A St. Thomas student facing multiple charges in connection with three hoax bomb threats at the University of St. Thomas pleaded not guilty Monday at the federal courthouse in Minneapolis.
Ray Persaud, 20, who is no longer in custody, faces a grand jury indictment, accusing him of making phone calls that “maliciously conveyed false information” about alleged bomb threats on April 17, Aug. 20 and Sept. 17.
Persaud’s trial before U.S. District Judge Eric C. Tostrud is scheduled to begin Dec. 16. He has been suspended from St. Thomas since his arrest in late September.
Starting fall 2020, all residence halls at St. Thomas will become co-educational, according to an email sent by the office of undergraduate admissions.
The email, sent to St. Thomas tour guides on Wednesday and obtained by TommieMedia, states residence hall buildings will be co-ed but will be separated by floors, wings or pods.
They will also have separate bathrooms by gender. The placement of students depending on their year will changed for some residence halls.
President Donald Trump injected racial overtones into the House impeachment inquiry Tuesday by comparing the Democratic-led investigation into his handling of U.S. policy toward Ukraine to a “lynching.” The highest-ranking African American in Congress warned Trump about making the comparison.
Lynchings, or hangings, historically were mostly used by whites against black men, mostly in the South, beginning in the late 19th century amid rising racial tensions in the U.S. By comparing his possible impeachment to a lynching, Trump is also likening Democrats to a lynch mob.
Under pressure over impeachment, blowback over his Syria policy and other issues, the Republican president tweeted Tuesday: “So some day, if a Democrat becomes President and the Republicans win the House, even by a tiny margin, they can impeach the President, without due process or fairness or any legal rights.
“All Republicans must remember what they are witnessing here – a lynching. But we will WIN!”
Samantha HoangLong can be reached at hoan1058@stthomas.edu.