Male Student

Howard County police charged a Columbia man Monday with assaulting a student on the campus of Long Reach High School in Columbia on March 21. Donnell Maurice Vannison, 40, of the 8500 block of Tamebird Court, faces second-degree assault and disorderly conduct charges. He was released Monday after a court appearance and is scheduled for trial on June 6. Vannison, wearing a ski mask, entered the school property at about 2:20 p.m., police said. He approached a 16-year-old male student and struck him with a blow that grazed the boy's face.

Laurie S. Cook, the one-time Northeast High School teacher who was found not guilty of charges of having sex with a male student, got an "F" in court yesterday for not turning in her assignment on time.Anne Arundel Circuit Judge Philip T. Caroom dismissed Cook's appeal of her firing because she failed to file required court documents explaining the reasons for her appeal on time."Cook might have rejected an assignment or a test which a student wanted to turn in more than two months late, as this would be unfair to more diligent students," Caroom wrote.

Either Laurie S. Cook is a dedicated teacher who went out of her way to make sure her students succeeded in school, or she's someone whose influence on young people must stop now.That was the essence of 1 1/2 hours of closing arguments last night that brought to an end eight weeks of testimony that will be used to determine whether the former Northeast High School teacher, who has been accused of having a sexual relationship with a male student, should return...

University of Maryland College Park police are looking for two men who robbed a student at knifepoint Thursday evening. University police said the robbery was the first reported on the campus in the past 12 months. The male student was alone, walking from a parking lot near Cecil Hall, a women's dormitory, at about 11:45 p.m. Two men, dressed in dark clothing and wearing masks, approached and threatened the student with a knife, police said. Police did not disclose what was taken from the student, whose identity and age are not being released.

University of Maryland, Baltimore County police say a male student brandished a handgun in front of a female acquaintance on the Catonsville campus early Thursday morning. The woman, who is also a UMBC student, called 911 at 5:15 a.m., saying the man displayed the gun while they were in a car on the campus. County and university police responded, canvassing the area and going into residence halls, campus police Chief Mark Sparks said. Police located the man in Timonium by midday, Deputy Chief Paul Dillon said, and were questioning him. UMBC remained open throughout the incident, although a campus text alert system warned people to remain indoors, be cautious and delay visits to the school if possible.

Eight days, including a marathon, 12-hour session Thursday, weren't enough to conclude the hearing on whether former Northeast High School teacher Laurie S. Cook keeps her job with the Anne Arundel County school system.The teacher, accused of having a sexual relationship with a male student, testified for nearly two hours in her own defense Thursday.Her cross-examination, which could last an hour or more, has been postponed until 11 a.m. Jan. 11. Other witnesses will testify afterward in rebuttal that day. Final arguments will be heard Jan. 18."

Nearly a year after being acquitted of child sex abuse charges, Northeast High School teacher Laurie S. Cook begins tonight her fight to regain her teaching job.Six months ago, Superintendent Carol S. Parham recommended firing the 34-year-old biology teacher based on four administrative charges of alleged misconduct.The charges Ms. Cook faces are similar to those she faced during her trial, when she was charged with having a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old male student.In her letter, Dr. Parham also accused Ms. Cook of having an "inappropriate relationship of a personal and sexual nature" with a male student and of having inappropriate contacts with students and family members.

Five Hammond High School students who police believe were involved in a plan to sell and buy a handgun were arrested yesterday after the unloaded weapon was found inside a locker on campus, police said. School officials began searching for the weapon after a parent found a note detailing the proposed transaction and turned it over to school administrators, police said. The handgun was found inside a student's locker by a school official, who was helped in the investigation by a school resource officer, said police spokeswoman Sherry Llewellyn.

To say that I am disappointed to hear that Cardinal Gibbons School is closing is an understatement ("Disbelief, outrage in face of Gibbons' closing," Mar. 4). I am writing you this e-mail because I believe that the true Gibbons spirit and the quality of Catholic men that Gibbons produces are the very essence of what is at stake with Gibbons' closure. I believe that it is a moral wrong to deprive society of the types of men who would receive a Catholic education, specifically from Cardinal Gibbons.