Students allege misuse of funds

AMHERST - A group of Student Government Association members at the University of Massachusetts has filed a complaint with the school and the Northwestern District Attorney's office maintaining that student funds and resources have been illegally used to support the defense of former student Jason W. Vassell.

According to the 53-page complaint, Student Government Association officials not only used public money collected from student fees to support the activities of the group "Justice for Jason," but also improperly allowed it to set up a headquarters inside government offices and attempted to shut down a conservative campus newspaper that detailed these alleged transgressions.

In addition, the complaint states that Commuter Area funds were improperly funneled into the "Justice for Jason" campaign and asks university officials to look into whether Student Bridges money, which is earmarked to help public school students in Springfield and Holyoke, were also used to aid Vassell's defense.

Vassell, 23, is awaiting trial on two counts of aggravated assault and battery stemming from a Feb. 2008 fight in his dormitory at UMass. Vassell's lawyers contend that the incident was precipitated when two white students who do not attend UMass shouted racial slurs at Vassell and broke his window. Vassell, who is black, armed himself with a pocket knife and fought with the men after they entered the lobby of his dorm, stabbing one of them, according to prosecutors.

Vassell's supporters maintain that he was singled out for prosecution because he is black. One of the white men was charged with a misdemeanor civil rights violation and found innocent by a jury. His companion was not charged with any crime.

Vassell's lawyers have sought to get the charges against their client dismissed on the grounds that race was a factor in the handling of the case by the Northwestern District Attorney's office. The Supreme Judicial Court is still reviewing the matter.

Vassell's supporters have crammed the courtroom for every legal appearance at Hampshire Superior Court, many of them wearing "Justice for Jason" T-shirts. They have also held a rally in downtown Northampton denouncing Northwestern District Attorney Elizabeth D. Scheibel.

Student Government Association Sen. Derek S. Khanna, who compiled the complaint, said Monday that some of these efforts, such as the purchase of the T-shirts, were illegally funded by money targeted for student activities. Khanna further maintains that former Student Government Association President Malcolm Chu misused his official position in furthering the "Justice for Jason" campaign. Chu could not be reached for comment Monday.

In one instance cited by Khanna, Chu and other student leaders paid for an advertisement supporting Vassell in The Collegian after the student newspaper refused to run an editorial rebutting a column by Alana Goodman that cast doubt on Vassell's defense.

Managing editor Sean Sullivan said the rebuttal exceeded the paper's 750-word limit for editorials and that the "Justice for Jason" group refused to shorten or edit it. The newspaper was not able to determine if Student Government Association funds were used to purchase the ad space.

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