Hello friends, family, neighbors, San Diegans, and communities of USD and SDSU,

It is with a heavy heart and deep anger that my friend Shomrick Bhadra was wrongfully expelled from USD. To tell his story,

He has zero behavioral issues that put others at risk. After graduating from Patrick Henry High School in 2019, Shomrick has had aspirations to follow both of his parents' footsteps into Electrical Engineering as both of them are electrical engineers for the United States Navy by attending San Diego Mesa College for 3 years and then transferring to San Diego State University (SDSU) starting in the 2022 Fall semester. He has received a lot of help from his dad studying for exams, completing homework, and working on projects. However, Shomrick has faced a few setbacks while working on his major requirements.

First of all, he dropped out of a certain course because his dad had a negative perception of the professor and then retook it another semester. 

Secondly, he has faced some personal issues last year (Spring 2024) that impacted his mental health, his family, and even some of his friends. This has caused him at times not to be in a mood to study, eat, or sleep. His mental state has to some extent lingered into summer, which during the time he took 2 online courses simultaneously for 6 weeks. One of which (COMPE 375) he failed also because the professor was difficult, and that same course was the ONLY course he needed to be able to enroll in senior design in the fall. When Shomrick told his COMPE 375 professor about how he was dealing with personal issues, the professor laughed at him. Well not really, he said to Shomrick "Oohh ok sucks to be you".

Then came the Spring 2025 semester at USD. Shomrick was happy to be there for the semester and had some great interactions with people. 2 months into the semester came a sudden and unexpected event that derailed his educational pathway.

The University Administration made the "difficult" decision to expel him in the name of the USD community's safety, and the long (and even short) term consequences of that will be real and can be devastating.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When his mom Sukla called me on Monday April 7th about the decision, I we were absolutely shocked about it, and confused because he did nothing serious enough to justify disciplinary probation, let alone a suspension, let even further alone an expulsion. She believed that race had something to do with this, and Shomrick and his family are Indian (as in India, not Native American).

Later on, I called Shomrick for more information. These are the incidents that we believe led to the university’s decision without mentioning in the emails:

February – In the USD Veterans center, he told people about a bad day he had at SDSU last year, about laying on the streets, about a personal thing he went through, and about being handcuffed by police and taken to a mental hospital.

At some point, the DPS of USD told him no to talk to anyone.

Tuesday March 4 – USD police was called to one of the markets Shomrick was in, he was laughing so hard about something, but some people thought he was having a seizure and yelling at someone which is why they called the University PD. Shomrick told them to check surveillance footage, but no updates on that.

Wednesday March 19 – He was checking out a new building during spare time, saw an office he thought looked cool, went in, complimented the woman’s autographs and how nice her office there looked. He asked for her autograph, but she politely declined the offer, then he left peacefully and respectfully without any disputes.

Tuesday April 1 – He stopped by ID card services to say hello to the staff there, said how his classes were going, and said how he liked USD better than SDSU.

Shomrick has also discussed with the San Diego Regional Center about all of this, they also believe he should continue his time at USD this semester with some compromises, and communicated it to David Kaplan, USD Senior Director of Finance and Administration. But unfortunately, even with a doctor's letter, the university still did not reverse their decision one bit.

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---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: David Kaplan <dkaplan@sandiego.edu>
Date: Wed, Apr 9, 2025 at 9:40 AM
Subject: Re: Shomrick's autism letter/also request for reinstatement
To: Shomrick Bhadra <shomrickbhadra@gmail.com>
Cc: <studentconduct@sandiego.edu>

Good morning Shomrick-

Thank you for sharing the letter from your doctor. Unfortunately, we are still unable to change the decision to cancel your enrollment for spring 2025. 

Again, best of luck in your future endeavors.

Regards - 

David

 

On Tue, Apr 8, 2025 at 8:37 PM Shomrick Bhadra <shomrickbhadra@gmail.com> wrote:

Dear Dr.Kaplan,

I went to my Doctor, Dr. Douglas Daub. My doctor, Dr. Douglas Daub, does believe that ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) does play a role in the events at USD. 

Please look at the attached letter from him to you. 

I went to him on Friday, April 4th, unfortunately he gave the letter today, April 8th. That is why I couldn't send it to you earlier. Please take a look at the attached letter from Dr. Daub to you. Please reconsider your decision and once again, like I mentioned before, I'm willing to be escorted in and out of school by the escort services provided by the SDRC (San Diego Regional Center).

Thanks again.

Very Respectfully,

Shomrick Bhadra

 

On Tue, Apr 8, 2025 at 9:07 AM David Kaplan <dkaplan@sandiego.edu> wrote:

Hi Shomrick-

Thank you for the follow up email. As we discussed when I spoke with you and your father yesterday, unfortunately, I am not able to grant your request for reinstatement. I am sorry it didn't work out at USD this semester. 

I do wish you luck moving forward in your academic endeavors.

Best-

David 

 

On Mon, Apr 7, 2025 at 5:25 PM Shomrick Bhadra <shomrickbhadra@gmail.com> wrote:

Dear Dr. Kaplan,

Thanks for calling me a little while back.

