Mercer County Community College opened a Human Resources investigation into events that occurred during a Nov. 12, 2025 class trip to the Apollo Theater in New York City.
More than a dozen students from MCCC’s African American History class and the Educational Opportunity Fund program attended the trip, led by Assistant Vice President of Academic Affairs Dr. James Whitney and his then-executive assistant, who is no longer working at the college. Students dined at Red Rooster Harlem before attending a performance of the play “Hang Time”. The incident occurred during the return trip to campus.
Separately, The VOICE requested copies of travel paperwork for the trip. After initially denying the request under different explanations, the college later said it had no records of the documents.
Two students who attended the trip, both requesting anonymity out of concern for potential repercussions, said they witnessed an altercation involving students during the return bus ride. They said Dr. Whitney, who supervised the trip, had already exited the bus at the time.
After stopping at a highway rest area, the group began departing for Mercer when the two students said they saw an argument break out on the bus between a male student and the executive assistant’s adult daughter.
The first student said the disagreement appeared to stem from frustration about the late hour and the length of the stop. She also alleged that the student made remarks about the executive assistant that escalated tensions with her daughter.
The first student said that during the confrontation—which lasted approximately 20 minutes—the male student and assistant’s daughter exchanged profanity and threats as the bus began driving again. The student also alleged that the male student became hostile and verbally aggressive toward the daughter, who responded similarly.
The second student said, “They were going back-and-forth, back-and-forth. A couple people were trying to get in between to mediate things, but it didn’t work too well.”
The second student alleged that both the male student and the daughter “were up in each other’s faces” but said he could not hear the full content of the argument.
Characterizing the altercation, the first student said, “It’s as if I was at a bar and then two people just started bickering and then they had to get pulled apart.”
The first student said the assistant intervened to de-escalate, warning that a physical fight would force the bus to pull over and delay everyone’s return to campus. The argument eventually subsided.
Both students said that Dr. Whitney departed the bus before it arrived at Mercer. The first student, who has been on several trips with Dr. Whitney, said, “He always does that—where he will leave before we get back to Mercer. But it just seemed, in my opinion, farther [than usual], because we were 45 minutes away from Mercer.”
The second student said, “Dr. Whitney, he got off as soon as the pit stop happened, and he was like, ‘bye guys.’” She continued, saying his ride came to pick him up “by the time that all of us had gotten on the bus and had left.”
After Dr. Whitney departed, students were supervised by his assistant for the remainder of the return trip. According to one of the students, the assistant appeared unwell during the trip and was seen being helped by her daughter during the rest area stop. It remains unclear to what extent the assistant was directly involved in the altercation.
The VOICE attempted to contact Dr. Whitney through email, phone, and multiple in-person visits. He did not respond to requests for comment.
Mark Chersevani, the Employee Relations Investigator leading the inquiry, confirmed that a complaint had been filed but declined to discuss details, saying the investigation would be submitted directly to the college president and could not be publicly disclosed.
The VOICE submitted an open public records (OPRA) request for the Travel Authorization Form and Justification Memo required for college-funded travel.
The college initially denied the request, citing legal exemptions for higher education institutions, and later said the ongoing investigation required the records to be withheld.
In a subsequent clarification, the college’s OPRA officer stated that she had attempted to obtain the documents but ultimately “was informed that these forms were not required for this student travel, therefore, do not exist.”
Mike Heistand, an attorney at the Student Press Law Center, told the VOICE via a phone consultation, “The information that you’re looking for, I think, ought to be clearly available to you. I don’t see that there really is an exemption.”
Dr. Deborah Preston, the college president, told the VOICE via email, “The investigation is a personnel matter protected by privacy laws. There will never be any information shared with anyone other than those directly involved and their supervisors.”
