By STEVE STAEGER

Senior Reporter

The OUPD will not press charges against the student who filed a false report and is letting the dean’s office handle the situation, according to Chief of Police Samuel Lucido.

Dean of Students Glen McIntosh said the student’s FERPA (Family Education Rights and Privacy Act) rights will not allow him to comment on the consequences she will face.

FERPA prohibits the school from releasing personal information about the student without the student’s permission.

While many students felt the university handled the case appropriately, a lack of an update on the situation did not sit well with some students.

“If they went as far as to e-mail everyone and make it such a big deal, then they should tell us what really happened to this girl for making what seems like a sick joke,” said junior Saima Bhatti.

Freshman Angela Burgess agrees that the university should release more information about what will happen to the girl.

“It should be publicized because if someone is going to say that there is a potential rapist on campus when there really isn’t, they should have consequences and they should be public,” Burgess said.

McIntosh said the issue is being handled internally by the dean’s office.

He said the process for deciding consequences for the accused student is based on a deep investigation into the issue and the student’s background.

“We take all aspects of the student’s background into account, including their mental status,” said McIntosh.

McIntosh said that consequences could range from a reprimand to an expulsion.

“In some cases, students are given an interim suspension, where we ask them to leave the campus for their own safety,” McIntosh said.

The interim suspension is meant for students to seek mental help and to stay away from potentially dangerous interaction with upset students, according to McIntosh.

He was pleased with the way the situation was handled by the different departments of the university.

“We acted in a unified fashion to ensure the safety of the campus community,” McIntosh said.  

Even though students wonder what the final consequence will be, they still feel the university did a good job handling the situation.

Bhatti said she felt the university handled the situation well, but it was all overdone.

“It’s their job to overdo it, but at the same time, some people are going to be scared out of their mind,” Bhatti said.

But student Kristin Solt thinks that getting all the information out is important.

“A lot of campuses will hide things like what went on at Eastern Michigan University,” Solt said.

Eastern Michigan’s poor response to the murder of a student in the dorms lead to an investigation of their campus safety by the U.S. Department of Education

“I think it should be confronted instead of hidden because it shows the honesty and integrity of the school,” Solt said.

Junior Andrea Ligotti said she didn’t get an e-mail after the incident occurred, but the flyers outside caught her attention.

“I think it would be hard for them to do anything else,” said Ligotti.  “I’m not sure if there was any other way.”

Sophomore Emily Kuhlman works for the admissions office giving tours of the campus to prospective students.

She thinks the university handled the situation well, but wishes the whole thing never happened.

“You tell people that Oakland is one of the safest campuses in Michigan; no then someone fakes an incident and it makes us look really, really bad,” Kuhlman said.