Running back Carter to be reinstated as SU student

Syracuse University running back Delone Carter has worked out a deal with the university that should allow him to return to school and football at the beginning of the fall semester, his lawyer, George Raus, told The Post-Standard on Tuesday.


Carter was suspended and banned from campus April 20 after being arraigned on a misdemeanor assault charge in relation to a Feb. 27 incident, Raus told The Daily Orange that day.


Carter will remain suspended for the rest of the spring semester, as well for the summer. As a condition of his reinstatement, Carter will also have to complete 200 hours of community service, Raus told The Post-Standard.


A suspended student can be reinstated by submitting a written petition to the Office of Judicial Affairs. The petition must include evidence that the student has completed particular tasks specified at the time of suspension and evidence that he or she has been a productive citizen during his or her time away from the university, SU spokesman Kevin Morrow said. He did not specify what Carter did to get reinstated, nor did he confirm Carter was suspended then reinstated.

Raus declined to comment further Tuesday evening to The Daily Orange.


Carter was charged with misdemeanor third-degree assault April 14 for punching William Hotaling, a junior in the Martin J. Whitman School of Management, in the face. Carter, teammate Ryan Gillum and another unnamed person were driving in a black SUV when it was struck by a snowball on the 300 block of Waverly Avenue around 1 a.m. Feb. 27, according to police reports.


Surveillance cameras show three people exiting the vehicle and confronting Hotaling and his roommate, Alex Fay, near Kimmel Hall. Carter then struck Hotaling once in the face, causing him to fall to the ground while the three returned to the SUV and drove away, according to the report.


Hotaling was not involved in the decision to allow Carter to return to school in the fall, said his lawyer, Sidney Cominsky.

Cominsky said he and Hotaling do not approve of the decision to allow Carter to return to the university, and he believes the overall approach to the case from all parties has given Carter special treatment because he is an athlete.


"He shouldn't receive special treatment," Cominsky said. "He should be treated as any other student. If school rules say he should be suspended, then he shouldn't be allowed back."


Cominsky said he believes Hotaling has been made into the wrongdoer over the course of the investigation and charge. He also said he believes Raus' attitude toward the case has lacked seriousness.


"What everyone's going to find is that (William) is absolutely innocent," Cominsky said. "Right now he's suffering physically and emotionally. His only mistake was walking down the street."


Though Raus has expressed his desire to negotiate a settlement on the criminal charge, Cominsky said he "suspects the DA understands the seriousness of the situation and will do the right thing and deliver a criminal conviction."


The SU Student Code of Conduct lists "physical harm or threat of physical harm to any person or persons, including but not limited to: assault, sexual abuse, or other forms of physical abuse" as a violation, according the Office of Judicial Affairs' website. Violence-related violations of the Code of Conduct can result in punishments including disciplinary probation, suspension, indefinite suspension, expulsion and community service, depending on the severity of the injuries, according to the Office of Judicial Affairs' website.


Morrow said he cannot comment on Carter's status as a student.


"Due to federal law — the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, or FERPA — and university policy, officials of Syracuse University cannot discuss the specifics of a student's academic record or standing without the student's authorization," he said in an e-mail.


In addition to getting Carter reinstated at the university, Raus told The Post-Standard he would try to negotiate a settlement with the district attorney's office regarding the assault charge pending in civil court.


rhkheel@syr.edu