Student suspended, expelled after reported terroristic threat, plagiarism Jaime Gonzalez |
A Texas A&M-Kingsville graduate student has filed a suit against the university after being found guilty of plagiarism and alledgedly making terroristic threats.
Abhishek Mawle’s lawsuit names university president Rumaldo Juarez, Frank Ureno, associate vice president and dean of students and Jane Stanford, dean of the college of business administration.
Mawle is currently suspended for a year for allegedly making terroristic threats and expelled for plagiarism, Ureno confirmed, Friday, March 14.
In February, Mawle had been suspended for making terroristic threats, but was allowed to return to school after being found innocent by a university disciplinary committee.
The university disciplinary committee deals with non-academic issues.
“After a student overheard a statement that had been construed as a alleged terroristic threat, my office took action,” associate vice president of student affairs Frank Ureno said. “The student requested a judiciary process to prove his innocence and the university disciplinary committee heard his case,” Ureno said.
After hearing the case, the committee found the statements not to be of the terroristic nature as they had been reported, according to Ureno. According to Ureno, the committee felt that, at the time, the student did not make any "direct" threat to the university. "In other words, he didn't say 'I am going to do this'."
Weeks later, it was reported Mawle was continuing to make terroristic threats and while he was also being investigated academically for plagiarism.
“The student was again allowed to have his case heard by a university disciplinary committee on the accusations of making terroristic threats, where he was found guilty and suspended for one year,” Ureno said. Mawle is currently barred from campus except with police escort and must check-in with the University Police Department when coming on campus, Ureno said.
“Our institution has to take everything that is reported very seriously,” Ureno said. “Especially after what has happened at other institutions such as Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois. I will do everything to make sure all students, faculty and staff are safe.”
It was after being expelled that Mawle decided to sue the university, alleging cultural discrimination.