Kennesaw State University released a statement Wednesday condemning the recent attack on one of its students who was beaten and called a racial slur at an apartment complex near campus, police said.
“I want this to be clear: This incident goes against everything we stand for at KSU,” university President Kathy S. Schwaig wrote in a letter addressed to the campus community after two men were charged in the attack. “You’ve heard me speak many times about the importance of community at our university, and an attack on one individual is an attack on our very principles. Hate or violence will not be condoned at KSU.”
Gauge Dakota Stanley, 20, of Chatsworth, and Kole Zuba Reasoner, 20, of Flowery Branch, are facing charges of battery and aggravated battery in the alleged Jan. 22 attack, according to Kennesaw police spokesman David Buchanan. Reasoner was booked into the Cobb County Jail on Saturday and released on a $20,000 bond, and Stanley was booked Sunday and released on a $15,000 bond, online records show.
Police said the fight occurred around 12:10 a.m. at the West 22 apartment complex, located about two miles west of campus. The victim, Jalique Rosemond, who is Black, told officers that two white men knocked him to the ground, kicked him in the face and repeatedly called him a racial epithet.
Rosemond, who suffered a bloody nose, was taken to a hospital by his roommate, police said.
“Based on the statements of the victim, this ultimately could be racially motivated,” Buchanan said. “A police officer cannot charge for a hate crime. It is a sentencing enhancement brought on during the prosecution of the case.”
Security camera footage obtained by Channel 2 Action News appeared to show part of the attack at the complex. Schwaig said members of the community had expressed “concern and dismay” over the incident.
“Thank you to those of you who have spoken up and spoken out,” she wrote. “Next week, the office of the vice president of student affairs will host important conversations for students to come together as a community, access resources and learn from one another.”
According to a police report, officers spoke with a resident at West 22 who said he allowed a white man to stay at his apartment after the incident. He said the person told him a car was driving recklessly through the parking lot and had nearly struck his friend, the report stated.
The man said his fraternity brothers confronted those in the vehicle, then assaulted the driver. He added that one of his fraternity brothers believed someone in the car had a gun, while Rosemond told police that no one was armed, according to the report.
Rosemond, who lives at the complex, said the men took his books and a backpack, then grabbed a sandwich out of his hand, the report stated. The backpack and part of the sandwich were found hanging from a tree, according to the report. He also said the men took his car keys, but they were later found underneath his vehicle.
After the attack, Rosemond said the men ran into a nearby fraternity house, the report said. Members of the fraternity were interviewed by police.
Anyone with information on the incident is asked to contact Kennesaw police at 770-429-4533 or KPD_TIPS@kennesaw-ga-.gov.
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