Sometimes when I’m writing, a little voice tells me, there’s no way people would believe this would happen–especially on a college campus. Now you know anything I write is purely fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either products of the my imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Whew, now that that’s out of the way, know that a lot of crazy stuff happened during my four years at UGA. Quite a few scandals popped off there and at college campuses across the nation. They continue to happen–each month, I’m muttering, “I can’t believe this.”
The truth is, some stuff in real life is far scarier than anything I could create. Below are three disturbing headlines from 2012, that in my opinion, are stranger than any fiction:
“I Should Have Killed You.” – According to USA Today, University of Virginia student George Huguely V wrote an email to his girlfriend Yeardley Love days before her death that said, “I should have killed you.” While her murder happened in May of 2010, George went to trial this year. His defense countered that it was an “innocent idiom.” Both were lacrosse players and apparently had been together for a short period time in a very volatile relationship. On August 30, 2012, Huguely was sentenced to 23 years in prison.
Hazing Death ‘Rattles’ FAMU. In late 2011, investigators ruled the death of FAMU drum major Robert Champion as homicide. While college campuses are no stranger to hazing rituals (despite rules, regulations and even previous deaths and near deaths), Robert’s case truly shook many folks up.
The medical examiner wrote that he “collapsed and died within an hour of a hazing incident during which he suffered multiple blunt trauma blows to his body.” The autopsy was brutally outlined by The Orlando Sentinel, and several leaders of FAMU from the top-down were implicated at some point. Over a dozen students were charged with felony hazing, the Marching 100 were suspended, and both the band director and president retired. In 2012, FAMU played its first home game of the season without the Marching 100.
Say It Ain’t So Joe. The twists and turns regarding JoPa, Penn State and the unfortunate, lifelong impact Jerry Sandusky’s actions will have on the lives of the children he abused were appalling when this story broke in 2011. Indicted on 48 counts of child molestation dating from 1994 to 2009, investigations have shown that the abuse may have dated as far back as the 1970s. Between an incredibly odd/eerie interview on Rock Center, Joe Paterno’s tarnished legacy, McQueary’s testimony, fan and family reactions, the fallout snowballed. On June 22, 2012, at age 68, Sandusky was found guilty on 45 counts and faces a minimum of 60 years and maximum of 442 years in prison. Evidence has shown that Penn State was aware of allegations as early as 1998.
Can you believe that this stuff happened on REAL college campuses?