Excerpt from Quartz
The U.S. Army Cadet Command is investigating allegations of bullying directed at Pierre Damas Bel, a 20-year-old Haitian student at Wright State University in Ohio who died Aug. 31 after stepping into traffic on Interstate 70, according to NBC News.
According to NBC News, his family contends that taunting by classmates over an ICE-issued ankle monitor — placed on him on July 29 — drove him to take his own life. In a statement, his father recounted a distressed call from Bel that morning in which the young man cited the bullying he had endured; around 11 a.m., officers came to the family’s home to deliver the news of his death. According to USA Today, the Ohio State Highway Patrol reported that Bel parked on the right shoulder of I-70, walked into the path of westbound traffic and was hit by a tractor-trailer.
Bel had been enrolled in a military science class at Wright State, and his father said he was denied a uniform because of his immigration status. A U.S. Army Cadet Command spokesperson told CNN that his immigration status made him ineligible for the cadet program; enrolled in the military science course as an elective, he did not qualify for uniform issuance. The spokesperson added that those leading the class had been welcoming toward him.
When CNN asked Wright State about the ROTC program’s rules on participation and uniforms, the university directed those questions to the U.S. Army Cadet Command. Separately, the university told USA Today it could not confirm any complaints or bullying investigations connected to Bel.
