What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Ohio
I am a 19 yo white male student at an Ohio university and I live on campus. On Friday my roommate and I were throwing a party in our dorm - nothing against the rules, just a few friends over listening to music and dancing. There was absolutely no alcohol or alcohol consumption in the room, but a few people showed up intoxicated (and under age).
After a few hours we decided to turn off the music and call it a night. A few minuets later I heard a knock on the door and there were ~ 6 people outside, 2 of them I could tell were police officers because of their uniforms. They (1 police officers and 1 other man) forced their way into my dorm on the grounds that "This is property of the University and we have the right to come in". The other police officer and persons remained in the hall. In the housing contract for University Housing it states that University officials have the right to enter the property for inspecting orderliness, cleanliness, etc; HOWEVER, an application needs to made prior to the search and must be approved by the proper university authorities stating the reasons for the search. The housing contract also says that in order for an search and entry they must have probable cause. I do not feel like there was either an application or probable cause in this situation. The music was off and there was no activities occurring which would have violated the universities rules
Along with a police officer there was also a very muscular black male who came in - no uniform or badge. He did not identify himself, he told me to sit down, and he began yelling at me: "Do you have any idea how much trouble you are in? Do you have any idea how long we can put you in jail, how much we can fine you, for serving alcohol to minors? You could serve years and be kicked out of school." and at this point he was yelling directly at me in a very threatening tone "Do you have any idea? DO YOU? ANSWER ME!"
I had done absolutely nothing wrong all night - I was completely sober and I was absolutely NOT serving alcohol to minors. Like I said before there was no alcohol in the room whatsoever. I had no idea who this person was, but they came into my room and began interrogating me. I was, needless to say, very scared and very confused. And I couldn't help but feel like he was acting unnecessarily harsh towards me because I am a white male. I later found out that they were newly hired university residence police, but like I said before there was absolutely no way to tell that at the time.
Because of the entry they kicked 3 people off campus permanently, they forcefully pushed my friend into the hall by his neck, and embarrassed me in front of the entire floor and ruined my reputation on campus - not to mention that it was a complete invasion of my privacy. My good friends no longer want to come back to campus because they don't feel like it is not safe. Even though I live on campus I do pay $3000 a semester and I would like to think that I do have some sort of rights. I don't feel like it is appropriate for campus security to bust into my room, go through my stuff, interrogate me (for things I did not do), and put a mark on my academic (and social) record without even announcing who they are let alone not having an appropriate application to show me. Not to mention I was horribly scared during the entire process.
I am also scheduled to meet with the residence jury to 'decide my fate'. I would like a second opinion on whether or not I have a legitimate case if I decide to take the University to court. Any other advice or tips would also be recommended. I have appointments set up to speak with the head resident adviser (who was present at the time all of this was occurring), but other than that I have no idea where to start.
Thanks for any advice in advance.
I am a 19 yo white male student at an Ohio university and I live on campus. On Friday my roommate and I were throwing a party in our dorm - nothing against the rules, just a few friends over listening to music and dancing. There was absolutely no alcohol or alcohol consumption in the room, but a few people showed up intoxicated (and under age).
After a few hours we decided to turn off the music and call it a night. A few minuets later I heard a knock on the door and there were ~ 6 people outside, 2 of them I could tell were police officers because of their uniforms. They (1 police officers and 1 other man) forced their way into my dorm on the grounds that "This is property of the University and we have the right to come in". The other police officer and persons remained in the hall. In the housing contract for University Housing it states that University officials have the right to enter the property for inspecting orderliness, cleanliness, etc; HOWEVER, an application needs to made prior to the search and must be approved by the proper university authorities stating the reasons for the search. The housing contract also says that in order for an search and entry they must have probable cause. I do not feel like there was either an application or probable cause in this situation. The music was off and there was no activities occurring which would have violated the universities rules
Along with a police officer there was also a very muscular black male who came in - no uniform or badge. He did not identify himself, he told me to sit down, and he began yelling at me: "Do you have any idea how much trouble you are in? Do you have any idea how long we can put you in jail, how much we can fine you, for serving alcohol to minors? You could serve years and be kicked out of school." and at this point he was yelling directly at me in a very threatening tone "Do you have any idea? DO YOU? ANSWER ME!"
I had done absolutely nothing wrong all night - I was completely sober and I was absolutely NOT serving alcohol to minors. Like I said before there was no alcohol in the room whatsoever. I had no idea who this person was, but they came into my room and began interrogating me. I was, needless to say, very scared and very confused. And I couldn't help but feel like he was acting unnecessarily harsh towards me because I am a white male. I later found out that they were newly hired university residence police, but like I said before there was absolutely no way to tell that at the time.
Because of the entry they kicked 3 people off campus permanently, they forcefully pushed my friend into the hall by his neck, and embarrassed me in front of the entire floor and ruined my reputation on campus - not to mention that it was a complete invasion of my privacy. My good friends no longer want to come back to campus because they don't feel like it is not safe. Even though I live on campus I do pay $3000 a semester and I would like to think that I do have some sort of rights. I don't feel like it is appropriate for campus security to bust into my room, go through my stuff, interrogate me (for things I did not do), and put a mark on my academic (and social) record without even announcing who they are let alone not having an appropriate application to show me. Not to mention I was horribly scared during the entire process.
I am also scheduled to meet with the residence jury to 'decide my fate'. I would like a second opinion on whether or not I have a legitimate case if I decide to take the University to court. Any other advice or tips would also be recommended. I have appointments set up to speak with the head resident adviser (who was present at the time all of this was occurring), but other than that I have no idea where to start.
Thanks for any advice in advance.
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