Seattle Crime Reports : Seattle Crime Blog : Seattle, Washington

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The Jesuit university with the community-based, progressive ideals has taken a turn for the oppressive.

After an incident that occurred during with winter quarter of this year, administrators at Seattle University have decided to take a proactive approach to shutting down any kind of controversial behavior by its students.

You may have already seen the story on the front page of today's Seattle Times detailing how one Glen Butterworth, a Jesuit scholastic at the university, has created a Facebook account in order to get word of student-planned, off-campus parties...which he follows up with some strong "encouragement" tactics to prevent the parties from ever happening:

So, too, did another group of students hosting an off-campus party earlier this month — also advertised on Facebook — when Butterworth showed up on their doorstep. Butterworth told those students he knew of their plans and that city police and state liquor authorities would be enforcing any code violations.

For students at the university, most are aware that these motives are the result of a "c*nt hunt" party - women were to dress like animals, men like hunters - that took place earlier this year that led to panel discussions, mini-protests of the uptight kind, and a new approach to dealing with students that involved Butterworth's gross invasion of the personal lives of students. 

As a soon-to-be alum of Seattle U, I am disgusted at the tactics of the university. Yes, it is a private institution, so S.U. is not required to follow the same statutes as public universities. But wasting everyone's time and invading adult students lives - the hosts of the part were 21 - is sickening. 

I see no valid reason for alerting police and liquor officials of possible misconduct. Seattle U charges a large amount of money for the education it provides. Mr. Butterworth insists that education does not end in the formal classroom. Yes, Seattle U...it does.

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It seems King County Councilwoman Jane Hague has reached a plea deal for her DUI charge stemming from a drunk driving incident last June.

For those concerned that public officials believe they are above the law (I'm looking at you, Eliot Spitzer), Hague's response to the deal was priceless: "It's been a tremendous learning experience," she's quoted as saying in the P-I.

At 61 years old and entrusted to make decisions for the largest county in the state, shouldn't having the presence of mind not to drive with an alcohol level of 0.14 be something Hague already knows?

The councilwoman then told reporters she felt she should be "held to a higher standard" because of her role as a public official and that she wanted to be a "poster child" for reasons not to drive drunk. Sounds commendable...if it were in any way not BS.

The hypocrisy of this situation is mind-boggling. Hague apparently verbally insulted the state trooper who pulled her over, yet now thinks she was held to a higher standard than most people arrested for DUI...despite serving no jail time and getting off with a slap on the wrist.

Oh, and the "poster child thing?"

Under the agreement, Hague's charge will be reduced in six months if she performs 75 hours of community service, attends alcohol information sessions and a drunken-driving victims' panel, airs three public service announcements related to drunken driving and stays crime free.

Yeah...turns out that's part of her plea deal, too.