When it comes to the case of Philip Markoff, better known nationally as the ‘Craigslist killer,’ a second year Boston University School of Medicine student arrested Monday on suspicion of murder, kidnapping and robbery charges, BU administration appears to have ‘no comment.’
Though their phones have been ringing constantly for the past three days, school officials have been tight-lipped about anything to do with the case, from terse and few public statements, to efforts to keep copies of The Daily Free Press out of places where prospective students might see headlines about the alleged ‘Craigslist killer.’
Dean of Students Kenneth Elmore has been quoted in only one news story (The Daily Free Press, ‘Students ‘shocked’ by suspect’s ID,’ April 22), and Medical Campus Provost and MED Dean Karen Antman has released one statement, dated April 20. It reads, in its entirety, as follows:
‘Phillip H. Markoff [sic] is?a second year medical student at Boston University School of Medicine. Upon learning of the charges against him, University officials immediately suspended him.
Any further inquiries on this case should be directed to the Boston Police Department.’
The campus has found itself in the national spotlight in connection with the crime at peak college decision time for most high school seniors. According to the Admissions Office website, at least five prescheduled tours, led by President’s Hosts for prospective students, meet at the Admissions Reception Center at 121 Bay State Road every day.
The Daily Free Press is delivered to the reception center daily, as well as to other on-campus locations. The paper can usually be found in the waiting area for prospective students and parents to peruse while they wait for their tours to begin. Tuesday and Wednesday’s editions, however, were only available by specific request. The papers featured prominent headlines about the case (‘Police arrest BU student as ‘Craigslist killer’ suspect,’ April 21; ‘MED student pleads not guilty,’ April 22; ‘Students ‘shocked’ by suspect’s ID,’ April 22), and staff at the office said they did not want the potential freshmen to get a bad idea about the school or its students.
An admissions office employee, who wished to remain anonymous out of concern for her job, told a Daily Free Press reporter Wednesday that the papers had been hidden because of their content, which could reflect negatively on the school.
BU spokesman Colin Riley said he knew nothing about the newspapers being hidden.
‘There’s no reason that I know of that they wouldn’t be there today or yesterday,’ he said. ‘I don’t see any reason why they wouldn’t be. Maybe they’re all gone because people picked them up.’
President’s Hosts got an email from Senior Associate Director of Undergraduate Admissions John McEachern Tuesday with advice from Riley, telling them how to approach the issue if they were asked on tours.
‘[Riley] urges [the admissions staff] not to be defensive,’ McEachern stated in the email. ‘He encourages us to embrace [questions about Markoff], and gave me some talking points.’
Though College of Arts and Sciences sophomore and host Anthony Schultz has not led a tour since Markoff’s arrest, he said he would ‘take the politically correct approach and say that we don’t have that much information. Even his close friends and family had no idea.’
Another host, College of Communication junior Hannah Ubl, has not given a tour since Monday either.
‘[The email] just helped with knowing what the right thing would be to say,’ she said. Ubl said the hosts are encouraged to ‘be civil, real, authentic and say that we are sorry for the family,’ and that ‘no one can understand his behavior and it doesn’t represent what a BU student is.’
The party line used on tours seems to be playing well to prospective students.
‘It’s one student out of 15,000 to 16,000,’ Sherrie Deng, a Newton North High School junior, said. ‘That one person may be crazy, but that doesn’t mean the school is bad.’
MED students were also sent an email from Antman with tips on handling the media rushing to report on ‘the sad and disturbing news.’
Antman wrote in the email that reporters would not shy away from using information found on the Internet and social networking sites such as Facebook for information on the alleged murderer.
‘Please use caution and discretion in discussing this case on those sites as anything you post could become part of the media coverage,’ the email stated.
Elmore said he had no comment on how the alleged connection between a BU student and a murder trial could affect admissions at the university.
‘You should talk to Dean Antman at the medical campus,’ he said.
However, calls to Antman’s office were immediately redirected to the Corporate Communications Office for MED and its teaching hospital, Boston Medical Center.
‘I can only tell you what’s in the statement,’ BMC and MED spokeswoman Gina DiGravio said. ‘He was ‘-‘- or is ‘-‘- a second year student at the School of Medicine.’
She said the medical campus has been ‘crawling with reporters’ since Markoff’s arrest, and public safety officers have been removing any media who leave the sidewalk to ask questions.
‘They are trespassing,’ she said.
Riley defended the removal of reporters from the South End medical campus.
‘The students and BU School of Medicine are in the process of getting an education and are studying, and it’s the end of the semester,’ he said. ‘The last thing they need is a distraction, impediment or nuisance.’
Staff writers Teresa Gorman and Sydney Lupkin contributed reporting to this story.
