March 5, 2013 -- Updated 1651 GMT (0051 HKT)
Oberlin College in Ohio suspended classes Monday after a student
reported seeing a person resembling a Ku Klux Klan member near the
college's Afrikan Heritage House. FULL STORYhe reports of the alleged KKK regalia sighting.
March 5, 2013 -- Updated 0355 GMT (1155 HKT)
Canceled classes leave time to fight hate
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- A reported Ku Klux Klan sighting at Oberlin College prompts cancellation of classes
- Report is the latest in a spate of racial incidents at the Ohio college in the last month
- Students, staff and faculty rally for understanding Monday
The sighting of the
person wearing a white hood and robe was reported early Monday morning
and follows a string of recent hate incidents on Oberlin's campus that
have ignited shock and confusion among the student body.
"Since the beginning,
there's been anger, frustration, sadness and fear, but we've been
working toward a concentrated effort toward change," said Eliza Diop,
20, a politics and Africana Studies major who serves on the college
student senate and is a resident of the Afrikan Heritage House, which
offers programs focused on the African diaspora, according to the
college's website.
Oberlin College is a
small liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio, with almost 3,000 students.
An emergency meeting among the college's officials was immediately
called after the report.
In lieu of classes,
college administrators asked students, faculty and staff to "gather for a
series of discussions of the challenging issues that have faced our
community in recent weeks," a statement on Oberlin's website said.
"We hope today will allow
the entire community — students, faculty, and staff —to make a strong
statement about the values that we cherish here at Oberlin: inclusion,
respect for others, and a strong and abiding faith in the worth of every
individual," the statement said.
The programming included a
campuswide teach-in led by Meredith Gadsby, an associate professor and
chairwoman of the Africana Studies Department; a collective
demonstration of solidarity, including musical performances by campus
groups and speeches by campus leaders; and a community convocation
entitled "We Stand Together."
Gadsby has been teaching
at Oberlin since 2000 and was notified of the incident at 3 a.m., just
hours after the sighting was reported.
"I am worried about the students who have been made to feel incredibly unsafe and still feel targeted," Gadsby told CNN Monday.
The reported sighting of
KKK regalia is the latest in a spate of incidents on Oberlin's campus.
According to an incident report provided by the Oberlin Police
Department, 15 hate-related events have been reported in the last month
alone.
Police have not yet been able to substantiate the reports of the alleged KKK regalia sighting.
"We're looking into it
and we're trying to talk to other students to see if we can verify the
incident," said Oberlin Police Sgt. David Jasinski.
The other incidents have
included several posters containing multiple racial slurs and other
derogatory statements targeting various student communities placed
around campus. Other reports include various fliers placed around campus
containing racist, anti-Semitic and homophobic language and swastika
graffiti.
"The frequency of these
reports is astounding," Gadsby said. "Over the past four weeks, there
has been a concentration of bias incidents in such a short period of
time. I have no idea why this happened, no idea who the culprits are, no
idea where this is coming from. Students are saying this is not what
they came to Oberlin to experience."
Shimon Brand, Hillel
director at Oberlin for more than 30 years, noted that these types of
incidents were "exceedingly out of the ordinary" but that students have
worked together to address the incident.
"Instead of students
acting as victims, they reacted through understanding and engagement.
There's a real sense of sadness and anger, but solidarity that there's
work to be done," he said.
Chris Landers, 21, an
English major and co-editor-in-chief of the college's newspaper, the
Oberlin Review, said the paper has welcomed letters to the editor and
has asked people to contact the staff with any incident reports to
encourage dialogue from all groups on campus.
"We value every member
of Oberlin. We know we're not the perfect place, but we strive to be an
inclusive place. We want Oberlin to be a place where every member of
every community feels valued and feels that they have a legitimate
voice," he said.
These incidents are being investigated by both Oberlin College security and the Oberlin Police Department.
Scott Wargo, director of media relations for the college, said, "No official disciplinary action has been taken."
No official charges have been filed.
But Jasinski said that two students had been removed.
"It's an ongoing
investigation. At this time, college security caught a couple of
students. Two students have been removed from campus," Jasinski said.
Vicki Anderson, special
agent for the FBI's Cleveland Division, said, "We have been made aware
of the incidents and we have been in contact with the Oberlin Police
Department and will continue to assess the situation accordingly."
Gadsby still feels that
Oberlin can be a model for other campuses that have dealt with
hate-related incidents. She hopes students will continue to mobilize and
share information with law enforcement.
"It's good to be made
uncomfortable; it strengthens our resolve," she said. "These incidents
don't just happen at small liberal arts colleges. These moments are
important for students to engage in the theories that we teach and put
them into practice."
For students, it's a reminder that they need to remain vigilant in their fight against hate on their campus.
"Racism is still here.
It may not be as visible as it was 50 years ago, but it's still visible.
We still need to fight it, even in 2013," Diop said. "I want us to
remember that hate is unproductive. Love reigns supreme."
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