There is always a renewed sense of camaraderie as students at Clark Atlanta University, Spelman College, and Morehouse College return to campus and settle into the new spring semester. However, this year there’s an underlying tension running across the Atlanta University Center.
It only takes a mention of the now-viral video of Morehouse student Matthew Gonzales Forestine assaulting CAU student Kayla Bryant to bring any student in the AUC back to how they felt when they first saw the graphic clip on social media.
“I was really disturbed. I was frustrated. I was shocked. I was disgusted. Honestly, it was a lot of feelings at once,” said Alexandra Buckner, a Spelman sophomore majoring in psychology from Suffolk, Virginia.
The video of the Nov. 20 assault, posted by Bryant to her personal TikTok account, has amassed nearly 3 million views.
Recorded by bystanders, the clip begins with Gonzales Forestine intervening in an interaction between Bryant and his girlfriend by wrapping his arm around her neck from behind while asking “I should kill you, right?”
Gonzales Forestine appears to lift her off the ground and keep Bryant in a chokehold for about 10 seconds before two men witnessing the incident pull him off of her.
Bryant then walks a few yards away around the corner, but Gonzales Forestine and his girlfriend follow. He continues to shout at Bryant, telling her to call the police and to call her man, while one of the men who pulls him off her stands in between the two.
“I couldn’t breathe,” Bryant, a 23-year-old student, said on TikTok. “I was kicking off the walls and stuff to try to gain some sort of balance, and he’s telling me he’s gonna kill me.”
“I was kind of appalled because I really would not expect someone to be that violent. I would have thought that it would result in immediate expulsion.”
Corey Bowdre Jr., Morehouse sophomore
For Corey Bowdre Jr., a 19-year-old sophomore biology major at Morehouse from Boston, the violence in the video was surprising. “I was kind of appalled because I really would not expect someone to be that violent,” he said. “I would have thought that it would result in immediate expulsion.”
In the days after the incident, some students felt the relationship between the schools was strained, and many questioned Morehouse’s response.
After public outcry, Morehouse President F. DuBois Bowman announced three days later that the school was conducting an investigation and student conduct review. Any action taken as a result of the investigation would be reviewed by the Honor and Conduct Review Board and the College Judiciary Committee before it is confirmed.
“My perception on how the AUC handles [these types of incidents] is that a lot of them get swept under the rug.”
Tanner Brown, Morehouse sophomore
“In a situation like this that is presented in a public view for everyone to see, I think the reaction should be public as well from the institution. I don’t think we should try to hide the fact of how you’re going to respond to [the incident] if the worst parts of it are already in the public eye,” said Tanner Brown, a 20-year-old sophomore engineering major at Morehouse from Fort Valley, Georgia. “My perception on how the AUC handles [these types of incidents] is that a lot of them get swept under the rug. A lot of them aren’t handled directly, but more indirectly. And the concerns that the public brings up are never fully addressed.”
Since initial statements from the presidents of Morehouse and Clark Atlanta were released, there hasn’t been any follow-up from either institution.
“I saw statements from [student government and] statements from the school saying that they don’t condone this and any immediate action would be behind the scenes, which I respect,” said Ja’el Lawsoy, a 20-year-old Morehouse sophomore theater major from Greensboro, North Carolina. “We don’t want stuff like this to be in the limelight, but we still want to make sure that the school is holding themselves accountable and make sure that these [investigations] are carried out thoroughly.”
“Spelman students have definitely faced domestic or physical violence at the hands of another student [before], and I think that is something that should be taken more seriously.”
Sydney Switzer, Spelman sophomore
While no Spelman students were involved in the incident, students at the all-women’s college, who historically have shared a deep “Spelhouse” bond with their Morehouse brothers, were still hoping their school would address the assault and subsequent fallout that was impacting the entire AUC.
“I think they definitely could have made more of an effort on Spelman’s campus to address it,” said Sydney Switzer, a 19-year-old sophomore political science major from Houston. “Spelman students have definitely faced domestic or physical violence at the hands of another student [before], and I think that is something that should be taken more seriously.”
Gonzales Forestine, a senior computer science major from Brooklyn, New York, was arrested by Fulton County police a few days after the attack and charged with one count of aggravated assault and one count of terroristic threats and acts. He was released on bond in mid-December on the condition he continues his enrollment at Morehouse virtually but stays away from campus and the off-campus apartment building where the assault took place.
Students have mixed opinions on the decision to allow Gonzales Forestine to participate in online classes while the legal proceedings continue.
“If graduating from Morehouse is what makes you a Morehouse man, then stand on that and do not allow him to graduate with that title — you make everybody work to hold such a prestigious title of being a Morehouse man who upholds these values.”
Chhaya Denauth, Spelman sophomore
“Bare minimum, he is going to be banned from campus,” said Jaylen Brantley, a sophomore English and education double major from Millersville, Georgia. “I feel like something more should be done. Yet, I sort of believe he should have the right to an education.”
Bowdre said Gonzales Forestine’s behavior should be enough for an immediate expulsion.
“I really don’t think a violent person like that upholds Morehouse’s standards and values and if you’re allowing someone like that to remain on campus. … I don’t think that’s good for the [college’s] reputation.”
For Natania Bertin, a Spelman sophomore biology major from Westchester, New York, allowing Gonzales Forestine to remain in school was disappointing but unsurprising.
“It shows that Morehouse doesn’t really [understand] the issues that their school has continuously faced because of the actions of their students. It shows that they have some sort of leniency towards it, and I think it’s extremely inappropriate,” Bertin told Capital B Atlanta.
Some students are concerned that since Gonzales Forestine is a senior and being allowed to continue his coursework, he will graduate from Morehouse in May.
“I think that’s completely inappropriate,” said Chhaya Denauth, a 20-year-old sophomore theater and performance major at Spelman from Washington.
“You’re still allowing him to walk the stage and giving him the title of what you think it means to be a Morehouse man. And I think that speaks way louder than his presence on campus,” Denauth said. “If graduating from Morehouse is what makes you a Morehouse man, then stand on that and do not allow him to graduate with that title — you make everybody work to hold such a prestigious title of being a Morehouse man who upholds these values. If they upheld all those values, they wouldn’t be picking little girls off the ground by their throats. That just wouldn’t be happening.”
Earlier this month, Gonzales Forestine’s attorney demanded a jury trial, confirming that the student plans to plead not guilty to the charges.
Clark Atlanta and Morehouse have not responded to Capital B Atlanta’s requests for comment.
Morgan Richardson is a political science major attending Spelman College. This article is part of Capital B Atlanta’s journalism partnership with HBCU reporters.
