Saddened and upset by racial/anti-Semitic incident

<p>Have any of your kids told you (or have you read about) the racist incident that happened a week ago on campus? Someone/people drew a swastika and wrote the words "KKK" on the whiteboard of a dorm room where two girls (one African-American and one Jewish) lived.</p>

<p>At first, the Elon Local News reported it and interviewed Smith Jackson, who said he wasn't going to send a campus-wide email out (I think he said they way they usually do, or have in the past) because doing so just alarms people, etc. A few days later, they sent out an email saying things such as this won't be tolerated and so on. At Campus Coffee this week, some students organized a little rally in which kids signed a "We are Elon" poster and a student spoke. My daughter said you couldn't hear anything she was saying, because music was playing so loudly. </p>

<p>Several girls did write an open letter to the Elon community, which was wonderful and supportive, but the letter indicated that these kinds of things have happened with some regularity in the past. Needless to say, this is disturbing in the extreme. </p>

<p>President Lambert has said that increasing diversity is the university's number one strategic initiative. If that is the case, it seems to me that something needs to be done to really locate the students pulling this kind of stunt and expel them. Right now, Elon is about 85% white. If there are members of the school community who thinks it's funny to write that kind of thing, it only shows me that these kids desperately NEED to be around people who don't look just like them, because they are sorely ignorant.</p>

<p>So none of you have even heard about this? Or does no one feel like talking about it?</p>

<p>I didn’t hear anything about it. What a terrible thing for those girls! And for the school! Sounds like there needs to be more of a diversity appreciation program at Elon!</p>

<p>Yes, I have heard. I have been in touch with the mom from the beginning and my son is close with one of the girls. My s has been an active participant meeting with leo and Smith with other leadership from hillel and zbt. I think the school is taking this quite seriously. Leo and Smith are meeting with parents at Hillel on Sunday. </p>

<p>I have been impressed with the amount done in this short week. Unfortunately, as we know there is hatred in all communities that never gets addressed. Our children are lucky that Elon reacts swiftly and strongly. I am sure they are doing everything they can to find out who did this, and in the meantime educating the campus on diversity, tolerance, and acceptance.</p>

<p>If I hear anything else this weekend, will report back.</p>

<p>Good to know Lambert is meeting w Hillel and taking this seriously. But what about the black community at Elon? What is the president and administration doing in regards to that?</p>

<p>Our daugther told us about this when we were down for parents’ weekend. It’s very bothersome – sickening in fact. I’m not close enough to this situation to know anything but based on Leo Lambert’s comments at opening convocation and what I know of his vision for Elon, I would be very sure that this is being taken seriously. </p>

<p>I hope they can track down the students who did this and discipline them appropriately (and I also believe the expulsion would be appropriate). But please remember that whoever did this is not representative of Elon’s student body, nor of its administration. Elon’s vision, as evidenced by the new Numen Lumen pavillion and experiential programs, is to foster understanding and acceptance among the different religions and cultures.</p>

<p>Also remember that administration is not going to make all their discussions and actions public, nor should they. It sounds like Dr. Lambert is communicating with Hillel, and I expect that he’s keeping the black community in the loop as well.</p>

<p>Update: Yes, the administration has been very much in touch with Hillel and the Truitt Center. The big complaint is that it did take a couple of days for the response. What I find encouraging though is that the administration met with the student and parent over the weekend and the mom had a chance to voice her concerns on the process. </p>

<p>I asked if there had been the same level of support within the African American community and from the administration and I was told that the other student was quieter about the incident and did not want to draw attention. This might be the difference in reactions from the community. Also, this was the first incident of anti-antisemitism in the community and it was important for the issue to be addressed. I am very impressed that Hillel turned this in to an opportunity to encourage acceptance and tolerance for all and not turn it in to just an incident about antisemitism.</p>

<p>Here are the speeches from college coffee: [College</a> Coffee - “We are Elon” - YouTube](<a href=“College Coffee - "We are Elon" - YouTube”>College Coffee - "We are Elon" - YouTube)
Here is the news article:
[ 'We</a> Are Elon’ unites campus at College Coffee](<a href=“http://www.elon.edu/e-net/Article/78565] 'We”>http://www.elon.edu/e-net/Article/78565)</p>

<p>Thank you samtalya! It’s good to hear that the administration is responsive and I’m just thrilled at the way the Hillel is responding.</p>

<p>That video choked me up and made me love Elon that much more. What a great group of young people! I’m proud that my daughter is there.</p>

<p>I follow Elon Hillel on FB. They posted about these messages quickly, and I was able to follow the response and plans as they unfurled.</p>

<p>I, too, am encouraged that some students cared enough to organize the We Are Elon event, and that there seems to be understanding on the part of those students that even if they are not the ones personally affected or targeted by this kind of discriminatory speech, they should speak up and let it be known that they won’t tolerate it. That is vitally important, because as we know from history, bad things happen when otherwise good people just turn their heads and refuse to be part of the solution.</p>

<p>However, a simple Google search has made me aware that this latest incident is one in a series. I also found a number of stories in the Pendulum about incidents of bias on campus. </p>

<p>I think it is pretty difficult for those of us who are part of the white majority to truly understand what it feels like to minority kids when something like this happens on a campus where they are truly the teensy minority. I can tell you from parenting such a kid that it makes them feel isolated, unwanted, and sometimes even scared. It does not foster the feeling of inclusiveness and comfort that one would want to feel on a college campus. </p>

<p>To be honest, I wouldn’t really “get” this if I wasn’t the parent of a non-white kid. But after 19 years of parenting a minority kid in a majority white environment (for the most part), I have seen and heard quite a bit that is disheartening. One valuable thing my daughter has learned along the way is to tell the difference between someone who is truly ignorant and has never been around anyone with darker skin or different features, and when prejudice and hate are involved, such as in the incident in the dormitory there. </p>

<p>I truly do believe that most people are well meaning and good hearted and open to other people. Unfortunately, it’s the tiny portion of people who do things like write on dormitory whiteboards or use the “n” word or other racial slurs that ruin it for everyone. Let’s hope Elon administrators find out who did this and take the necessary action.</p>

<p>How terrible! I hope they find the culprits and kick them back to the stone age where they belong.</p>

<p>I am conflicted over what should happen to people who do this stuff. One part of me wants to see kids who do this crap made an example of, and I hope they catch the person and send him on his way. The other part of me thinks it is almost always better to build a bridge than a wall, because walls separate us from one another. Walls also polarize and make each side more angry. I am not sure what the solution is. Part of me would love it if the perpetrators had to sit down with the victims of the incident and some of their peers, along with a faculty mentor, and just talk openly.Maybe then some understanding could be reached, and some sense of friendship. I would be truly shocked if the kid/s who did this were kids who have been raised/attended schools in more diverse environments.</p>

<p>My S’s LAC in the northeast had a problem a few years ago where someone kept defacing walls and doors with swastikas. It kept happening in areas that were public but not highly visible (bathrooms in classroom buildings or the student union, side doors to dorms), over a period of several months. They were pretty sure it was a student, and pretty sure it was one person, but they weren’t having any success catching the culprit. The students held rallies and other events to show that they didn’t agree with or accept this type of behavior. I don’t know if the college eventually caught someone or if the person just stopped doing it.</p>