The College has denied an appeal by Daniel Ro and Sebastian Lim to reverse their expulsions for causing the Oct. 1 fire in Morton Hall.
Ro and Lim posted news of the denial as an update to an online petition entitled “Change Our Lives,” addressed to the Dartmouth community and targeted at Vice Provost of Student Affairs Inge-Lise Ameer. The two posted the petition in early November on the Care2 petition site seeking support in appealing their expulsion. In the update, they thanked those who had signed the petition for their support.
The four-alarm fire started after a hibachi-style charcoal grill was left unattended on the roof of the building. Morton Hall is currently uninhabitable as a result of extensive smoke and water damage caused by the fire, leaving 67 students displaced.
In the petition, Ro and Lim apologized for causing the fire and said that they were willing to accept the consequences of their actions. However, they disputed the College’s position that the posed “a threat to the community at large,” saying that the fire was a mistake and that the College had not fully disclosed what had occurred. The petition did not elaborate on what information they said the College had withheld.
The petition, which has now closed, had a goal of 2,000 supporters. At the time it closed, it had received 1,255 supporters, 568 of whom were listed as being in Hanover. Ro and Lim wrote that they included the comments from supporters of the petition, totaling 53 pages, with their appeal.
College spokesperson Diana Lawrence said in a previous statement to The Dartmouth that the College would not consider the petition as part of the appeal process.
Correction appended (Dec. 20, 2016):
The original version of this article incorrectly named Daniel Ro as David Ro. This error has been corrected.
