UNH evicts student for fat frosh joke

DURHAM — A University of New Hampshire student banned from his dorm for posting fliers that urged freshmen women to lose weight by taking stairs instead of an elevator says he won't accept a watered down UNH judicial finding that might let him move back in to campus housing.

"Definitely not," said UNH sophomore Timothy Garneau, 20. "I'm appealing it. I firmly believe that if I did accept the situation that I got today, that I would not be placed back in housing."

Garneau was kicked out of his Stoke Hall dormitory on Sunday after UNH's Judicial and Mediation Programs Office found him responsible Oct. 8 for lying to school officials, violating an affirmative action policy, harassment, and disorderly conduct.

The Berlin native drew the punishment after posting what he intended to be joking fliers in Stoke on Sept. 3 that showed a fit woman in a 1980s-style workout leotard. The fliers read "9 out of 10 freshman girls gain 10 to 15 pounds. But there is something you can do about it. If u live below the 6th floor takes the stairs Not only will u fell better about yourself but you will also be saving us time and wont be sore on the eyes."(sic)

Garneau lived on Stoke's seventh floor and said he made the fliers on a computer to draw attention to frustrating waits for an elevator that he said are caused by residents taking the lift one or two floors instead of walking up or down stairs.

"I thought it would be funny to poke humor at the situation," the political science major said. "I made a poster in like two seconds."

The severity of Garneau's punishment was also affected by an unrelated prior incident when he gave a false name to a UNH staff member looking into an alleged drinking situation in a dorm, according to UNH documents. Garneau was placed on probation for that.

It's been nearly a week that Garneau has been sleeping in his 1995 Ford Contour and showering at UNH's exercise facility. He said he studies in the Dimond Library and eats his meals in campus dining halls and that he and his family cannot afford to pay for an off-campus apartment that can run from $400 to $800 per month.

"I even looked for a bed and breakfast place that would be reasonable but I couldn't find any place for less than $400 a week and I couldn't afford that," said Garneau's mother, Mona Garneau.

Citing federal privacy law, UNH officials declined to comment on the case. Documents show Brad Williams, Stoke's residential hall director, said some Stoke residents — both men and women — found the posters offensive. Stoke employees removed the fliers within two hours after they were posted.

Garneau said he initially lied when Williams first confronted him about the fliers but that he told Williams he had made the posters "about two minutes later" and that he posted written apologies as well as a bulletin board on harassment in Stoke the week after the incident.

After Garneau's appeal to UNH's judicial office was denied last week, he sought help from the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, a non-profit group that works for freedom of expression.

"Forcing a student into homelessness for posting a satirical flier is not just unlawful — it's cruel," said FIRE President David French in a statement released Thursday.

Garneau said he believed FIRE's press release prompted UNH to give him a document yesterday that sets aside all charges against him except lying.

"They handed it to me while I was walking to one of my classes," Garneau said yesterday. "It was kind of weird. I think they're basically doing it to block the attention they're receiving from the media."

While FIRE began attracting media attention to Garneau's case Thursday, UNH's decision to set aside the original charges against Garneau is dated Oct. 27, Wednesday. One UNH official indicated media pressure was not a factor in the reduced charges.

Under the new decision, Garneau will be on disciplinary probation through May 30, 2006, must have an ethics meeting with UNH judicial officer Jason Whitney by Nov. 15, and is eligible for "relocation to another residence hall on campus if space is available."

However Greg Lukianoff, FIRE's director of legal and public advocacy called UNH's new decision "thoroughly inadequate" and suggested it was likely prompted by media inquiries.

"It was only after they started getting calls from the press that they issued the new decision," Lukianoff said.

Lukianoff said if Garneau appeals the new decision, his relocation to another dorm will be put off. He also said Garneau could consider a lawsuit against UNH.

Garneau, who hopes to become a lawyer, said he does not want to go to court and will try to get UNH to reverse even its most recent decision finding him responsible only for lying.

"The thing is, I know I was lying, but I confessed within two minutes," he said. "The point is that I just think UNH is being unfair. Them backing down after they know they're wrong sort of proves that."

The following is a copyrighted story from The University Of Chicago's Maroon student newspaper. Hard to believe that U of C is more tolerant than UNH.

First-years fear signs of clichéd weight gain

By Yuefan Weng

October 28, 2004 in News

The urban legend of the “freshman 15” claims college students gain weight in their freshmen year on campus. Rumor has it that 15 pounds is the average weight gain.

Most Chicago students contacted by the Maroon agreed that the average first-year does indeed put on the pounds.

“Most guys get a large gut and punchy in the face, while most girls get some excess junk in the trunk,” said Pat Rich, an undeclared first-year in the College. When asked if he was worried about gaining some extra flub this year, Rich said, “Since I never gained weight personally, I’m not worried about it. However, students should eat less and eat better if it is a concern.”

