After Pierre Damas Bel’s suicide was reported, there has been speculation around Wright State University’s campus that bullying from students at the university played a part in his death.
One of the biggest allegations that came from this was that Bel was not given a Reserve Officer’s Training Corps (ROTC) uniform like all other students involved were.
Joseph Nemeth, a Major for the United States Army and Assistant Professor of Military Science at Wright State, spoke to these allegations.
“Pierre participated in Military Science 100 at [WSU], a course open to the broader student body. He was not enrolled in the Army ROTC program and was not under contract with the program. Participating students are not authorized to wear uniforms or to participate in training outside the classroom,” Nemeth said.
Bel was involved in JROTC in high school, but was not an active member, nor in WSU’s Army ROTC program during the time of his death.
"U.S. Army Cadet Command is not aware of any allegations of bullying or mistreatment in our Wright State Army ROTC military science classes. We take all allegations of bullying or mistreatment seriously and are looking into the matter," Nemeth said.
Deena John, the Director of Communications and Media Relations, released a statement on behalf of the university in regards to the allegations of bullying.
“[WSU] investigates any information it receives regarding any harassment or bullying experienced at the institution. Wright State has no confirmed information regarding complaints of bullying related to the student; this includes both formal and informal reporting channels and student, faculty and staff interviews,” John said.
The same information was given by Eric Corbitt, the Dean of Students.
“[WSU] has no confirmed information regarding complaints or investigations into bullying related to Pierre,” Corbitt said.
Student Advocacy and Wellness is where students can go on campus to report bullying or harassment. Students can also submit Campus Security Authority (CSA) reports through the Community Standards and Student Conduct office.
Destinee Biesemeyer, the Director of Student Advocacy and Wellness, discussed the process of how students could submit these reports.
“A Wright State CARES Report lists among concerning behaviors: mental health, bias, interpersonal conflict, and other - these could have been marked for an incident of bullying, but they have not been. The Student Advocacy and Resource Center received no reports about bullying or any other concern from or on behalf of Pierre Damas Bel.”
Destinee Biesemeyer
At this time, there are no reports or information the university has received to open an investigation into these allegations.
