Service honors Annie Le GRD ’13

Its the least Yale could do.
Since Yale has to share the blame in her death. ONly security cameras outside the building none inside. Male techs working with female students. Bad backround checks
done by HR. How could such a smart place do stupid things?
No security people in the rooms where she was?

How can Yale be liable for Le’s death? I doubt that a standard background check on Raymond Clark would have turned up anything that would have disqualified him from being a lab technician. You think everyone’s ex-girlfriend would be interviewed on a background check for anger issues? As far as security cameras go, if you have them inside a workplace environment, you create a sense of Big Brother watching you. And security personnel inside a secure lab, where you need a key card in order to gain access in the first place? Give me a break. She was in one of the safest places on campus. Companies can’t be liable for their employees going beserk, because you can’t tell which ones will go off, or what will set them off. Anne Le’s death was tragic, but the blame lies with Raymond Clark, and only him, not Yale.

what happened to Annie Le was an act of pure evil,an evil wich manifested itself in our world and found in Ray Clark a perfect vessel in wich to commit a crime, so terrible that its only purpose was to cause dispare so great that it shakes the fondation of ones faith.God had nothing to do with this sad and tragic loss.The brutality of hear death and the desicration of her remains to the discovery of her poor broken body on what was to be her wedding day just seems such a planned tragedy that one must wonder if evil is a true force of nature with a concious thought able to intervene at anytime to esculate a bad situation and exploit it to its own purpose, that purpose being to destroy our faith and ability to find peace and happiness in a world so troubled with war and hate and above all greed.I never knew any I never will and yet she has such a hold on me I feel I’ll never shake her loss.I have changed,in her memory I’ll try to be a better person.

Yale has a responsiblity to Annie’s death. Raymond Clark’s sister and brother-in-law and girlfriend were employed in the same lab. Clark had been described as “angry,” “officious,” and “bullying.” Why has nobody reported him? Is it because there is no avenue for voicing concerns.? Was it because Clark was indulged in and protected by his family members who might be his line manager as well? Was it because it was very hard to sack a union member like Clark and people just could not be involved in lengthy proceedings? Why was Clark hired? He was employed straight out of high school. Was there a open, competitive process in hiring at Yale? Was the Union implicit in the hiring and and the discipliary process that turned out to be non-existenst or not deployed? Yale and the Police and the Mayor’s offices had all been disrespectful to Annie by slapping a cold administrative label on her unusual and horrifc death in a secured part of the campus. It was no ordinary “work place violence,” but a strangling of a tiny female by a much stronger male in the most terrifying, prolonged slaying (it takes about 5 minutes to suffocate a person to death by hand.) Richard Levin should not have said, “it could have happened in any campus etc.” before the facts of the case was analysed and his failure to protect his students coming under scrutiny. He should not have muttered, “it has more to do with the darkness of the human soul,” because it has more to do with employing and indulging in Clark continued presence in the first place. Annie’s family should sue Yale.

To Helen Li,
I agree, you are correct. I gave to the I have a dream foundation, which was the wishes of both her family and her fiancee – not to Yale.

I personally work in high security areas that would make 10 Amistad look like central park with respect to security; one can’t carry cell phones, everything is watched, and the guards have real guns.

Workplace violence can happen anywhere, which is why it is so important to have a policy with teeth in it, that is 100% back by the CEO on down – holding everyone accountable.

I HAD a person who could not be counseled, drove one woman into therapy, caused two people to report to their own external companies – almost bringing on two lawsuits – and he fitted the description of Clark almost like a glove.

Although I would have fired him immediately, if I had thought of the possibility of imminent danger; I had him sequestered from others…no one could meet with him – anywhere one-on-one…until I had recieved formal approval for his termination, blessed by HR and senior management. We had a process that worked.

Over time I had to deal with another individual with respect to sexual harrassment, and again the process worked; it was a misunderstanding, but still had to formally reported and managed.

Cont:
Your statement about some troubled employee you dealt with having traits that fit the profile of the suspect to a “T” was like a blow to my guts. Your system would have picked him up and had him isolated or fired. The impression I got of the Yale staff culture is one of getting help on the cheap, nepotism, non-existent disciplinary procedures etc. In a lab where intensive, high-valued research is undertaken in a closed atmosphere, problems in personal relations could be doubly strained and tension magnified, especially between people of vastly different abilities and prospects. The need for onflict resolution becomes even more significant in such an environment. It is for very good reasons that family members are often not encouraged to work together. Human nature being what it is, favouritism, bullying, covering up for each other, becoming territorial and proprietorial, all that would come into play. How on earth could Yale be so backward to let Human Resources allowing such practices? Annie was supposed to have received a text message from the alleged murderer. It was like a maid summoning her mistress on the carpet. How was it possible for a lowly lab worker to behave like that to a scholar of her calibre? Shouldn’t there be some line manager who reported that to Annie’s supervisor? The Union lady Laura Smith should tell us why it is almost impossible ( a tortuous process is involed) to sack somebody like Clark. A job for life at 24 years of age? Are we living in the 21st Century?

