I say someone because the college president’s message says that the handwriting is similar on all the messages.
http://www.southernminn.com/northfield_news/news/article_5227b1e3-0392-5b70-872a-5d473bbd7077.html
"…The student, Samantha Wells, said she found the note on the windshield of her vehicle outside Skoglund Center around 4:30 p.m. Saturday. The letter included her name and allegedly read, “I am so glad that you are leaving soon. One less [racial slur] this school has to deal with. You have spoken up too much. You will change nothing. Shut up or I will shut you up.”
It wasn’t the first instance where a student of color was targeted, according to students on campus. On April 23, another student reportedly found a note on his car as well. Then on April 24, student Sahreenah Glispie said she found a note in her book bag that said, “Go back to Africa…”
These problems are not unique to St Olaf. In 2015 Grinnell was caught up in racism on YikYak
http://www.thesandb.com/news/racist-posts-on-yik-yak-spark-outcry.html
Here is the link to the changes the students want made:
https://www.acollectiveforchangeonthehill.com/demands/
The sit in is over. There aren’t a lot of details available yet but the administration and the students seem to have reached an understanding.
http://kstp.com/news/st-olaf-students-reach-agreement-with-president-list-of-demands-following-sit-in-after-racial-incidents/4469459/?cat=1
Shoot. This complicates things. The Minneapolis paper has an update saying one of the racist notes was fabricated. I get the feeling it was not by the student who received it. So much stress caused.
I hope this doesn’t cause students and the administration to doubt other instances reported by minority students.
The article isn’t linking on my phone. I’ll add it in a minute.
I’ll have to say that the incident(s) have caused us to (perhaps) falsely judge St. Olaf and it’s environment. To the extent that my mixed race HS son crossed it off “the list”, even though it is local, and a logical safety for him.
Prior to this year I had never heard of St. Olaf as being a place where race was a problem. Maybe it still isn’t? The OP says that the handwriting was similar on all of the messages.
This is what the student who found the note on her windshield now says. It is a bit confusing but the paper commentators seem to think she is the one who wrote the notes.
Yes, that was my understanding. She caused a lot of harm to the school’s reputation.
This is unfortunate. A lot of people are trying to end racism, to make the world color-blind. Trying to show racism when there is none doesn’t help anyone and the dishonesty itself is wrong.
I don’t think it is a problem more than at any other college. There will always be jerks. There will always be micro aggressions under the guise of joking. At any college there will be people who just don’t get it.
If he is wanting to play sports I would ask some pointed questions. That is something that you should do everywhere.
The demographics of St Olaf today are very different from the St Olaf of 10-15 years ago and that is a good thing. Students are coming from across the country and there are more international students. There is better outreach to minority students locally and in the Cities.
I had often felt that the minority population had not reached critical mass. A person I spoke to disagreed. The idea was posited that because the numbers are greater, students can band together and support each other through tough times and feel like some one has their back if they speak up. It has given me something to think about.
A plus to the student body is that being nice is valued. The students that supported the sit in where attentive to the speakers and really wanted to learn and have change happen.
@prezbucky I don’t think it showed racism where there is none. There has been trouble with a couple of the teams and people mentioned things that were not directly related to these notes. I would take it seriously that things have occurred on campus that make students feel very “othered”. However I do believe that the vast majority of the student body want everyone to be welcomed.
I was only talking about the fake notes though – trying to make “someone” appear racist by assumption (that someone wrote the note who harbors racist views).
There is enough real racism to fight – people treating each other differently or having different behavioral or academic expectations based on race, not to mention systemic – that we don’t need the pretense. That just ends up getting the fringes in a tizzy.
The only people being “othered” at St. Olafs are non-liberals.
http://www.manitoumessenger.com/article/under-the-radar/
Really? And you know that how? Do you know any St Olaf students? Have you talked with minority students there?
I find it positive and heart-warming that the entire campus community decided to support a student who was threatened, how swiftly the incident was discussed officially, how the administration responded. All universities experience instances of racism. What matters is how the problem is tackled. If anything, this reaction makes me think more highly of the university.
In addition, it sounds like the college said they thought they were being supportive and inclusive but realized they weren’t and will work on it; and that the racist incidents may have targeted real students and created real fear and distrust, but not have originated with a racist student/adult from the community/town.
So, either there’s someone who makes such notes as jokes (but doesn’t mean the threats) and is racist if not dangerous - as such they should be expelled since St Olaf has an honor code and this doesn’t sound honorable at all. Or, there’s someone who fabricated one or several threatening notes (the said one note was fake BUT that the handwriting looked similar).
However, if I understand the article correctly, there isn’t someone who deliberately threatened people and meant it.