Stop, Thief!

ONE day last October, the staff of The Primary Source, a conservative magazine at Tufts University, painted the cannon on campus. They did so with the slogans “God Bless America” and “Liberty and Justice for All,” in honor of the victims of September 11. Painting the cannon is a tradition at Tufts. Typically, a group paints the cannon, then keeps at least one member nearby, to ensure that the cannon “stays painted” for at least 24 hours.

On this night, Sam Dangremond, the magazine’s editor, was standing by—and three members of a student group calling itself the Coalition for Social Justice and Nonviolence sprang him. Two of the hooded assailants wrestled him to the ground while a third scrawled on the image of an American flag painted on the cannon. Dangremond pressed assault charges. A university disciplinary panel handed the three attackers a Probation 1 violation—a slap on the wrist typically given for public intoxication. Two of the assailants appealed and were let off by administrators. Not a hint of wrongdoing remained on their records.

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Melissa Seckora

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ONE day last October, the staff of The Primary Source, a conservative magazine at Tufts University, painted the cannon on campus. They did so with the slogans “God Bless America” and “Liberty and Justice for All,” in honor of the victims of September 11. Painting the cannon is a tradition at Tufts. Typically, a group paints the cannon, then keeps at least one member nearby, to ensure that the cannon “stays painted” for at least 24 hours.

On this night, Sam Dangremond, the magazine’s editor, was standing by—and three members of a student group calling itself the Coalition for Social Justice and Nonviolence sprang him. Two of the hooded assailants wrestled him to the ground while a third scrawled on the image of an American flag painted on the cannon. Dangremond pressed assault charges. A university disciplinary panel handed the three attackers a Probation 1 violation—a slap on the wrist typically given for public intoxication. Two of the assailants appealed and were let off by administrators. Not a hint of wrongdoing remained on their records.