ucberkeley: Weird question/observation re: the stabbing

ahwwww44 (

ahwwww44) wrote in

ucberkeley,
@ 2008-05-03 23:35:00

Entry tags:

crime

Weird question/observation re: the stabbing
A graduating UC Berkeley senior is stabbed to death, the first student murdered in a decade, and yet there is hardly any chatter about it on this board.

Just wondering: Why?

You'd think something this shocking would elicit a lot of comments.

(As I'm posting there are 6 comments devoted to the stabbing, and 18 comments for the stolen bike -- and, yes, I know I shouldn't be the one pointing this out since I didn't comment in the original stabbing thread.)

Anyways, a couple observations gleaned from Channel 2 and the Chronicle:

--Chris Wootton had a 3.8 GPA in engineering, and was so smart he turned down a scholarship at MIT to return to UC Berkeley next year for grad school in nuclear engineering.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/05/03/BAN710GH3C.DTL&tsp=1

--Wootton was transported to a hospital in Castro Valley about 20 miles away. Apparently the nearby Oakland trauma center was already full. I live near Alta Bates, and I thought I was always safe in case of emergency. I guess not.

--The alleged killer, a 20-year-old Berkeley high grad and Berkeley City College student, has confessed to the crime, according to the police. In an interview 2 years ago when he was at Berkeley High, the suspect said he had a history of getting into fights.

http://www.eastbayexpress.com/blogs/frat_row_murder_suspect_no_stranger_to_fights/Content?oid=720872

Here's the suspect's photo:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/object/article?f=/c/a/2008/05/03/MNN710GH3C.DTL&o=0

Edited to add: Here's Wootton's MySpace blog, where he writes that he loves to fight.

(Post a new comment)

	hoyah 2008-05-04 07:07 am UTC (link)
	don't know about the rest, but i tend to skip over a lot of entries here if they're kinda brief... i guess i missed it in my usual run through my flist. i noticed this mostly because the subject line actually said "stabbing" and that caught my attention. :/ but damn. may he rest in peace... (Reply to this)

	fuzzyabstract 2008-05-04 07:14 am UTC (link)
	It's easier to give advice about bikes than about murder. (Reply to this) (Thread)

IAWTC.

joie0867
2008-05-04 08:16 am UTC (link)

Definitely true. What is there to say? Just because there aren't a lot of comments on the stabbing doesn't mean we don't care. It's scary and eye-opening. I saw the post this morning and was shocked--especially because I was out partying last night too a couple of blocks from sigma pi at that time. We walked home shitfaced, laughing our asses off, completely unaware of the shit that could happen. I have no idea who the guy is, but I've been a little off all day and I think a lot of it has to do with this. It's kind of a reminder of our mortality in a situation where we usually take our lives for granted; we stress out about school and relationships and what people think about the clothes we wear and the way we style our hair--but don't stop to realize that we're lucky to be here--not only at Berkeley, but just to be alive. Well, I guess I should speak for myself... that's what I feel. Like I said, though, I saw the post this morning and I felt really bad (and still do), but I didn't feel the need to post anything.

This guy was all set to graduate in a few weeks and come back to Cal as a grad student. His myspace blog talks about his unborn kids and how he wonders what kind of parent he'll be. It's all been cut short. And no matter what kind of person he is was, it's pretty fucking tragic.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

busylilbear
2008-05-04 07:14 am UTC (link)

let me reiterate my comment from the first post, and elaborate a little-

If cops actually helped the frats with getting rid of sketchy/problem-causing guys like the BCC student, instead of going after them for noise complaints, problems like this could definitely be solved. If you know anyone who is at a frat, they would tell you that registering parties with IFC is almost prohibitively expensive, and even if they do do so, their "security" guards only carry walkie talkies (very intimidating, i know) and that the cops can STILL come after them for noise complaints. As such, they're forced to do their own security at their houses- and when non-Cal students come around, and aren't allowed in, they usually cause a bit of a commotion, in some cases getting downright violent. The guys working door have to get rid of them in order to protect themselves, and the people at their party. On a nightly basis, many groups of people that are not from Cal (not to be Cal-centric, persay, but many of these people are just not the kind of people you'd necessarily want in your house) simply walk up and down frat row trolling for parties- instead of policing parties for noise, the cops should make sure that the students actually running and attending these parties are not being put in danger by these sketch people. Sure, maybe it's profiling to some extent- but really, ask anyone who's ever worked door at a party on frat row and they'll tell you the same thing. Whenever something like this happens, the school, bpd, ucpd all say how tragic it is... but I wish they would actually act to PROTECT the students that keep this town vital and in business, instead of penalizing them with noise violation tickets and cracking down on parties that are really one of the few larger-scale venues for socialization that we have here.