As for hardware provisions, some had said that CCTVs are not conducive to the the kind of work undertaken at Annie’s lab, and that it would be too intrusive for individuals; that the system of card access in every level and every room provides adequate security; that human behavior could not be totally under control. The last we have dealt with. As to the technological safeguards, one should not rely on conventional wisdom alone. As long as the tapes are priviledged and protected, no outsider could view them. I think students would welcome security over a small intrusion of their privacy if given a choice. I also heard some students had complained about lack of mobile phone signals in the basement area of the lab. Card access was a semi-farce as students had told of stories of doors being held opened for strangers etc. and people who have access are not necessarily without danger. You idea of safety in numbers is sound. That is what I tell my nieces every day: that and avoid desolate and badly lit areas, plan you journey, always have access to contact, look confident and don’t drink. To all Yale student, if you really care for Annie, don’t just “celebrate” her life. Ask questions, DEMAND actions, because she should not be “commemorated,” she should be walking in your midst with all the world’s wonder in front of her!

To Helen Li:
You are a wonderful and insightful individual; you would be an asset to any team.

Coupled with a mandatory policy with regard to ‘hostile work environment’ and ‘sexual harassment’, my company has two distinct policies, is of code of ethics and professional behavior – which everyone must sign; they are absolutely not insignificant, because refusal to sign off is grounds for dismissal – while signing them creates a baseline for potential dismissal for failure to abide by the requirements of employment. Employees must sign these documents and take training in both ‘hostile work environment’ and ‘sexual harassment’ on an annual basis, which is tracked at the highest levels of management; believe me, something hits the fan when this isn’t done.

The code of ethics and behavior spells out that interpersonal business relationships are always to be respectful and professional (period) – no exception! Any deviation from this standard becomes an actionable item with respect to management.

No employee at any level is ever allowed to demean another for any reason. If one employee notices another breaking some procedural protocol, all they can do is to professionally communicate the infraction and then report to management. With regards to Mr Clark, he should never have been allowed to do anything, but report infractions to management – NEVER to engage in less than professional behavior!

With respect to isolated work areas, I believe in teams of three at minimum. A single disgruntled employee may either steal or sabotaged sensitive work. Two may keep an eye on one another and the third is always available to sound an alarm. There is always safety in numbers, even for relatively mundane work.

One thing I’ve noticed over the years is that individuals can change for better or worse. The individual that I had to fire was at one time an excellent employee, but for whatever reason he became unhinged, unpredictable, paranoid, and bitter. Who is to say what the root cause was: drugs, alcohol, relationships…legally management cannot ask, nor can management require psychological counseling.

With respect to “everyone’s responsibility” to report, that is a no brainer. Often workplace victims are either afraid of repercussions, or they simply hope that things will get better, which is simply not true. If someone were to notice a fire, would they simply walk away? We all know the real answer.

With respect to implementing policies, once people see that management means what it says, then work place incidents dramatically decline – and not so oddly, morale improves.

Thank you Sasquatchmoon. It is sometimes easier for an outsider like me to see some missing links that are not apparent for those closely involved at this point; or express emotions too raw still for her family and friends. They are in a state of shock and denial. You remember the Martha Moxley murder in Bell Haven? It took a LA detective to re-open the case after twenty-five years; and brought justice to her poor mother. The detail about the fire alarm going off should be included in the inquiry. If it is such a secure building, why was the building not locked down for four days after Annie disappeared? As you said, the suspect was seen having the opportunity to clean up in the days after. It was poor police work. You idea of counting in and out is valid. At closing time each day or when the fire alarm is activated, a list should be available to make sure that nobody is left inside. It is very important for Annie to get justice. Court cases can go so wrong. Just look at the Dominique Dunne murder trial. The judge was a clown, totally biased, and gave woefully inadequate intructions to the jury. Vital evidences were ruled inadmissable. The victim’s family was treated rudely. And the defence offered plea bargaining to a much lesser charge when they knew of the killer’s violent history that the jury was not allowed to know. The non-stop chanting of “work place violence” is very damaging to Annie’s case. It could be claimed to prejudice the accused. When the trial starts, it is very important for Annie’s whole family to be there. The jury need to see their faces; otherwise, it woud be just a Vietnamese girl being unlucky. Did you see the press writing “color pieces” about the girlfriend’s wedding magazine and engagement ring and the suspect’s “good ball games” before Annie was even laid to rest? There were stories headed: “What Annie Le Story?” and “Two Weddings Ruined?” Would they write about a Vietnamese killers’ girl friend in those terms, almost gushingly? Would they rue the “ruined wedding plans” of a Vietnamese killer of a white doctoral young girl? Thought not. I heard that the Chapel was half empty during Annie’s memorial. This is shocking to me. We need more support for their family please.

