Noose Incident at Lewis Univeristy Leads to Arrests

By Marcus Gilmer in News on Apr 21, 2009 4:40PM

Three Lewis University students - Matthew McCormack, 21, and Daniel Rusch, 19, both of Schaumburg, and Michael Lisman, 20, of Kansas City - have been arrested and charged with disorderly conduct stemming from an incident last week in which the three were allegedly yelling racial slurs, making threats, and according to witnesses, lowered a noose out of a dorm window. The school issued a statement on the April 16th incident, saying:

At approximately 1:00 am on Thursday, April 16, 2009, residents of a North Hall suite contacted the Romeoville Police Department and reported to University personnel on site that the residents of another suite had directed racial remarks and gestures at them in a threatening manner.

Three Lewis students were arrested by the Romeoville Police and have been charged with disorderly conduct by the Will County State's Attorney. The three students have been restricted from campus pending a student judicial hearing. Campus Security is still conducting an investigation as part of the University's judicial process.

Actions of this nature will not be tolerated. The Lewis University Mission value of Justice affirms the equal dignity of every person. We are called as Lewis community members to value diversity and move beyond constraints of differences in order to foster unity.

The school's main campus - located in Romeoville - houses 1,000 students across 11 dorms. [Tribune, AP via WBBM]