Also, just a bone to pick. I hate when people complain about living near frat row because of the noise. I am NOT a member of a frat house (and I'm a girl, anyways), but I live on piedmont and was well aware of the fact that yes, there would be parties going on Thurs/Fri/Saturday because that's where a good part of our school's social scene is centered and so yes, they can sometimes be loud. If you don't like it, don't live near a greek house- it's not like they hide their letters so you don't know that the house is there.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

	busylilbear 2008-05-04 07:16 am UTC (link)
	oh and let me just say- whether or not Wootton was totally innocent in all of this obviously remains to be seen. However, there is a bigger issue here (which I tried to address above) and regardless of how much of an ass he may or may not have been to someone, he didn't deserve to die. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

cigsandcoffeee
2008-05-04 07:49 am UTC (link)

i totally agree with you.
when i lived in foothill my freshman year, Chris lived on the floor above me and would sometimes run around the suites yelling random phrases and writing stupid things on other residents' whiteboards. i thought he was an asshole at the time, and when he pledged for Sigma Pi, i thought that he'd fit right into the whole frat culture.

but all in all, he didn't deserve this.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

shiromaguro
2008-05-04 08:31 am UTC (link)

If cops actually helped the frats with getting rid of sketchy/problem-causing guys like the BCC student

wait - how can you say that this BCC student was sketchy? were you there, or do you know him? how can you make that assumption when from the look of wootton's myspace page, he seemed to be a rabble rouser as well? are frat boys who like to fight somehow better than community college students who like to fight? how do you know this BCC kid started the problem and wasn't just walking along, minding his own business? is it because he went to BCC instead of UCB?

I have no idea what happened, but you cannot make those assumptions without coming across as a prejudiced dumbass.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)(Expand)

	cdm137 2008-05-04 08:49 am UTC (link)
	He was packing a knife, for one, and he ended up using it. Sounds like a pretty sketchy individual. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)(Expand)

	shiromaguro 2008-05-04 08:22 am UTC (link)
	I really don't know what to say. From the looks of things, both suspect and victim liked to fight. It's sad, because both of those boys lost their lives that night - I wish that people would realize that fighting's just not worth it, but morons continue to push their need for physical violence for some stupid reason. (Reply to this)

	historymajor06 2008-05-04 09:07 am UTC (link)
	"I dont think it has anything to do with where these guys went to school at all." just to clarify, I meant how the fight started. (Reply to this)

	valcrist 2008-05-04 03:10 pm UTC (link)
	being in a frat and knowing how difficult it is dealing with non berkeley stdents being sketchy...it sure is fucking scary knowing altercations could lead to this. no matter what happened between them, I offer my condolences to the familes and friends. (Reply to this)

	cdm137 2008-05-04 07:31 pm UTC (link)
	The determining factor was probably a large quantity of alcohol, not people's general unwillingness to yield to others. I don't think that the desire to avoid fights should override the need to stand up for one's self (although not in those trivial examples you cited). (Reply to this) (Parent)

	zeeby 2008-05-04 05:32 pm UTC (link)
	SF Gate did a pretty halfass job in citing that blog, IMO. He shouldn't have died and that's the main point. Painting the victim as a perfect little boyscout is unnecessary and tacky. I feel sorry for that kid's parents. What horrible news to receive about your child. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	zahavah 2008-05-04 05:41 pm UTC (link)
	iawtc 100% (Reply to this) (Parent)

	shiromaguro 2008-05-04 06:11 pm UTC (link)
	ditto. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	razzpy 2008-05-05 12:02 am UTC (link)
	I believe that many Cal students are not publicly speaking about it out of respect for Chris. Not only was he smart, talented, and a good leader... he was a genuinely nice person. Give him the respect he deserves... and give his family, friends, and frat brothers respect in their time of mourning. RIP. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	eirerince87 2008-05-05 02:30 am UTC (link)
	Wootton was one of the most genuine, friendly guys I have had the privilege of meeting while at Cal. He was loyal to his friends and a true gentleman to the girls he knew. On top of that, he was smart and social. Huge loss to the Cal community. Thank you for respecting his friends and family. Rest in peace, Chris. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	katworthy 2008-05-05 03:42 am UTC (link)
	http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/04/magazine/04health-t.html (Reply to this) (Thread)

	cdm137 2008-05-05 04:40 am UTC (link)
	Yeah, I read that article as well, although I don't think it applies here (unless this particular incident was something more than just a random drunk fight). An in general, I'm not entirely convinced that such an approach is effective. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	what a shame woofwoof15 2008-05-07 04:02 am UTC (link)
	This is just a shame. You know it's crazy how quickly someone can end your life. It happens in a flash and it can never be taken back. I remember after the Virginia Tech shootings my roommate and I were discussing how if someone really wanted to, they could just walk into Wheeler with a gun and open fire. It's so crazy how our lives hinge on the decisions that other people make. (Reply to this)

Username:		Create an Account Forgot your login or password? Login w/ OpenID
Password:
	Remember Me
	English • Español • Deutsch • Русский…

About

Help

Get Involved

Legal

Store

LJ Labs