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Show U Professors an d Students Speak Out JENNIFER MITCHELL Chronicle Feature Writer The ignorance bred by this limited cultural identity is difficult to remedy. Samuels finds that the students who take his Ethnic Studies course "aren't the students who need it." e While perpetrators may not be toward taking steps broadening their social are becoming more crimes their awareness, "sophisticated," according to Dennis Willigan, an associate professor of sociology at the U. hate-crim- Campuses across the nation have seen a recent string of hate crimes. The crimes are not specific to any one group, social class, or geographic location. They have taken every possible form, and no location seems immune. For example, on the campus of Miami University in Ohio, two white students yelled racist and homophobic epithets from a car at Christopher Kindinger and Brad Waite. Kindinger, who is black, was then beaten with an axe handle. Waite ran for help. At Georgetown University, a menorah was repeatedly vandalized during Chanukah. Last semester on the University of Arizona campus, an Asian American student was assaulted, a Hispanic group received threatening hate mail, and a burning cross was placed in front of the Martin Luther King Jr. Building. Also, a homosexual student was stabbed outside of a coffee bar as his attacker yelled, "Jesus hates faggots." At the University of Colorado, 10 hate crimes were reported last year. The impact these events had on their victims cannot be measured, and yet, nationwide, they comprise only a small percentage of the 7,947 hate crimes reported on college campuses per year. College campuses are universally recognized as institutions that promote tolerance and Yet, according to Raymond A. Winbush, director of the Fisk University Race Relations Institute, campuses are the site of more than 9 percent of all hate crimes committed in the United States. Of those 9 percent, 66 percent of the offenders were white, and 17 percent were black. Offenses based on race were the leading form of hate crime, followed by crimes committed based on sexual identity. Wilfred Samuels, an associate professor of open-mindedne- "Today, we have a social-desirabili- ty a flyer during the elections because they assumed I didn't speak English. I crossed by their booths five times a day," she said. And students aren't the only ones to blame. Rohcm Bwika, an African American student, feels the most uncomfortable around professors. "The thing that shocks me most is the discomfort I sense from teachers. They treat you differently, always wondering if you arc 'up to par.' Many don't say 'hi' to me in the halls." Samuels also raised the issue of the accountability of university professors in dealing with this problem. Referring to an incident a few years ago where a professor made a racist remark in class, Samuels said, "We arc responsible for teaching our A we because influence minds. .biases, young in believe not affirmative action, professor may but he or she is responsible to teach it and allow the students to form their own opinions." However skewed statistics may be, the number of students appalled by these hate crimes far exceeds the number who participate in them. And the arc in a position to create change., according to Samuels. He suggests that the university "reinforce its commitment to this issue and take action wherever needed." For students looking to effect change, Samuels offers this piece of advice: "Be bold; do not be complacent. Point those people in a direction to learn the detriment of hatred." d Patel warns that even those who arc be in most the may taking part perhaps subtle, yet still painful, acts of intolerance. "They don't want to say anything rude, so usually they say nothing at all," she said. "That is the worst. Those who are 'different' don't want to be harassed just as much as they don't want to be ignored." bias. For instance, it would not be socially acceptable to say that you disliked black women," he said. Instead, a greater stigma has been attached to bigotry, and therefore acts of hatred "have gone from overt to covert; instead of throwing a brick through a window, a white college male would do something more subtle but equally psychologically harmful," Willigan noted. He also said that the increasingly subtle nature of hate crimes makes them far less visible. Few students, for instance, would report a racist comment to police. Further, some victims even those who have experienced blatant acts of bigotry feel that campus police have no clear course of action and find it futile to file reports. Other victims feel afraid or even embarrassed relaying such degrading and horrifying experiences. The result is seemingly insignificant numbers representing a significant social problem. The FBI's official statistical crime report shows only two reported acts of "crime by bias motivation" at the U in 1998, and only one at open-minde- d Brigham Young University. Such numbers seem drastically low. In proportion to the U's 26,000 students, one might expect that more than two hate crimes would have taken place in 1998. Willigan believes statistics and surveys on hate crimes fail to identify the prevalence of the crimes as well as other acts of intolerance. For some student minorities, it is the unreported derogatory comments or gestures that create feelings of isolation. Patel, a Muslim, feels that she is treated differently from other students. "No one gave me open-minde- English and the director of African American studies at the U, finds that hate crimes contradict the very essence of the college experience. "College is an arena where there should be open discussion and intellectual freedom, not bigotry," he said. He believes that campus hate crimes are the result of "ignorance based on a lack of familiarity and the way we are socialized. It is quite disturbing when children aren't able to intermingle with people of other races or sexual orien- tations. " Fatima Patel, a U mass communication student, feels the same disappointment with the prejudice she has encountered as a new Utah resident. "Here, personal biases are never tested... because everyone lives in his or her own bubble." you have been the target of a hate crime or have any Information about a hate crime that has taken place on If campus, contact the UUPD at (2677). 585-COP- S Students, faculty and staff can also contact Dean of Students Stayner Landward at or the Women's Resource Center at The Gay and Lesbian National Victims' Assistance Hot- ; 581-706- 581-803- line is 915-562-429- 6 0. 7. THE DAILY UTAH CHRONICLE 7 |
