( CNN ) -- Three San Jose State University students in California have been charged with racially bullying their black roommate by clamping a bicycle lock around his neck and decorating their four-bedroom suite with a Confederate flag , Nazi symbols , photos of Adolf Hitler and a white board with a racial epithet , prosecutors said Thursday . The three students -- Logan Beaschler , 18 , of Bakersfield ; Joseph Bomgardner , 19 , of Clovis ; and Colin Warren , 18 , of Woodacre -- are charged with misdemeanor hate crime and battery , the Santa Clara district attorney 's office said . Neither the three students nor their attorneys could be immediately reached for comment . Beaschler was booked in the Santa Clara County Jail on Thursday , with bail set at $ 15,000 . The defendants face a maximum sentence of one year in county jail if convicted , prosecutors said . The 17-year-old roommate who was the alleged victim was n't named by prosecutors . He suffered a minor injury when he fought off the bike lock around his neck , prosecutors said . `` I ca n't believe in the year 2013 that we 're talking about an African-American student being treated this way , '' District Attorney Jeffrey F. Rosen told CNN . `` We 're taking this case very seriously . '' The defendants are accused of nicknaming their black roommate `` Three-Fifths , '' an apparent reference to a U.S. constitutional provision that counted slaves as `` three-fifths of all other persons , '' prosecutors said . When the African-American student objected to that name , the three roommates in the campus housing began calling him `` Fraction , '' the prosecutor 's office said . The alleged harassment began in August and lasted through October , prosecutors said . Are we too quick to cry 'bully ' ? San Jose State 's president , Mohammad Qayoumi , said in a letter to the student body Thursday that the three students have been suspended . `` Let me be clear : I am outraged and saddened by these allegations . They are utterly inconsistent with our long cherished history of tolerance , respect for diversity and personal civility , '' Qayoumi 's letter said . Members of the alleged victim 's family released a statement saying they were `` deeply disturbed by the horrific behaviors that have taken place against our son . '' `` Our immediate focus is his protection , '' the family said . `` We have taken a stand on this matter . Our response prompted the community to be alerted of the appalling conduct of the students involved . '' A total of eight men were living in the four-bedroom suite , but the remaining four students turned their back on the racial harassment , the prosecutor said . `` The other four were aware of this ( but ) ... did not stand up '' and allowed the harassment , Rosen said . Parents saw the Confederate flag in the dorm suite and `` the N-word scrawled on a white board , '' Rosen said . When friends become bullies . At least one of the defendants tried to downplay the harassment , and the three defendants then wrote a note to the African-American roommate , asking him to join their group , Rosen said . But the black roommate objected to the harassment and sometimes `` barricaded '' himself in his room , Rosen said . `` The young man in this case was terrorized . It was difficult for him to study , '' Rosen said . `` He told them not to do this to him . '' Qayoumi said the university police immediately began investigating the allegations `` the day our housing staff learned of the situation . '' The same day the investigation began , two of the roommates were moved to other residence halls and placed in single rooms . `` A third suite-mate , originally believed to be a bystander , was identified yesterday as an offender . We regret he was not removed from the victim 's suite before today , '' Qayoumi said . Bullying among boys easily dismissed ? CNN 's Joseph Netto contributed to this report .
The three students have been suspended . One man booked into county jail on Thursday . 3 San Jose State University students shared a four-bedroom suite with black roommate . Score: 6