Ohio State will not press criminal trespass charges against Lantern photographer Alex Kotran, according to a university statement.
Early Tuesday evening, Vernon Baisden, OSU assistant vice president and director of public safety, issued an e-mail statement that said the “university does not believe that the situation warrants the filing of criminal charges.” OSU Police still plan to meet with Kotran.
Baisden and the police said they hope to make the “meeting a learning experience and help him (Kotran) understand why his actions put him in harm’s way and caused danger to others,” the statement said.
Kotran said he was relieved after reading the statement but realized he is not out of the woods yet.
“I’m glad they dropped the clearly absurd charge, but I am still concerned with the actions being taken by the Judiciary Committee,” he said.
Although Kotran does not face criminal charges, the statement said the OSU Office of Student Life, which houses a student judiciary committee, will review the photographer’s actions.
Because the Office of Student Life has the ability to expel a student, Kotran plans to retain a lawyer for the duration of the committee review, he said.
Collin Binkley, The Lantern‘s editor-in-chief, echoed Kotran’s sentiments.
“We at The Lantern applaud the university for making the wise decision not to press charges against Kotran, but he isn’t clear yet,” Binkley said. “We still want to make sure he doesn’t get punished by the university’s Judicial Affairs Office.”
Late Tuesday evening, Kotran’s parents received a call from Martha Garland, vice president of the Office of Student Life. Kotran said that during the call, Garland apologized numerous times for “the whole situation.”
He said she acknowledged that he was being a good journalist and should not have been singled out among other photographers and bystanders.
