CSSA shows support for student who was arrested

The UCF Chinese Scholars Student Association is hosting a survey on their website in support of a student who was arrested in UCF's Center for Research and Education in Optics and Lasers on April 18.

Two UCF graduate students, Esmaeil "Hooman" Banaei and Guangming Tao, got into a physical altercation over the use of research equipment in one of CREOL's classrooms, UCF police said. Tao was arrested after he hit Banaei with a metal rod, according to the arrest report.

On May 4, Tao attended a meeting with the Office of Student Conduct and was given a two-semester suspension, according to CSSA's website.

The survey is hosted on the website and was emailed to all of CREOL's students and professors, along with other members of the UCF community. The survey asks participants whether or not they think the action of the university was appropriate and lists CSSA's opinion on the incident.

"The university promises to respect and protect each and every student. But today, it seems that the university is deteriorating its own value," CSSA members wrote in the survey.

Within the survey is also a link describing what happened during the April 18 incident. The information conflicts with the arrest report and describes Banaei as the main aggressor.

According to the CSSA website, Tao had a bruise on his chest at the time of the incident that was not photographed by police and the state attorney has not filed a case. Tao's lawyer issued a letter saying that he does not believe charges will be filed against Tao.

Present at the hearing were Tao, his adviser, Banaei and the arresting officer, according to CSSA's website. A letter of support for Tao with the signatures of 50 CREOL faculty and students was also presented at the hearing.

According to the Office of Student Conduct's website, a student has seven days after disciplinary action is issued to appeal the university's decision. It is unclear at this time whether or not Tao filed an appeal.

Both Tao and Banaei declined to make a comment on the incident or the resulting disciplinary hearing.

This is a developing story, please check back for more information.