As the wife of John Collins, I'd like to thank Rick for his courage to post his strong feelings in a climate where many people are unwilling to make public comments at all. John has been cleared of any criminal charges, everyone knows he is no threat at all to Stacia Sower, and there is little doubt that she will be unsuccessful in her attempts to impose a permanent restraining order on him. Yet the university has stated that this does not affect their position on his standing at the university, meaning that it does not affect their decision to uphold the ban. What is the basis for the ban?

I am not in any way trying to belittle his actions, but does kicking a garbage can and yelling warrant this response? No one at UNH can seriously believe that he is going to kill Stacia Sower. He has explained that those words were in response to Bernie's comments that he "release his anger". His response "Do you mean like this???..." kicks a garbage can, yells, etc... while inappropriate, were clearly mocking and not literal. So why the overly harsh response? It is very hard to understand.

He has been banned from campus now for over 4 months. He has been kept from his work, his graduate student has been put on hold, and he isn't even allowed to drive onto campus to drop off his 14 year old son at hockey practice. Instead of being dropped off close to the locker rooms, he has to walk several hundred yards from the main street (technically Durham, not UNH) with a heavy bag full of hockey equipment. It has affected his ability to assist his oldest daughter, a freshman at UNH. He can no longer take our 2 year old daugther to feed the horses at the UNH stables, a pastime they both immensly enjoyed. Why???? He has never been told the reason by the university. The judge did grant a temporary restraining order to Stacia Sower until the matter could be heard in the courts, but they indicated that all he had to do was avoid her as best he could. So why the response from UNH?

Several people have testified strongly on John's behalf at the criminal trial and at the restraining order hearing and it is very much appreciated, especially because of the vindictive nature of who we are dealing with. But given the university's position, I am afraid that it is time to do more.

I wholeheartedly agree with Rick when he states that the university should be ashamed that they have asked John to write a letter of apology to Stacia Sower. Fine, he can apologize for kicking a garbage can and yelling, but how about making her apologize for trying to ruin his life?