Posted by Hemant Mehta in Webster Cook, the University of Central Florida student who didn’t eat a communion wafer and seemingly opened the gates of hell in the process, was facing threats of expulsion from his school as a result. Webster’s friend Ben was also facing that penalty.
Thankfully, the school found some sense:
On Tuesday, a panel of four students and two administrators, voted unanimously to dismiss all charges against Webster Cook and his friend Ben Collard, saying there was no hard evidence that the two did anything which would merit expulsion or suspension.
Sadly, the school’s student government is still lacking a collective brain.
Webster’s impeachment hearings from the student Senate (where he serves as a Senator) are scheduled for August 28th.
Ebonmuse summarizes this result well:
This just and fair decision won’t undo the harm Cook has already suffered from deranged Catholics who’ve threatened his life and dragged his name through the mud. If any of them are students at UCF, the case for expulsion is far stronger against them than it ever was for him. But at least the UCF, to its credit, has realized that it is a secular body and that it has no role acting as the enforcer of theistic dogma.
Webster will be in Chicago in October for the Freedom From Religion Foundation Convention. I can’t wait to talk to him…
That is some great news! Here’s hoping he gets to stay on the Senate as well.
here’s hoping the assclowns threatening him get slapped with expulsion or jail time.
I’m glad to hear he won’t be expelled. I echo the hopes of Ada and postsimian above.
[...] link to the Friendly Atheist version and leave it at that. Back to [...]
[...] Webster Cook and Ben Collard Avoid Expulsion – Cook is the student who’s communion wafer heist sparked Crackergate. As you may recall, I wrote to the university president to defend Cook and his friend Collard and received this dismissive response. Well, I wasn’t alone in writing the university on this matter. And although I don’t know for sure, it’s possible our letters contributed to the university’s decision to not punish Cook and Collard: On Tuesday, a panel of four students and two administrators, voted unanimously to dismiss all charges against Webster Cook and his friend Ben Collard, saying there was no hard evidence that the two did anything which would merit expulsion or suspension. [...]
Excellent news!
Perhaps the senate will realize just how asinine the entire situation is and drop the impeachment charges. Assuming they haven’t already made the decision and they see the hearings as nothing more then a formality.
Now they need to deal with the thugs that threatened Cook and his friend.