In New York State, each county has a Board of Cooperative Education.
I was a full time student in the Rockland BOCES licensed practical nursing program beginning 9/13/2010.
At 2:00 pm 10/5/2010 I told a few students about my blog.
At 3:30 pm 10/6/2010 Meghan E Coughlan left a post on my blog calling me an asshole because I advocate a death penalty for male to male anal intercourse, in accordance with the Bible.
Several other anonymous comments were left saying that I should be expelled from BOCES.
Here is Coughlan's comment, posted October 6, and recently deleted:
The point of publicizing the death of Tyler Clementi is to show
homosexual teens that they no longer have to suffer in silence, that
they no longer have to feel ashamed of who they are. It's so sad to me
that people like YOU make people like Tyler feel like they don't even
have a right to breathe anymore solely based on their sexual beliefs
which have NOTHING to do with you. How sad it IS that a heterosexual
woman had HIV, I feel terribly about that. However, the point of
publicizing this particular death is that teen suicide is becoming an
epidemic. Everyone has the right to be who they are and assholes like
you shouldn't be the person to make them feel so inferior.
Your closed minded, homophobic rambling is nothing else but a sign of
a lack of intelligence and narcissism (Which, may I be so bold to say,
is NOT warranted.)
You'd think, as stated in your profile, by converting to Judaism you
would have a little more respect for your heritage and religion by
honoring and remembering those that fell right beside yours in WWII in
the gas chambers and ovens, with not numbers but pink triangles on
their uniforms. Your rants are nothing but a disgrace to those fellow
Jewish people around you.
Are you seriously going to go around flapping your gums about mass
murder, just because of a person's sexual preference? Do you know who
you sound like?? I'll give you a hint- How is this different than
killing someone due to their religion? Let me tell you one thing,
Jacob, we all go to the same place- heaven or hell- there are no signs
when you get up there to point the Jews, Christians or Lutherans in
the right direction- There is only one Heaven and ONE God. And I have
a feeling, If it was a choice between you and a homosexual, you'd find
yourself on a long line to the gates of hell along with all of the
other hateful people who feel it is THEIR duty to judge.
Clearly, you have a lot more living to do. Clearly you do not deserve
to be breathing the same air homosexuals do and Clearly you are not a
good person.
"The wicked play a huge and very beneficial role in this world. It is
only thanks to the wicked, with all their horrendeous bad influence
and attacks, that the righteous are so much greater." ----- Take a
page out of your own book, and also you spelt horrendous wrong.
Sincerely Your
Gay Rights Supporting, Rainbow Wearing, Homosexual LOVING Classmate,
Meghan E Coughlan
At 10:00 am 10/13/2010 my pockets and my car were searched by Clarkstown police officers looking for a gun. None was found because I have never had one.
I was then told by Bill Toussaint BOCES director of human resources and Stephen M. Fromson BOCES attorney to stay off the school premises and that I would be receiving a letter from them by mail.
At 3:00 pm 10/13/2010 I called Carmela Bozzuti clerk to the board at BOCES and asked her what was going on. An hour later, Toussaint called me back and told me that he would like to meet with me in his office at 8:00 am 10/15/2010.
At 8:00 am 10/15/2010 I met with Fromson and Toussaint. Fromson basically did all the talking. He explained, for the first and only time, that many students in my class complained that I was constantly making obscene remarks which upset them and that I had said that I had a gun with me. Examples of the remarks were "I want to give all the women a bed bath nude." "I want to practice inserting a catheter in all the women." "I am so attractive I could seduce all the women here." I responded that these are all lies fabricated to harass me because these students are upset about an anti-gay post on my blog. I was told that I would receive a letter from the school district about 10/20/2010.
In 20 years of corporate computer programming, 5 years at one company and 15 at the next, there is no mention in my performance reviews (all positive) of any problem with obscenity or weapons in any way. The management at my gym has never noticed anything inappropriate. I have no criminal record.
On 10/21/2010 I received a letter from Dr Marsico informing me that I was expelled for sexual harassment. I am attaching a photograph of the letter and a photograph of the check which accompied it. Note that the check date is 10/13/2010.
Incidentally, in November, 2009 Fromson was fired fired by the East Ramapo school board. Most of the board members are Orthodox Jews.
The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits anyone from being deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law. Therefore the vast majority of public universities hold hearings in serious disciplinary cases
The hearing must be before an impartial fact-finder and decision maker.
The public college bears the burden of proving guilt. The vast majority of schools employ, at the very least, a “preponderance of evidence” standard, which requires that guilt be more likely than not for conviction.
The Sixth Amendment guarantees that the accused must be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him and to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor.
My expulsion from BOCES was therefore clearly arbitrary, capricious and illegal. It reeks of vicious Orthodox Jew bashing and was totally unprofessional.
I believe that I was expelled for being opening anti-homosexual and for being an Orthodox Jew.
the letter
the check
Division of Human Rights response
[It's interesting that eight months later on 8/24/2011, Rockland BOCES instituted a code of conduct which would have made my arbitrary suspension impossible.]
