Penn is not the only university getting negative press coverage this week thanks to the poor judgment of some students. At 2 a.m. Sunday morning, Carnegie Mellon University senior Sudeep Paul and junior Anand Durvasula were arrested for breaking into Heinz field in Pittsburgh.
They claim that they are film students and were seeking night shots for a video. But they initially told police that they were CMU students with tickets to the game and wanted to see where they had to go beforehand. It appears that the students had no malicious intent and were actually involved in a prank or fraternity-type dare.
Regardless of intent, the incident was handled as a terrorist threat. Their vehicle and apartment were searched for explosives. Both students have been criminally charged with conspiracy and trespassing. Each is being held on a $1 million bond.
Paul, Durvasula and Penn’s own Saad Saadi have learned the hard way that terrorism has changed what is socially and legally permissible. Fraternity type stunts or acts for the sake of attention are no longer regarded leniently. Such pranks have serious consequences. Our generation will have to bear such ramifications of post-September 11 security concerns. Sadly those with foreign sounding names will often face deeper scrutiny for such lapses in judgment.
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