The Daily OrangeBeyond the Hill | Hate crime shocks U of Maryland
By Veena Bissram
Posted: 9/16/07, 11:56 PM EST Section: News
Students at the University of Maryland held a speak-out Tuesday against a noose that was found hanging in front of an on-campus minority cultural center.
The Black Student Union spoke out against a three-foot noose hung from a tree branch in front of the Nyumburu Cultural Center, which was built specifically for minority students to meet.
Cathy Atwell, spokeswoman for the UMD Department of Public Safety, said the noose was removed before the police arrived at the scene. Only a handful of students and faculty members had caught sight of the noose, which was first noticed at 4:15 p.m. on Sept. 7. The university is still unaware of the person who committed the crime.
"After completing dozens of interviews, reviewing hundreds of hours of videotape from nearby cameras and examining the limited available evidence at the scene with the help of a federal forensics lab, no suspects have been identified," said UMD President C. D. Mote Jr. in a letter to the campus.
Paul Dillon, a UMD Public Safety spokesman, sent an e-mail to students and faculty members later that day. He referred to the incident as a "hate/bias crime" and informed the university community that Public Safety had begun its investigation.
Atwell said racism is not common at the university but "racial, religious, ethnic and sexual orientation crimes do have higher rates than others."
In his letter, Mote said that no notes or messages were left with the noose, but that the Incident Response Team (IRT) was called in to oversee any internal or external responses to the situation.
The IRT, a group of university leaders who are assembled to manage communications during any crisis, also initiated two student forums "to provide a platform for others to express their concerns about the incident and related campus issues. Both meetings were well attended, and though heated, were also focused and proactive," Mote wrote in his letter.
Andrew York, a doctoral student studying physics at UMD, received the e-mail altering students the day it was sent out and thought the situation was being handled properly.
The Black Student Union spoke out against a three-foot noose hung from a tree branch in front of the Nyumburu Cultural Center, which was built specifically for minority students to meet.
Cathy Atwell, spokeswoman for the UMD Department of Public Safety, said the noose was removed before the police arrived at the scene. Only a handful of students and faculty members had caught sight of the noose, which was first noticed at 4:15 p.m. on Sept. 7. The university is still unaware of the person who committed the crime.
"After completing dozens of interviews, reviewing hundreds of hours of videotape from nearby cameras and examining the limited available evidence at the scene with the help of a federal forensics lab, no suspects have been identified," said UMD President C. D. Mote Jr. in a letter to the campus.
Paul Dillon, a UMD Public Safety spokesman, sent an e-mail to students and faculty members later that day. He referred to the incident as a "hate/bias crime" and informed the university community that Public Safety had begun its investigation.
Atwell said racism is not common at the university but "racial, religious, ethnic and sexual orientation crimes do have higher rates than others."
In his letter, Mote said that no notes or messages were left with the noose, but that the Incident Response Team (IRT) was called in to oversee any internal or external responses to the situation.
The IRT, a group of university leaders who are assembled to manage communications during any crisis, also initiated two student forums "to provide a platform for others to express their concerns about the incident and related campus issues. Both meetings were well attended, and though heated, were also focused and proactive," Mote wrote in his letter.
Andrew York, a doctoral student studying physics at UMD, received the e-mail altering students the day it was sent out and thought the situation was being handled properly.
Be the first to comment on this story