Atkind may face felony animal cruelty charges
Alexander Atkind appeared in Ithaca City Court on March 23 where Tompkins County District Attorney Gwen Wilkinson asked for a 30-day adjournment so that felony-level charges of aggravated cruelty to animals against the defendant can be presented to a grand jury. Bail was set at $20,000 cash or $40,000 bail bond.

"Totally unacceptable and abhorrent." That was Cornell spokesman Tommy Bruce's reaction to the alleged torture of a dog by Cornell student Alexander H. Atkind, 23, of Lexington, Mass. Atkind is to appear in Ithaca City Court on March 23 charged with torturing and injuring the dog in an off-campus residence on March 8. On March 17, Atkind was arraigned in Nichols Town Court, Tioga County, charged with drug possession. He will reappear in court on April 3.

The statement by Bruce, who is vice president for university communications:

"We are distressed by the allegations regarding a Cornell student's torture of a dog. We find any abuse or torture of animals totally unacceptable and abhorrent, and the facts of this incident as reported appear to be truly egregious.

"Even though Cornell's campus code of conduct permits disciplinary action to be taken with respect to off-campus behavior involving exceptionally grave misconduct, federal privacy laws prohibit the university from disclosing information from student records, including disciplinary records. Consequently, Cornell cannot comment on any disciplinary action that may have been taken in connection with this matter.

"Because the incident happened off campus, the criminal investigation is being handled by the Ithaca Police Department, and is now pending in the Ithaca City Court. Therefore, we defer to the Tompkins County District Attorney for further comment about the criminal process. Similarly, we defer to the Tioga County District Attorney for any comments about the reported arrest of the same student on March 17, 2007, in Tioga County for criminal possession of a controlled substance."