Water Buffalo?

Further facts and rumors

At the time of the incident, Jacobowitz was 18 years old. A former yeshiva student, he was born in Israel; it is said that Hebrew was his native language.

Jacobowitz says that the women outside his dorm were making "woo-woo" noises and talking about a party very loudly.

The five women who complained to the university said that they perceived the words "water buffalo" to be a demeaning racial epithet.

The sorority women said that what Jacobowitz really yelled was "shut up you black water buffalo."

Judicial Inquiry Officer Robin Reed, the investigator of the case, said "water buffalos are large black animals which live in Africa."

"Zoo" is said to be a local student term for a noisy fraternity house--like "Animal House."

There are no water buffalo in Africa; water buffalo are an Asian animal.

The sorority women said that before calling the police, they attempted to contact the people in the dorm in order to try to talk things through.

Prof. Dan Ben-Amos, a specialist in African-American folklore, said that "water buffalo" is a possible translation of the Hebrew slang term "behemot" ("water oxen"), commonly used to mean "fool."

Dr. Elijah Anderson, a leading sociologist, said that "water buffalo" is not a racial slur, direct or indirect. Dr. Anderson is African-American. Several other faculty members in African-American studies say the same.

Jacobowitz repeatedly said that he repeatedly offered to discuss what happened with the sorority women. But he refused a 'plea bargain' offered by the Judicial Inquiry Board, which would have (a) required him to apologize; (b) required him to attend a diversity seminar; (c) placed him on residential probation; and (d) placed a notation about "racial harassment" on his transcript. He said he refused it because he objected to the transcript notation.

A dozen or so other dorm residents were investigated by the Judicial Inquiry Board. Charges were only brought against Jacobowitz and his roommate, who admitted to yelling "get your fat asses out of here."

The "water buffalo" case gained national attention, attracting negative commentary from the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, the Philadelphia Inquirer, Rush Limbaugh and the American Civil Liberties Union. Jacobowitz's roommate asked to be kept out of the limelight.

University president Hackney was at this time up for confirmation by the U.S. Senate as the director of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

The hearing on the case is repeatedly postponed. The university claimed that this was at the request of Jacobowitz and his advisor; Jacobowitz claimed that he didn't ask for the postponements, the university forced them.

Jacobowitz is said to have been offered jobs and financial assistance by prominent alumni.

The press was barred from the hearing and the hearing officer put a "gag order" on all participants, barring them from discussing the details of hearing with anyone.

After the hearing, the women said that the judicial process at Penn had failed them and had proven to be corrupt, which substantiated their belief that they would not receive justice. They said they had been victimized on Jan. 13, further victimized by the media, and thereafter by the judicial process and agents of the university. Based on their experiences, they said, they concluded that the system was not designed to protect their rights.

After the hearing, Jacobowitz said he could not believe how corrupt the judicial system was. He said he had been victimized and held guilty until proven innocent.

After the hearing, the university scraps its harassment policy and appoints a committee to investigate the entire judicial inquiry system.

Interviewed a year after the event, Jacobowitz said: "I said something dumb. I knew I was screaming out anything really wrong, [but instead a] ridiculous word."

Upon his graduation, Jacobowitz filed suit against the university, claiming $50,000 or more in damages for the reckless infliction of emotional distress. In September, 1997 the university, admitting no wrongdoing, settled the suit for under $10,000 to pay Jacobowitz's attorneys fees.

As of now (winter, 1998), Jacobowitz is a first year law student at a New York law school.

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