Western Oregon University has declined to reinstate Jeff Maxwell, the Lebanon resident suspended from the campus through June 12.

He had been arrested on Jan. 28, but then released without charges after being on the Monmouth campus with a pocket knife and loaded small pistol in his pockets. He also had an unloaded rifle in the cab of his parked pickup truck.

The university told him it kicked him out not for the pistol, a .22 caliber two-shot derringer, but for the knife and rifle.

In a Feb. 27 letter from Tina M. Fuchs, acting vice president for student affairs, the university dropped one of its sanctions: Maxwell will not have to complete a psychological evaluation to prove he is no danger to himself or others. But he remains suspended and must write a 10-page paper on obeying the law.

Maxwell released the letter on Monday afternoon. It said he was suspended for having what Fuchs described as a "tactical knife" on him and an unloaded semiautomatic rifle in his parked pickup truck.

The university did not explain why the charge involving the loaded pistol was dropped and the others were not. Maxwell has a state concealed handgun license issued by the Linn County sheriff, and Maxwell's lawyer says this allows him to carry a pistol on campus.

Two assistant state attorneys general, Gary Cordy and Rob Connell, attended Maxwell's suspension hearing on Feb. 10 at the college's request, Fuchs wrote.

By dropping the pistol complaint, the state may have wanted to avoid an apparent conflict between state law, which allows license holders to carry concealed weapons, and campus rules, which forbid it.

In her letter, Fuchs described the knife as having a blade 61/2 inches long. In his appeal, Maxwell had called it a "normal folding knife" with a 4-inch blade.

The university in Monmouth, citing privacy rules, has declined to speak about the case with the Democrat-Herald.

Maxwell, a junior in psychology who served six years in the Marine Corps and works nights at an Albany group home for disabled adults, said he wants to talk with his lawyer, James Leuenberger of Lake Oswego, about his next step. His legal representation was arranged by the Oregon Firearms Federation.

Leuenberger was the Constitution Party's candidate for attorney general last year. He also represented a Medford teacher who wanted to carry a pistol at work.