For many students, time restrictions due to classes and meetings conflict with their ability to sit down and eat a balanced meal. Argun Rumun, a first-year in the College living in the Shoreland, thinks lack of time may be the driving force behind the weight gain.

“There is just not enough time to eat right,” Rumun said. “This is especially true for Shoreland residents, where the only source of healthy food is in Walgreen’s and the Co-op marketplace, which is not very convenient late at night.”

Apart from the lack of time for balanced meals, many students also attribute the enforced freshmen meal plans to first-year weight gain. According to second-year in the College Daniel Aguilar, who gained seven pounds last year, the freshmen plans offer so many meal points that students are almost forced to eat more than necessary.

“They force a freshmen meal plan that gives us 17 meals a week,” Aguilar said. “This is way too much for a single student and it tricks us into overeating just because we don’t want to waste meal points.”

Another concern with campus food is quality. One slice of cheese pizza at Pierce’s dining hall can contain 500 calories. Vegan choices are rare in the dining halls. According to Aguilar, “the healthy foods in the dining halls are often undercooked and nasty.”

Many upperclassmen also experience problems with weight gain. Hong Tae Kim, an international transfer student from Korea, attributes the laziness of the students as the true cause behind the weight gain. “The ‘freshmen 15’ is true, even among upperclassmen,” Kim said. “People living around campus get lazy because of the cold weather and just study, eat, and sleep all day.”

Sara Seitz, a second-year in the College, believes that the simple habit of healthy eating and regular exercise will solve the problem. “Don’t drink, exercise, eat right,” she said. “It’s very simple, but a lot of us are just too lazy.”

Sara Worrell-Berg, a resident head for Bishop House in the Shoreland, said students should exercise more. “Apart from eating a healthy diet and not caving in to excessive drinking, students should do simple everyday exercises to fight back weight gain,” she said. “Simple exercises such as taking the stairs instead of the elevator and walking to campus instead of taking the bus.”

Copyright © 1995-2004 Chicago Maroon

He will learn now that calling things as he sees them is Incorrect!

I visit my niece at her school often, and sometimes have joined her and her friends at dinner.

It's true. Many are overweight and, for lack of a better word, flabby.

It only sounds like a male fantasy to be surrounded by college girls, because in reality, it is a somewhat sad experience. Of course, it goes for both sexes. We walk through neighborhoods, and see NO children playing outdoors in fine weather.

Granted, I am old fashioned, but it does not seem like a very good childhood to me, sitting in front of a game or computer. They will be doing that for the rest of their lives as it is.

Talk about over-kill, read this:

(excerpt).

"FIRE is supporting Timothy Garneau, who's living in his car near the University of New Hampshire after being tossed out of his dorm. What did he do? "Frustrated by students who would take the elevator rather than the stairs for short distances, he posted fliers in his dormitory joking that women could lose the “Freshman 15” and shorten elevator wait times by using the stairs," says FIRE's president David French. The flier is here. Students were offended and the flyers taken down in less than two hours. When Garneau was approached by the Stoke Hall Director and accused of hanging the fliers, he initially denied responsibility, fearing that he would be punished harshly and embarrassed in front of his peers. However, Garneau soon admitted to posting the flier and was charged with offenses including: “acts of dishonesty”; violation of “affirmative action” policies; “harassment”; and “conduct which is disorderly, lewd.”

Within a week of the incident, and prior to his hearing, Garneau posted a written public apology for unintentionally offending others in his residential hall and apologized in person to students that he knew had complained.

At an October 8 hearing, the university found Garneau guilty of all charges. Despite Garneau’s offers to voluntarily atone for his actions through community service, social awareness projects, and other activities, the university sentenced him to immediate expulsion from student housing and disciplinary probation extended through May 30, 2006. He was also required to meet with a counselor to discuss his “decisions, actions, and reflections” about the incident, to write a 3000-word reflection paper about the counseling session, and to submit an apology letter to the residents of Stoke Hall to be published in the hall’s newspaper. Durham's a nice place with good housing near campus, so Garneau will have a home soon. But the outsized reaction to what could be no more than a minor infraction is noteworthy. If Garneau had only dressed up like a freshman with 15 extra pounds..."

My mother spent $206.00 yesterday having a plumber replace a faucet (that she purchased)in her bathroom sink. It took the plumber about an hour.

If more kids just said "no" to college and realized that they could do just as well, if not better, in a trade, a lot of this PC nonsense would disappear over night. Likewise, if more parents removed their kids from PC-sensitive public schools and let the schools know why they are pulling their kids, that would end the homosexual indoctrination, multi-culti bullfests, zero-tolerance, and all the rest of the garbage (and people who feed off it -- multiculti counselors for one) that attaches itself to the public schools today.

Today, you really have to wonder if all the baloney you have to go through in college is really worth it.

The local electrician daughter's wedding pictures appeared in "Town and Country" magazine a couple of years ago.

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