On the afternoon of March 12, a fight broke out between two Mercer students, Carolann Reyes (21) and Samantha M. Scholander (29). The two Digital Film majors, according to campus security’s daily log books, got into a fist fight at 12:25pm on the West Windsor Campus quad. Their identities were confirmed, both by their own social media posts and by multiple students who were present and had knowledge of the event.
A month prior to the altercation, on February 14, a video of Reyes, taken by a bystander on a Northeast Corridor NJ Transit commuter train, went viral after being linked to in an article by Larry Higgins of NJ Advance Media. The article was posted on the news site NJ.com.
The video showed that Reyes, who was in the “quiet car” of the train, put her Louis Vuitton purse in its own seat and would not move it to let other passengers sit while on the otherwise full train. The incident escalated, delaying the train until eventually, NJ Transit Police removed Reyes from the train according to a follow up article by Claude Brodesser-Akner, also of NJ Advance Media.
Brodesser-Akner reported, and the video shows, Reyes saying “I don’t want anyone sitting next to me” and “Don’t put your hand on my stuff!” when the conductor tapped the bag and indicated that she needed to move it.
After the video was posted, social media erupted with negative, and some racially charged comments spread across multiple media platforms including NJ.com, Reddit, and Youtube. The majority of comments referred to the incident and Reyes herself as “entitled,” “infuriating,” and “disrespectful.”
However, some commenters took to Reyes’ defence.
One comment by the username “Whoaitsrae” on Reddit stated, “If I saw someone like this, I don’t think I’d care enough to delay the train over it.”
The controversial event quickly gained Mercer students attention.
According to an anonymous student familiar with both Reyes and Schonlander–who asked not to be named for fear for her physical safety–Scholander told a group of students in a Mercer class to share the news about Reyes’ viral video. Then, the source says, Scholander herself shared the video to Facebook explaining that the woman in the video attended the same college she did. However, no direct reference to Reyes was made.
After Scholander’s Facebook post, according to the same anonymous source, Reyes confronted Scholander about her spreading of the video.
“There was a build up…They were going back and forth arguing. It’s just a bunch of petty stuff,” the source said.
During a three week period tensions between the two students both online and in person seemed to intensify and a rumor circulated that Scholander posted a video to her Youtube channel expressing her unflattering feelings about Reyes. The video was apparently removed, according to several sources with knowledge of the case, however, The VOICE could not access it to verify its content or its existence.
What was obtainable was a Facebook status update on Scholander’s page posted on February 20th at 9:36PM, six days after the NJ Transit video went viral.
The post reads, “I love the court of social media, the internet will drag the life out of you when you deserve it the most. RIP to Jordyn Woods and the girl on the NJ transit train.”
According to classmates, tensions continued to escalte between the two students and it seemed a calculated fight might be in the development. The day of the fight, an anonymous source says, Scholander planned to meet with a Communication professor at noon in his office after her class with Reyes.
“[Carolann and a friend] apparently had followed [Scholander] to [the professor’s] office when she went to go talk to [him], and waited for her to come out,” the anonymous said, continuing, “then I heard that the fight had started when Sam was walking back across campus and Carolann got behind her and pushed her into the brick wall.”
Video shows Reyes in the quad, near the ramps leading up to LA building on one side and the ET building on the other, hitting Scholander multiple times, grabbing her by the hair, throwing her to the ground and pushing her head first into a low brick retaining wall. Scholander can be seen attempting to fight back.
One hour after the campus security report of the altercation, Reyes took to Facebook herself, using her verified Facebook handle “Carola Rey,” to proclaim her “victory.” Her status read, “Yooo I just. WHOOPED this bitch assssss on school campus!!!!” followed by four laugh-face emoticons.
About two hours after the fight–which was recorded on video that The VOICE has obtained and verified– Reyes made another post to her Facebook page that included a video recording of the fight. Her status read, “LMAO This bum bitch really tried it. TALK SHIT, GET HIT u bum ass keyboard warrior.” It was accompanied by the hashtag “#sharethisshit.”
A bystander told The VOICE that following the altercation she saw security tending to Scholander with an ice pack while Reyes left to share the news of what occurred with students in the cafeteria. The VOICE reached out to security to corroborate this information, but they declined to respond.
After the altercation occurred and security filed a report, both women involved were contacted by the disciplinary committee which scheduled independent meetings with each student to address the situation.
According to the same anonymous source, Scholander has indicated that she was suspended and has been given a return date of June 30.
John Simone, Athletic Director and Assistant Dean for Student Development, who chairs the disciplinary committee did not give names, but said, “One case is resolved and one [is] still pending appeal.”
During the appeal process, Simone says, a student may remain on campus under some circumstances. At this phase of the process, an appeal would go to the Vice President of Academic Affairs (VPAA). Mercer does not currently have a VPAA.
The anonymous source gave her opinion of the situation saying, “Carolann’s not friendly, she doesn’t really have any friends. Sam isn’t really friendly, she doesn’t have many friends. Depending on who’s side someone is on, most people just don’t like both of them.”
