The Oldest College Newspaper in Pennsylvania

The Lafayette

The Oldest College Newspaper in Pennsylvania

The Lafayette

The Oldest College Newspaper in Pennsylvania

The Lafayette

College opens investigation into alleged fight

The+intersection+of+March+and+Cattell+Street+on+College+Hill.+%28Hana+Isihara+17%29
The intersection of March and Cattell Street on College Hill. (Hana Isihara ’17)

Lafayette College Public Safety has launched an investigation in a fight that occurred over Halloween night, reportedly between members of a fraternity and the football team.

Vice President of Campus Life Annette Diorio said she requested public safety investigate the case after head football coach Frank Tavani approached her with questions of rumors about the fight. Other coworkers showed her conversations on YikYak, a mobile app where people can anonymously post to a forum, about an alleged fight.

As of deadline, there have been no reports of any crimes to public safety or Easton Police committed of this nature on the night of Oct. 31.

Orlando Ortiz, who works the door at Milo’s Bar on Cattell Street, said he saw a man in a Superman costume picking a fight with five men in Power Rangers costumes from across the street. Sources close to the investigation claimed that the man in a Superman costume was taunting and insulting the five others for three hours before a brief encounter injured the man in a Superman costume at about 2 a.m.

The individual who was allegedly provoking others was injured by the Power Rangers, according to sources close to the investigation. He was treated in a hospital, reportedly having three of his teeth chipped. A second student, who tried to protect him, allegedly sustained a fractured wrist.

Sources claimed they are members of the fraternity Delta Kappa Epsilon and were the only ones injured in the incident.

According to various sources close to the investigation, the Power Rangers figures are on the football team. Tavani declined comment, and every player who is usually on the starting team did play in the game against Colgate University last Saturday.

Public safety has expanded their investigation beyond YikYak, but they would not respond to questions of their investigation.

“I’m concerned about the campus climate,” Diorio said. “I would be concerned about a climate where people are getting in fights, or all of those things, not speaking nicely to one another. All those kinds of things factor into what we think about in terms of why we want to find out information sometimes.”

The injured students were reportedly treated and released from the hospital and have returned to class, source said. Despite the investigation that public safety is carrying out, charges are not necessarily going to be brought against anyone, according to Diorio.

“I don’t have a full set of information, and I don’t have have students who are saying I want the college to investigate this,” Diorio said. “There are times when we hear things or we get a set of information that’s incomplete and we ask public safety to look into it, either to be sure that students are safe or that everybody is okay, or to be sure that people are aware of their rights.”

Sergeant Keith O’Hay, involved in the investigation, said that even if no individuals involved in the alleged fight pursue charges, the public safety may report the crimes and press charges if a misdemeanor, felony or violation of college policy were to be found.

No students involved in the incident could be contacted for comment.

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