Carleton student Sam Tsega has been banned from campus after his second degree murder charge was upgraded to first in the 2010 shooting death of teenager Michael Swan.
In a letter sent Sept. 13 and signed by Carleton president Roseann Runte, Tsega was given notice that he was suspended from studies and all athletic activities at the university.
“This notice will remain in effect until such time as you provide evidence satisfactory to the university that you do not pose a threat to the safety and security of others,” the letter stated, according to the Ottawa Citizen.
Carleton media relations co-ordinator Chris Cline said via email that it is the university’s practice to ban individuals from campus who have been charged with serious criminal offences.
Tsega’s lawyer Giuseppe Cipriano said the university has not provided a clear answer of what proof they require.
“They haven’t presented me with any evidence that he has been a threat to anyone, other than the charge itself,” Cipriano said.
He said he is concerned that Carleton’s decision to ban Tsega from campus is prejudging the case.
He said the university is a place of higher learning where students are taught to think critically and not to accept things at face value.
“The administration has done the exact opposite,” he said.
Cline said decisions like these are not taken lightly, and are focused on maximizing campus safety and maintaining a safe, educational environment.
“The practice makes no assumptions about any individual’s guilt or innocence, which is determined by the courts,” he said.
Cipriano said Tsega wants to go back to school.
“He’s in a very tough situation and school was keeping him grounded. He was doing very well for himself, and in a way, this decision by Carleton has the potential to set him back,” he said.
Cline said an appeal process is available to any student who is banned, including Tsega.
Cipriano said he cannot discuss evidence because of a publication ban. He said there was no new evidence when the university made the ban.
“There was nothing new, it was a new interpretation of the provisions,” Cipriano said.
Tsega is in his third year of study at Carleton in the bachelor of commerce program, according to Cipriano.