Amen!HelenI too would like an answer to this question.I’m always so amazed how these self proclaimed animal lovers can have so much compassion for all animals big and small and yet be so incapable of understanding or being compassionate of members of their own species.Being a cancer survivor and seeing this disease take away so many of my family and friends and neighbors,usually within a week of their diagnosis,I look at people like Annie Le as the true heroes of this world.I can remember going home after being told I had cancer and slowly beginning to pack away my belongings while pondering how to break the news to my wife,who then was my fiance,and my family and friends,because I was so sure that my time had come.I also remember the exact moment ,months later ,when my doctor personally called me to tell me my cancer was in remission.The research that went into developing the treatments I underwent made Me the first and only cancer survivor I know.I buried my Godfather on sept.28th two days after Annie was buried,He unlike Me, died of cancer.Did your Brother, Denise ,lose sight of the fact that he was just a glorified janitor in the midst of gifted and truly compassionate individuals.God only knows what personal tragedies fueled the drive of Annie Le.Also if you have the guts to reply i’d like to know does your brother keep his cage clean,He should ,he might be spending a long time in it.The sad truth is ,I shouldn’t even know that Annie Le existed unless I read of her research in a medical journal I was reading, while sitting in my doctors office.Her death is a tradgedy,the way She died is an afront to God,the way Her remains where treated is an insult to the diginity of mankind.She might have been the one,to find the cure we’ll never know.I wonder how many lives could a baseball player potentially save.

To Helen Li and Squatchmoon,
Thank you Helen for you kind words, but let me if you will, expose a little of my heart and who I am – which is rare in these days of cyber anonymity. My name is genuine, I hide behind nothing and I am as real as my words.

My father had many faults and could be the epitome of bigotry; I will not express any more than that because the memory is painful. He was married six times, my mother and the mother of all surviving children was wife number three. With respect to your culture, can you imagine both the boldness and shame of telling one’s father to his face that you would never want to be like him? I say this knowing well many aspects of Chinese, Vietnamese, and most other Asian cultures.

I’ve had many friends in life from around the world, many: Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Canada, Europe, Africa, South and Central America, the list goes on. I point this out only to say that bigotry knows no geographical or ethnic boundaries – it is practiced everywhere. There are many ethnic groups in China, the predominate being the Han – what challenges face a young man or woman who wish to marry outside of their ethnic group? What happens to many non-ethnic Japanese who might enter into many clubs or restaurants in Japan? I could even tell you of places outside of Washington DC, where outsiders are not welcome.

A long time ago I loved a woman from Taiwan. Do you have any idea about the way she was treated by her own countryman, because of her feelings for me? She was loved by my family, excepting my father who never met her, and I loved her. Misunderstanding and prejudice drove us apart, but I’ve never forgotten her; she was the flower of the new moon, my Dim Sum. I say this because although there are many who cannot look beyond there own culture without prejudice, there are many who can, and many who have suffered in between.

I am reminded that many years ago in the riots of Los Angeles, a white trucker was pulled from the cab of his truck to be beaten and kicked by the mob; a stranger, a black minister, jumped into the middle of the crowd and laid across the trucker and with his own body shielded him from the crowd. Many people, myself included, would have shielded Annie with our own bodies had providence afforded us the chance.

For the Police, Yale President, Union people, Mayoral Office who have not divined what exactly they had done wrong, please go to YouTube, and log on to “nejournallive” and choose “Chinese students murdered second press conference,” and learn the compassionate way and tone to adopt. Your behavior was one I had never seen before. Do you go around and labelling different crimes and killings as “Snooker Hall Violence,” “Black on Black Violence,” or “University Residence Hall Violence.” Do you go around saying, “this has more to do with the darkness of the human soul rather than any security issues?” Do you start waving banners for “need to act against domestic violence or road rage” when the victim was not even laid to rest? Do you start mouthing “random acts of violence,” or whine to the press about “the phone calls waking up my baby” when a poor girl was killed like that?

Helen Li:
You bring up some interesting points, you are intelligent, and if you are willing, I will continue to discuss the world, Annie Le, and all other topics. This thread is dying, like Annie; it is passing from the world. You can reach me at asp1121d@yahoo.com, or we can to continue to try to communicate here.

Are you so sure that your country never had slaves? I am guessing that your ancestry is Chinese, but the Chinese traveled and intermarried through a number of countries. In any case it was often the prerogative of the victor in battle to enslave the losing population in one fashion or another, though admittedly your country might not have actively imported them from other countries as was the case both in Europe and America. In the case of America, it tended to be the victors of African battles who sold their spoils to white Europeans, who in turn tended to sell them to rich plantation owners of the south. The practice would have gone away anyway even if the American civil war had not occurred.