As discussed, I called DPS to find out the charges against me. Like I mentioned in our phone conversation, the charges against me are not serious. I didn't threaten anybody nor did I curse. You can verify with the DPS. I only told some employees at Campus Card Services and some students how much I liked USD and I had a bad incident at SDSU.  

Once again, I did not threaten anybody nor did I curse at anybody and the charges against me are not serious. Like I mentioned to you in the phone conversation, if I'm reinstated, I will be accompanied by escorts provided by San Diego Regional Center (SDRC). 

I've spoken to my case manager, Ms. Fanny Lindvall (cc'd here) and they will provide the escorts. I will just do the labs on Tuesdays and come out of the campus. I will not talk/interact with anybody on campus. 

Please do reinstate me as there are only 6 weeks left in the course and I'm barely 9 hours away from getting a B.S. in Electrical Engineering. 

Thanks for all your help and consideration.

Very Respectfully,

Shomrick Bhadra 

 

On Sun, Apr 6, 2025 at 12:16 PM Shomrick Bhadra <shomrickbhadra@gmail.com> wrote:

Dear Sir/Madam,

I have additional documents to prove that I have autism. They're as follows.

SDS (Student Disability Success) Disability Support Documents from SDSU to show that I get extra time on tests, quizzes, and finals
document from SASC (Student Accommodation Student Center) from SDSU from my former Disability Counselor Lynn Gagne to show that I have Disability Act of Amendments Rights to provide reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities 
Please see attached below.

I have no political view/affiliation. Also I didn't say anything against the US government on campus or anywhere else.

I'm a US citizen by birth and both my parents are Electrical Engineers with the United States Navy.

My parents and I don't have any criminal records. 

Also I have never disrupted the class in anyways nor have I disrespected the professor during the class or office hours. You can verify with the professor.  

On Thursday, April 3rd, I just got a letter in my house's mailbox stating that I have been dropped from the University because of concerning behavior. 

I don't know what I've done wrong. I've only told some of my friends how much I like USD better than SDSU where I was involved in an incident, (SDSU police took me to the hospital, hospital evaluated me and let me go).

Once again, the USD Department of Public Safety asked me towards the end of February whether I was going to hurt myself and I said no. They also asked if I was carrying any weapon and I also said no. They searched my bag and found nothing. 

I was issued no citation. I did not get any verbal warning/citation/written warning or anything like that. The DSP only talked to me for about 2 minutes to check on me and let me go. That was a one time deal in February. 

I talked to my counselor Ms. Sandy at SDRC (San Diego Regional Center) on Friday, April 4th. She mentioned that escort service can be provided while I'm at USD. As mentioned in the phone conversation with Mr. Luis on Friday, April 4th afternoon, I will never talk to anybody on campus nor am I going to stay on campus before or after class. All the while, I'll be supervised either by my parents or the escort services. 

Please reinstate me before Tuesday, April 8th. On Tuesdays, I have lab class from 9:15 am to 12:05 pm. If I miss labs, the ELEC 310 (Embedded Systems Design) professor will fail me anyways. So it's very urgent. I'll check with you on Monday afternoon since the lab is on Tuesday early morning. 

After this semester, I only need 9 hours to get my B.S. in Electrical Engineering. My graduation will be delayed a lot if I cannot complete this course. That is why I'm so concerned. 

Hoping for your prompt reply.

Very Respectfully,

Shomrick Bhadra 

 

On Fri, Apr 4, 2025 at 3:58 PM Shomrick Bhadra <shomrickbhadra@gmail.com> wrote:

Dear Sir/Madam,

My name is Shomrick Bhadra and I’m a continuing education student at USD. The main campus in which I’m a student is San Diego State University (SDSU). 

When I was a student at SDSU, I had a bad day at the SDSU campus and I cried. Some SDSU student reported that to the University Police. University Police took me to the hospital. At the hospital, they evaluated me and found nothing wrong and let me go. That was last year at SDSU. 

I did mention this incident to a couple of my friends at USD Veterans Center and a Student Space Center. Someone must have reported this to the Department of Public Safety (DPS). DPS came checked me out and asked whether I’m suicidal. They also checked if I was carrying any weapon. I was not carrying any weapon. 

I did not get any citation either. 

-          I’m autistic. Please see attached. But I’m not suicidal. I didn’t threaten anybody in school, nor did I commit any crime. Also I never screamed or cursed at anybody.

Yesterday, I’ve been dropped from school. Maybe people think I’m suicidal. Due to my autism, I may talk a lot but I’m not suicidal neither have I harmed/intend to harm anybody. As the DPS found out, I don’t carry weapons either.

I have only 7 weeks left in the semester. I promise not to talk to anybody on campus anymore. I’ll just come to the campus, take the class, and leave. My parents can escort me.

If required I can report to the DPS when I come in and again report to the DPS when I’m leaving. Also DPS is more than welcomed to monitor me. 

