the Corps and will be graduating in May.


I don't think the guys should be expelled but the sanctions should have stayed in place. The prosecutor should have gone forward with this also.

Lots of people get in fights, but how often is it this brutal? If any student pummels another like this they should at least be suspended for being an *******.

[This message has been edited by GCRanger (edited 1/23/2008 3:19p).]

those idiots should have been kicked out of school...getting in a fight is one thing, beating someone this bad is another

I remember Jody Mask as a JRP. Good to know he is apparently a somewhat proficient attorney as well.

quote:

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Months later it was found out that all these sanctions had been dropped and both guys are in the Corps and will be graduating in May.

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Hooray, our university is a joke.

I was on the same study abroad trip as Zach (and Leah for that matter). Zach is a pretty cool guy. I'm kinda sorry I lost touch with him. I think this fight may have something to do with a girl that he went after when we were on the trip, but I don't remember for sure.

Sounds like it was over him wearing sunglasses and the corps guy thinking he was gay because of it

a 2-on-1 pounding with serious, permanent injury is more than a "fight".

as far as the question of "what this has to do with the corps", the question is did their status/connections have something to do with why it was dismissed?

People get in fights all the time, bad ones even, and don't get kicked out of school.

While I agree they should have gone to court and been punished, I don't think the school should have anything to do with it. The Corps maybe, but I don't think they should be kicked out of school.

quote:

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Brown responded, "If Zach truly believes Helle and Ramirez present a threat to his personal safety, he should seek a restraining order or withdrawl [sic] from school and transfer to another ­institution."

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That has got to be the most lazy, asinine solution to this problem. Telling a guy to get out of A&M, a school he loves more than a lot of people do, because he was assaulted. What a joke. I'm ashamed of my university today.

EDIT: I can't spell "lazy" right.

[This message has been edited by Humorous Username (edited 1/23/2008 3:22p).]

Why do I get the idea we are not hearing both sides of this story? Because we're not!

Why weren't charges filed? The Corps didn't assault this guy. A couple of members did... on their off time. This isn't a Corps issue.

What the **** does this have to do with the corps. I'm pretty sure there are people who get in fights all the time.

yea...this side of the story doesn't quite seem complete to me.

It's from the Houston Press... they are probably not known for their hard-hitting journalism.

The Houston Press is about the same as the San Antonio Current, 210 SA, or Dallas Observer. It is a "alt weekly" magazine.

The Corps is being included because it is suspected that their involvement in the Corps is why the charges keep getting dropped and the situation swept under the rug.

I should have changed the title. It isn't Corps vs. students. However, it seems IMO that it got swept under the rug more than a fight between non-regs would have.

I'd like to learn more about the case also.

Uno

1) I agree that we aren't hearing both sides of the story. I would like to hear both sides.

2) For those asking what this has to do with the Corps: These guys are in one of the most visible components of the University and it's embarassing when members of the Corps do something bad because it is magnified so much more. If you can't handle it, get out of the Corps.

quote:

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The Corps is being included because it is suspected that their involvement in the Corps is why the charges keep getting dropped and the situation swept under the rug.

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Well, they have managed to keep the metric system down all these years and protected the identity of the guy on the grassy knoll .......


[This message has been edited by B-1 83 (edited 1/23/2008 3:31p).]