Black Students Speak Out After Hate Crime in Day Hall
Recent news about racist vandalism in a freshman dorm has thrown the Syracuse campus into the national spotlight.
Last Wednesday, an incident occurred on floors four and six of Day Hall, a freshman dorm. At some point in the middle of the night, several bathrooms were vandalized, light fixtures were taken down in the bathrooms and thrown into the toilet. Writing found scrawled on the walls and mirrors contained racially motivated hate speech directed toward Black students. The writing included racial slurs, proclaiming “I hate N-word,” and various students of color on the floors also reported that their name tags were taken off their doors.
Though the incident occurred on Wednesday, the vast majority of the student body was not made aware until nearly a week later. Even the Students of Color Board of DPS, which was intended to help improve relations between campus security and students of color, did not know about the situation until Renegade Magazine posted about the incident on Monday morning.
Following the incident, Bobby Maldonado, the chief of DPS, and Dean of Students Marianne Thompson held a meeting with the members of floors four and six to “address” the situation at hand. Instead of assuring students that action will be taken, however, they made excuses about the state of mind of the perpetrator, and the university’s sole concern was that no pictures of the incident were publicized.
Sophomore Kai Wright spoke at J.U.M.P.’s Middle Ground meeting about the need for more resources for Black students at SU.
photo by Sam Berlin
Frustrated students took to social media on Monday to share their concerns and demand appropriate responses, posting pictures and voicing opinions about the university’s handling of racism. Soon after, several student-run organizations such as “Renegade Magazine,” “The Daily Orange,” Resident Housing Association, and Students Association all publicly expressed support for the students of color on campus.
It wasn’t until Monday evening following the online commotion that Maldonado finally issued a statement claiming that DPS was investigating the incident. Chancellor Kent Syverud also released a statement this morning: “It’s clear that the members of the leadership team should have communicated more swiftly and broadly.”
Some students fear the university’s reaction is insufficient. Yesterday, concerned students of color and allies congregated in Watson Auditorium for a forum meeting to discuss the next steps. “I felt as if my safety was jeopardized,” said a student at the meeting, referring to the university’s unwillingness to be held accountable for the blatant hate crime.
Many other prior incidents were brought to light in the meeting as well. A Syracuse senior said that there has been at least one racially motivated incident every one of her four years at the university. The meeting focused on the safety of students of color on campus.
Lujane Juburi, the Student Association Diversity Affairs Committee Co-Chair, was also present at the meeting and said that, “There is no specific policy in place that prevents students from saying racial slurs unless it is directed towards a specific individual.”
J.U.M.P. Syracuse and members of the student community are planning a variety of events in response to the incident. There will be an open student forum facilitated by RHA tonight at 8 p.m. in Lyman Hall, where administration members will also be present.