I can only say that in 1000 plus years of the recorded history of my family, neither indentured servants nor slaves were ever kept. The branches of my family are old, but at the same time all families are old, even if they have lost their memories.

Yes, I know all too well how China was torn apart by the British, Russians, Italians, many other European nations, and Japan; it is a disgusting chapter in the history of human race. However historically, the Chinese – at least their rulers – are not exempt from having cruelly at times extorted their own people – even in modern times.

With regard to Asian / Caucasian intermarriage, it was at one time frowned upon in this country by Caucasians as well, something – like you said – degrading. My family, excluding my father was very progressive, they had even encouraged me to marry Suechen, it was other factors which in combination to the prejudicial feelings of her people that destroyed what might have been a happier life; it is a burden I will carry to my grave.

With regard to Annie Le, I too would seek justice had she been my own child – but I cannot speak as if I were her family, that is a decision that they must make for themselves. As I said, I would support them, but not encourage them; they have borne this tragedy with honor and it would bring them no shame to stand aside.

It was reported that it was their wish that the ‘sealed’ affidavit remain forever sealed. You can guess what that may mean.

What the Le family wanted was for the sealed arrest warrant and eight search warrant to be sealed for the time being, not forever. They might be advised by the prosecutor and/or other legal sources to do so. There have already a lot of unspeakable slander on the victim; and one can assume that the accused would try to smear Annie during the trial. It would be his word against the deceased. Annie would be a victim again. So we don’t need to add to any speculation for the sake of her family.I believe in Annie 100%; that she was totally without blame. I can only speak for myself.

Alex, I am sorry if what I said in anger seemed to have included you in the vile band of racists and pond life who have been making scurrilous attacks on the poor child. I suppose I would “lash out” at anybody within touching distance right now. Thank you for clarifying what you meant, and your vote of confidence in Annie. You know how I am sure? Chinese people believe in physiognomy. Annie’s eyes were kind, gentle, and intelligent; and her face very open, friendly, and honest. I will eat my chopsticks if one single physical fact surfaces to prove me wrong. Granted, my certainty was reinforced by the legion of her family, mates, and superiors from coast to coast who sang her praises to the Heavens. The family is pleading respect for their privacy, and that is all I need to know. One can only imagine the kind of distress and grief they are suffering right now.

Not privy to the csse, I cannot tell whether this course of action will best serve to secure justice for Annie. But in many trials I have knowledge of, the victims’ loved ones would often prefer to have all the details presented to the world for that end. We had a particularly heartbreaking case in 2004 when two eight year olds were murdered, and their remains burnt and left in a ditch by a schoolcaretaker. His live-in girlfriend worked in a nearby school where the girls attended. A case of a cold, calculating psychopath and paedophile who used family connections to gain access to his preys. A little control-freak of a man with a disturbingly similar face of arrogance, deceit, seething mal-content, and viciousness.

I do think that violent and distasteful films and videos fuel base instincts in all of us. They insensitivied our feelings and corrupt our judgements and morals. People like them because it is easy to watch something like that than to play Mozart on the piano which takes discipline, time, and concentration. We are the product of parental guidance, school teachings, and self-motivation. To be good or evil, we do have a choice in a large measure.

The first stanza, respects various religions and only referenced heaven and angels, which is common to many beliefs, Buddhism, Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. The star “though small, “was in reference to her physical stature; its brightness, the purity of her soul – so bright as to chase away the night for an eternity. I have never referred to anyone before in this manner, nor may ever do so again. The second stanza was derived from her pictures; physiognomy as you described. The third stanza was the memories of her friends and family; “her presence would fill a room”, “her laughter would infect everyone”, yet also a presence that would remain with everyone long after she had left. The fourth stanza was the tears of strangers from around the world; I read hundreds of them, and the fifth stanza was all her unfinished dreams – though the ‘I Have A Dream’ foundation was on my mind when I wrote it. There are several stanzas which remain in my heart out of respect to her family and Jonathon, they are gentle and respectful and speak of the eyes which watch the passage of the star, but I considered them inappropriate as I am an outsider.

Now what is that … you say, my Robin
Now what is that, … my gold
Magic abounds in the world, not dead
a magic, very old

To see the magic just look in my eyes,
my Robin, at you it smiles
To hear the magic, to your own heart go
and listen for a while

I strongly agree with you closing paragraph, we are the sum of our lives and always have a choice. I leave you with this thought: 

From the well spring which is our birth, to the eternal seas which are our death; we travel a river of lessons. This river is fed by many tributaries which sometimes carry the waters of regret, becoming lessons themselves as they mingle with the waters of our life. We learn along the way if our minds and hearts are open, understanding the meaning of wisdom, or not.