A couple weeks ago, East Carolina University Interim Chancellor Dan Gerlach was put on administrative leave pending an investigation after several photos and a video of him interacting with college-aged students surfaced online. From this, there are two possible outcomes: either Gerlach is reinstated, or he is permanently removed.

Interestingly, there are a lot of people, ranging from students to even a politician, demanding that Gerlach be reinstated. Some students have commented that Gerlach’s behavior was not creepy and was simply taken out of context.

It’s clear that ECU students admired the interim chancellor, as evident with a change.org petition for his reinstatement at just under 15,000 signatures. For comparison, there are around 23,000 students enrolled at ECU. After viewing the pictures and videos as well as reading students’ reactions, it’s clear that ECU should end the investigation and allow Gerlach to remain employed as interim chancellor.

Just from looking at the pictures and video, it is clear that there was no malicious intent when Gerlach was interacting with students. At no point does it show Gerlach inappropriately touching a student. While some people may see Gerlach putting his arm around a female patron as inappropriate, Club 519, the club Gerlach was located at, claims that Gerlach often puts his arm around patrons regardless of gender.

It’s also fairly evident from the video that Gerlach was being shown something on the phone, which requires two people to be close. With his arm already out from dancing, this can hardly be viewed as an arm around somebody in the traditional sense, much less in a creepy way.

Now, there is an argument that Gerlach shouldn’t be at a bar to socialize with students. An interim chancellor seen at a bar could unintentionally send a message that promotes underage drinking among college students. That is a fair point. There are better ways to interact with students that don’t involve dancing with them at a location that serves alcohol. That being said, Gerlach should be entitled to have some form of a nightlife regardless of position, and most bars in Greenville are bound to have some students in them. At worst, Gerlach made a mildly bad judgment call, but he shouldn’t be severely punished.

In addition, removing a chancellor — especially one that’s already an interim chancellor after the sudden resignation of the previous chancellor — can heavily disrupt how colleges and universities are managed. The goal of a university chancellor is to make sure their institution can provide the best education possible.

It would be foolish to remove someone from an important position over minor lapse of judgment such as simply going to a bar. By suspending Gerlach from his position, ECU is putting their quality of education at risk over a minor mistake.

Now, it is understandable how some might view Gerlach’s actions as inappropriate. However, the UNC System was quick to make a judgment before finding out the whole story. Although all of us are quick to make accusations before knowing all of the facts, the UNC System cannot fall victim to mob mentality. The UNC System needs pay special attention to the true context of Gerlach’s actions.