UTD reviewing admission policies after banning former Baylor frat president

DALLAS - The University of Texas at Dallas is reviewing its application and enrollment process after banning a student from campus this week.

Jacob Anderson transferred to the Richardson campus after he was kicked out of Baylor University two years ago. He was a fraternity president there and was accused of raping a woman.

Anderson was cleared of a sexual assault charge after accepting a deal. It allowed him to plead no contest to a lesser charge and avoid jail time.

While the McLennan County DA has not fully explained why the sex assault charges were changed to a charge of felony unlawful restraint, prosecutors did tell the Waco newspaper that the DA’s office “stands by the plea offered and believes we have achieved the best result possible with the evidence at hand.”

Attorney Pete Schulte is not involved in the case. He gave some perspective for the outrage leveled against the judge.

"A lot of people giving the judge a hard time about not giving the defendant prison time, but he did not have the ability,” Schulte said. “The only thing the judge can do is accept or reject it. And if he rejects it, they go to trial. And that’s not what the state and the defendant wanted."

UTD said it did not know about Anderson’s criminal case when he enrolled.

He was banned from campus earlier this week in response to a student-lead petition. He will still be allowed to earn a finance degree next week but will not walk with his class at graduation.

“There is nothing more important at UT Dallas than the safety and security of our students,” UTD President Richard Benson said.

UTD students want to keep the spotlight on the recent events and want to continue raising awareness about the need for sexual assault prevention.

Bravely determined to be voices of empowerment, several students opened up on Friday and identified themselves as sexual assault survivors.

"We believe Greek organizations need to start being a leader in sexual assault prevention,” said student Debbie Behr.

The gathering was previously planned as a protest against Anderson, but it was revamped into an informational session about sex assault based on the success of the student petition.

The students who participated also shared startling statistics pamphlets, and other literature with their fellow students who are all leaving campus and going to their respective communities for the holiday break.