Arrests of incoming freshmen yield different outcomes (w/police reports)

One student dismissed, one stays

By: TAMARA BEST

Posted: 7/22/08

Two incoming freshmen, arrested for alcohol-related offenses within a week of each other in June, have different plans for the fall semester.

One will be in Athens, and one will not.

Tyler Porter Biringer, an incoming freshman from Roswell, was arrested and charged with underage possession of alcohol and open container June 7, according to an Athens-Clarke County police report. On June 12, Hardeep Singh Purewal, 18, an incoming freshman from North Charleston, S.C., was arrested and charged with underage consumption and public urination.

The Red & Black reported last month that Purewal was dismissed from the University after it learned of his arrest. University Police Lt. Lisa Boone said Biringer's ACC arrest report was sent to the Office of Judicial programs soon after his incident.

"We send all arrests to the judiciary department and there are no exceptions," Boone said.

On July 8, the registrar's office confirmed Biringer was an incoming student but not yet registered for classes. But on Wednesday, the registrar confirmed Biringer was scheduled for 15 hours in the fall.

Kim Ellis, associate dean in the office of student affairs, said admission to the University is conditional until a student signs up for classes.

But Nancy McDuff, associate vice president for admissions and enrollment management, said while she could not speak about specific incidents, decisions in such cases are a "holistic process" and that no two incidents are "identical."

"We look at every incident on an individual basis ... we look at all the facts, there's no set of rules that we go by," she said in a telephone interview with The Red & Black Wednesday afternoon.

The two reports show many similarities. Both reports were filed by ACC Officer Katie Thornton, and both students were charged with possession of alcoholic beverages by persons under 21 years of age.

Biringer was standing outside the SandBar at 220 College Avenue and "appeared extremely intoxicated and could barely stand up." Purewal "staggered greatly from side to side, stumbling," according to his incident report.

Biringer told Thornton that he was 19 and handed over a license confirming he was 19, according to the police report. But records at ACC municipal court confirm Biringer was born in 1990.

According to court records, Biringer was arraigned in traffic court on July 8. Purewal has retained Athens attorney Tom Camp to represent him in his arraignment scheduled for Aug. 13.

Purewal declined to comment about the status of his admission and attendance at the University and efforts to reach Biringer were unsuccessful.