Posted on 05/10/2014 6:53:19 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Racial slur written on dorm whiteboard
When a housekeeper who works in Easton Hall arrived for his shift Friday morning, he saw offensive language written on a lounge whiteboard.
(Deleted) had been scrawled repeatedly on the whiteboard stationed in the communal room on one of the floors he cleans in the dorm, said the housekeeper, who asked to remain anonymous.
University Police received a call at about 9 a.m. regarding the hate bias incident and officers responded to the dorm to find the derogatory word written all over the whiteboard, police spokeswoman Sgt. Rosanne Hoaas said.
After the incident, Residential Facilities advised him to work two floors below his assigned floor for two days until the investigation was further processed, the housekeeper said.
Amy Martin, Department of Resident Life associate director, said an email was sent to all floor residents, describing the incident and reminding students that this behavior is unacceptable.
Printouts of the email were also posted on the doors and in the hallway, Martin said, followed by a meeting Sunday night to discuss the situation as a floor.
Some students have been apologetic, the housekeeper said, writing apology notes on his supply closet door.
“Many were very upset by the incident,” Martin said. “Many of them see [him] as a member of the community.”
This hate bias incident is different from vandalism, Hoaas said, as no one physically damaged the board and the words were erased easily. A hate crime is a criminal act with hateful motivation, such as assault or graffiti, she said.
“There’s no crime associated with it,” Hoaas said. “It is an incident; it is something we investigate, but there’s no criminal charges for a hate bias incident.”
If a student is eventually proven to be tied to the incident,, it could result in a referral to the Office of Student Conduct and the Rights and Responsibilities Office, police said, although the investigation is still ongoing.
“We really wanted people to know they need to be more respectful,” Martin said. “[The meeting] was for the students on the floor to process what the incident means with each other, but also to try to figure out if anyone has any information.”
While Martin said most students were shocked and disappointed the incident took place and Resident Life is taking steps to prevent something like this from happening again, the housekeeper said students and faculty alike have to remember to respect one another.
“Housekeepers here are not important,” he said. “We’re important in our own way, but to Residential Facilities and management, we’re just here to clean.”
Police said if students have any information about the incident, they should call University Police or submit an anonymous tip online.
“Even if whoever wrote it didn’t mean for it to impact others, it certainly did,” Martin said.
Now, you can’t be hanging a black nothing nowhere. That’s rasis!
If you are the housekeeper, just erase the board, already.
I'm sure glad I'm not a (deleted), (deleted), or a (deleted), I might have my panties in a twist, too!
Oh no, NOT a hate incident!
Quick - do something...
Maryland “Freak State” PING!
Good grief!
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