Spring Break
The Daily OrangeCampus remembers Denny's case
By Kevin Sajdak
Posted: 4/11/07, 9:50 PM EST Section: News
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The gathering was part of a three-day event marking the 10-year anniversary of the attack, known now as the "Denny's Incident." The crowd gathered in an emotional remembrance circle in which participants - of various ages and races - stood side by side to oppose discrimination of any kind.
"To know you guys came out shows there's hope," yelled Jackie Cho to the crowd. "Hope never dies."
Cho is part of the 10-Year Remembrance Committee, the organization responsible for the event. The three-day remembrance is sponsored by the Office of Multicultural Affairs and Asian Students in America.
The exact details of April 11, 1997, remain unclear. What is known is that six Asian or Asian American students and one white student were denied service at a Denny's on East Erie Boulevard and were subsequently beaten by a group of white males in the restaurant's parking lot. Why they were denied service and how badly they were beaten remains in contention to this day.
Various members of the circle took turns reading aloud narratives in which anonymous authors detailed instances where they've witnessed discrimination.
In one, a Japanese man was said to have been beaten to death by two white males angry at the amount of Japanese automotive imports. Another described racial profiling at an upscale New York City shop. A third marked an instance where two SU students moved out of a Slocum Heights apartment shortly after finding their roommate to be African American.
"I think it's good that they are having a remembrance circle for something that shouldn't have happened," said Kendra Shorter, junior advertising major, after the circle disbanded. "Jackie's closing comments brought tears to my eyes."
The remembrance circle formed directly in front of Hendricks Chapel. A table with news clips, information sheets, remembrance wristbands and a sign-in book was off to the side. Two easels holding placards with various descriptions of prejudice stood on either side of the table.
About 40 people attended a press conference held several hours earlier in the Schine Student Center's Panasci Lounge in which Chancellor Nancy Cantor and former ASIA President Amnat Chittaphong were the featured speakers.
Chittaphong, who served as ASIA's president when the "Denny's Incident" occurred, spoke passionately about the event and the need for diversity in the SU community.
"What this issue should teach us is that some wounds are never meant to heal, but rather they leave a scar as a reminder of where we have been and how far we have come," he said. "Is this community ready to stop hiding its scar?"
The event's organizers hope to establish a remembrance committee made up of students, faculty and staff to keep the remembrance of the incident an annual event - an ideal Cho emphasized at the press conference.
"We will not allow this to go missing in history," she said.
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