Silence is not golden

David Cash Jr., friend of Jeremy Strohmeyer, who was charged with killing a 7-year-old girl in a bathroom stall of a Nevada casino, said last year he was told about the slaying but opted to keep quiet.

Cash, 19, witnessed at least part of the attack, which included molestation and strangulation, walked away, said nothing about it and broke no state law, according to Nevada police.

The victim's mother is now rightfully starting a campaign, gathering support to charge him with criminal culpability. KLSX-FM talk-radio show hosts, Tim Conway Jr. and Doug Steckler, have joined her, waging an all-out war on his credibility, what is left of it. A bus filled with protesters cruised to UC Berkeley, Cash's campus, on Monday night, with a plan to pressure officials into expelling him.

If Cash did not break any laws, we obviously cannot prosecute. However, it is his apathy toward the situation that engenders such demonstrations. He is asking for commotion when he says on the radio that he is not going to get upset over somebody else's life.

The campus should not look to take away Cash's education until a successful prosecution has been completed. It has no authority to act as a judge. Of course, protestors are welcome to sway others into following their cause, but in the end, the situation will remain between Cash and the law.