UC student regent faces sexual battery allegation; board chair says no immediate action

This post has been corrected. See the note at the bottom for details.

University of California Board of Regents Chairman Russell Gould said Wednesday that he would not rush to judgment about whether student regent Jesse Cheng, a fifth-year UC Irvine student, should stay on the board while UC reviews a former girlfriend’s allegation of sexual battery by Cheng.

The Orange County district attorney's office has declined to press charges against Cheng for lack of evidence. But the UC Irvine office of student conduct this month found Cheng responsible for a student code violation for sexual battery, defined as unwanted touching in a sexual manner. Cheng, who maintains his innocence, said he was trying to decide whether to appeal the campus ruling.

As the regents met Wednesday in San Francisco, representatives of feminist groups urged the board to oust Cheng as one of the two student representatives on the panel. Gould said he took the matter “very seriously” and said any appeals would need to be completed and then a regents committee would examine the issue to see if any action should be taken.

Cheng, 22, who is majoring in Asian American studies, did not attend the meeting, saying he did not want his presence to be a distraction. In a telephone interview, he said he has no plans to resign.

For the record, 4:48 p.m. March 16: An earlier version of this post said Cheng was found guilty of the code violation.

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Comments

[James]

An Asian guy in college in his 5th year? Maybe he should be kicked out for that.

[victor]

haha that was funny James. lol

Although, he's probably in a hard program. Usually medical majors like pharmacy require 6 years. Or he could also be a graduate student.

[Tony]

please don't be racist--you don't know why he's a 5th year a UCI.The reason he's a 5th year is because his term as student regent in a 2 year commitment.

[Milan Moravec]

University of California's Chancellor Birgeneau has a 8 year history of inept leadership that resulted in $150 million of inefficiencies. After 8 years there should be a rush to judgement. every year Birgeneau would request a budget increase, the regents would agree to it, and the legislature would provide. The hard questions were avoided by all concerned, and the problems just piled up to $150 million of inefficiencies….until there was no money left.
It’s not that Birgeneau was unaware that there were, in fact, waste and inefficiencies in the system. Faculty and staff have raised issues with senior management, but when they failed to see relevant action taken, they stopped. Finally, Birgeneau ($500,000 salary) engaged some expensive ($7.2 million) consultants, Bain & Company, to tell him what he should have been able to find out from the bright, engaged people in his own organization.

University of California Board of Regents Chairman Gould...do the honourable, retire UC Berkeley Chancellor Birgeneau