The GoFundMe page for Engineering geology student Mizane Johnson-Bowman has received 22 donations as of Tuesday.
Credit: Daniel XuAfter witnessing an alleged assault and falling victim to an alleged robbery inside her apartment, one Penn graduate student started a GoFundMe campaign to alleviate her financial situation.
Engineering geology student Mizane Johnson-Bowman recounted this incident on her GoFundMe crowd-source fundraising page, titled “Adey’s Fund After Assault & Robbery.” She did not respond to a request for comment on this article.
The Division of Public Safety said it has conducted a full investigation on this incident and is working to assist the student with the help of the Division of the Vice Provost for University Life.
A regional communications manager at GoFundMe told The Daily Pennsylvanian the company does work with local law enforcement in cases involving criminal activity, such as this one.
On her GoFundMe page, Johnson-Bowman said only two weeks after arriving at Penn to begin her master’s degree, one of her roommates pulled a gun on the third roommate. This gunman allegedly played Russian roulette on the head of the roommate. She said that the aggressor was arrested and was placed in an “emergency dorm.”
After arriving back at the scene of the crime, Johnson-Bowman found that everything she owned was missing. She claims that her violent roommate had stolen everything.
In her description, she says that while she shuttles back and forth to court, the robber lives off-campus.
Her GoFundMe page was updated two weeks ago with a photo of her bedroom after the robbery, empty and filled with police. Thus far, 22 donations have been made, ranging from nine months to three days ago. The account has raised $1,305 of its $20,000 goal. The account was created with the intention of gathering donations to assist with tuition for Penn, lawyer’s fees and “to get some clothing on my back,” she wrote.
Correction: A previous version of this article said Mizane Johnson-Bowman allegedly witnessed an assault in her "dorm room." The event occurred in her apartment.
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