hey, i resemble that remark! maybe it's a selection bias, given our
penchant for using deception in research
-----Original Message-----
From: Al Shealy
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Fri 3/19/2004 9:31 AM
To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences
Cc:
Subject: What is it about social
psychologists?
First Karen Ruggiero and now shoplifter/hate-crime fabricator
Kerri Dunn.
Are social psychologists genetically more likely to be
dishonest; or is it
something about their training that makes them
so?
Al
Professor may have fabricated hate crime
By
Melissa Pinion-Whitt , Staff Writer
CLAREMONT -- A Claremont McKenna
psychology professor vandalized her own
car last week and falsely reported
the damages as a hate crime against
her, police said
Wednesday.
Kerri Dunn, who spoke at a free-speech seminar March 9,
reported to police
after the lecture that her car had been vandalized -
tires slashed,
windows broken and spray painted with racial epithets.
Police, however,
say two witnesses have come forward claiming they saw Dunn
vandalizing her
own vehicle.
The incident prompted all five of the
Claremont Colleges to cancel classes
March 10 for teach-ins and rallies
against hate crimes. More than 1,000
people attended an evening rally at
Claremont McKenna, where students
pushed for racial and ethnic
tolerance.
"Very admirably, the college community came together,'
Claremont McKenna
President Pamela Gann said. "But to have within the
community someone who
is part of the investigation and questioned is
repulsive to the values of
the community.'
Along with the vandalism,
Dunn reported $1,700 in property missing from
her car. The epithets on
Dunn's car included derogatory remarks about
African Americans and
Jews.
Police said Dunn could be charged with filing a false police
report but
said it was unlikely she would be charged herself with a hate
crime.
Dunn could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
"As far
as we have been able to determine, the only possible charge -
unless the
district attorney knows something we don't know - would be
'filing a false
police report,' which is a misdemeanor,' Claremont police
Lt. Stan Van Horn
said.
Dunn's contract with Claremont McKenna ends in June, but
administrators
will consider whether she should continue teaching at the
school.
"No decision has been made at this time,' Gann
said.
Gann said the college will honor its agreement to pay for a
rental car for
Dunn so she can drive to work. The college has offered to
pay for the car
repairs.
Police said Dunn - who is not in custody -
is unlikely to be arrested
unless prosecutors file more serious charges
against her.
The two witnesses, who are friends of a Claremont McKenna
student,
reported the vandalism to the student and then went to the college
dean,
police said.
"As soon as these witnesses came forward and
talked with the dean, the
dean called us and we met with the witnesses and
the dean right away,' Van
Horn said.
The vandalism came after a
series of race-related incidents at the
colleges over the past few months,
including a cross-burning at Harvey
Mudd College in January.
The
cross-burning, which also prompted rallies and demonstrations,
was
determined to have been the work of drunken students who claimed they
did
not realize that burning a cross had racial
significance.
Despite the fear and anger felt by students and other
members of the
community over the vandalism, Dunn won't likely be charged
with a hate
crime, police said.
"It has to be directed toward an
individual or a specific group of
individuals, so this doesn't meet the
criteria for a hate crime,' Van Horn
said.
Gann said that while
Dunn's apparent role in the incident came as a shock
and surprise to the
community, she agreed with the Police Department.
"The police came to
the conclusion that it was not a hate crime, so we
will not call it a hate
crime,' she said.
The FBI, which helped investigate the crime, also
agreed the incident is
not a hate crime.
"We were involved because
of the potential for this being a civil rights
violation,' said Laura
Bosley, spokeswoman with the FBI. "If she, in fact,
fabricated the entire
story, there's no hate crime.'
However, Dieter Dammeier, an attorney
for the Claremont police union, said
Dunn could still be charged with a
hate crime.
"Other people saw it and the whole idea behind (the law) is
to stop the
public dissemination of such hatred,' he said.
The issue
of freedom of speech also comes into play, though, he added.
Dunn may not
be charged with a hate crime if her intent was not to express
personal hate
against African Americans and Jews.
Dunn's sister, Colleen, a New
Jersey resident, declined to comment on her
sister's case, saying only:
"She's wonderful.'
Dunn has had a few minor brushes with the law while
living and working in
Nebraska. Dunn attended the University of Nebraska
and taught at
Nebraska-Wesleyan University in 2001. There was no record of
disciplinary
action against her at Nebraska-Wesleyan University, said Sara
Olson,
spokeswoman with the college.
Dunn was arrested by the
Lincoln Police Department on September 29, 2000
on suspicion of
shoplifting, possessing stolen property, refusing to
comply with a police
officer's orders among other charges, records show.
All of the charges,
which are misdemeanors, were dropped except for the
shoplifting charge. She
was found guilty and fined $200, according to
criminal records.
In
September 1999, Dunn was cited on suspicion of driving on a
suspended
license and failing to appear for a court hearing. She was found
guilty of
the first charge and paid a $50 fine, records
show.
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