Like I mentioned before, I will be in the USD campus for 7 more weeks (end of spring 2025). I really really need this ELEC 310 course since I’m only 9 hours left to get my B.S. in Electrical Engineering. 

Once again, I’ve not committed any crime, or carrying any weapon, and I’m not suicidal. Please do reinstate me.

Very Respectfully,

Shomrick Bhadra

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On the same day the mom called me, Shomrick and his dad went to a scheduled appointment with their primary care physician to discuss these matters, and even he agrees with us.

 

 

The University's wrongful decision is devastating for Shomrick, his family and friends, and the real-world network of electrical engineers. It is also an assault on his rights, his education, his social life, racial/disability justice, and our democracy.

USD is a predominantly white school in terms of both students and faculty. It's also a private college which means it might be mostly wealthy families that can afford the tuition here. The median family income out of all students here is $158,000, and the average USD faculty salary is $118,373.

I believe USD expelling Shomrick was not only racially motivated but also entitled mindsets and also people's unwillingness to listen to and acknowledge what he has to say.

When parents are wealthy, they may tend to have bad habits of handing money and lavish lifestyles to their children and adult children on a silver platter. It's one thing to be able to pay for their children's private college tuition with zero financial aid, but also another thing to pay for them to be in social sororities (Panhellenic)/fraternities (IFC). Parents paying for their children to go on trips with their friends to Hawaii, Cabo, Cancun, Central America, Bahamas, and Europe is quite on the next level. Any of these and even combinations of them may risk them developing entitled mindsets, the less they've worked days in their lives that would be equivalent to minimum wage jobs. The wealthy people are more privileged than Shomrick and his family, and as he is also not in a fraternity at all, he is far less likely to boost his ego and let it get the best of him. When students come from wealthy families, they might be more likely to be think "We didn't ask for your life story" about Shomrick when he talks about what he's been through since last year, which he has each and every single right to tell to who he allows into his business. As long as he waits for a short pause in a conversation to introduce himself and ease into talking about his story peacefully and not when someone else in the group is talking simultaneously, then he's good.

Another thing is the "social cues". As I also have autism myself, I am also speaking from my life experiences. Yes Shomrick understands basic social cues including the one above, but there are complex ones we don't understand because we are on a lower social skill level than typically most people. No one can help with the fact that we don't learn as fast but we will learn advanced social cues at our own paces. I feel like they get shoved into our mouths or thrown at us like rocks. I think there are some of these more than basic social cues are hard to read, racist, and ableist. No speech language pathology group/class let alone surrounded by a bunch of other low/basic level socially skilled people can ever help us long term, but what will help autistic people long term is friends and acquaintances with advanced social skills actively inviting them to hang out individually, with groups, at parties, birthday parties, events, high school class reunions/socials, etc, and actively trying to have social conversations with autistic people like myself and Shomrick. That will help us better learn advanced social skills naturally, rather than us autistic people climbing up to another level. This is the same concept with helping people with neurological disorders academically through IEP's, education specialists co-teaching, and special education classes mild-moderate and moderate-severe.

Sanctions - The Office of Ethical Development and Restorative Practices - University of San Diego

I read this page, and there are ELEVEN (11) sanctions of how misconduct would be handled, with expulsion being the LAST thing to do. Shomrick also did not commit any academic dishonesty, let alone plagiarism.

In comparisons to other things people did, some are worse than what Shomrick did but they were not given disciplinary probations, let alone suspensions, let even further alone expulsions. Just a "slap on the wrist". There was one time in 4th grade at recess I ran near a soccer game, a paraeducator on recess duty blew her whistle and called me over and ran away from her. Again she blew her whistle and called me over, yet I still ran away looking at her the whole time. That is worse than what Shomrick did. As a consequence for my action back then, I was assigned an additional homework assignment, which was to handwrite copy an essay of half a page on why it's important to treat adults with respect even when there is a problem, and then answer a few questions below the essay. Recently, a fraternity had a Minecraft movie night at the Cinemas, and when they went wild about a particular scene, they made a huge mess in the theater by throwing their popcorn and cups. That is more disrespect to workers especially ones making minimum wage, because they would have to clean up the mess that was left behind. And we never know, some of those minimum wage workers might be middle age adults, have college degrees but can't pursue their careers due to high competition, paying for PUBLIC college tuition and student loans, are women, are parents, or work paycheck to paycheck full time mainly to make ends meet by paying for groceries, provide for children, pay for utility bills, home insurance, HEALTH insurance, and auto insurance (absolutely needed in certain scenarios). With all of this said, Shomrick is a great guy who respects people around him especially at USD.

The next steps to take action are to pressure and persuade the USD administration publicly to reverse their decision, via attorneys or lawyers, as well as signing this petition, and sharing it with friends, family, neighbors, and more. I would like to get it to the point where we would be able to organize a protest (if USD doesn't reverse their decision) and definitely receive media coverage.

USD people to contact:

David Kaplan - dkaplan@SanDiego.edu (619) 260-4748

studentconduct@sandiego.edu

Thank you everyone for reading all of this, have a great day, and I am looking forward to growing this movement!

Brandon