“Hate is alive every single day,” LeBron James said after one of his homes was vandalized with hate graffiti. “No matter how much money you have, no matter how famous you are, no matter how many people admire you, you know being black in America is tough,” James said. “And we got a long way to go, for us as a society and for us as African-Americans, until we feel equal in America.”
The horrific incident that occurred at James’s home has sparked a topic that has many people talking: hate graffiti. The racist events have occurred for years, especially towards African-Americans, the LGBTQIA+ community, and other minorities. Although the incidents have sparked some news, many people do not talk about hate graffiti that has occurred on college campuses, and fortunately Goucher College has been the site of very few hate crimes. Andrew Wu, the Associate Dean of Students of Goucher College, was happy to provide information about past hate crimes that has occurred on the campus.
“Since I have come to Goucher, hate graffiti has happened on rare occasions. In the last couple of years, we’ve had pockets of incidents that have involved racist and transphobic messages. Unfortunately, in my time at Goucher, we have not identified any individuals responsible for hate graffiti,” he said.
The lack of camera surveillance makes it tough for authorities to capture the culprit and when the culprit commits the hateful action, they tend to be isolated.
While Goucher authorities have not been able to capture anyone who has committed hate graffiti on the rare occasions that they have, the school has a low-tolerance for hate crimes. “If someone were found to be engaging in hateful messaging, depending on the person’s affiliation with the college and nature of the incident, a number of individuals/committees (including the Bias Education Response Team) would respond. Generally speaking, the college would have to determine whether or not that person should continue as a member of the community, and if they were, how to ensure that they are provided with educational opportunities to better understand their actions,” Wu said.
Many people have noticed an increase in hate crimes since Donald Trump announced that he was running for president. More crimes have been committed since he has become president.
“Because it’s very likely that these incidents are isolated and individual, it’s hard to attribute them to changes in the political climate,” Wu continues. “However, in my limited experience here, we have certainly experienced a greater number of these incidents since the beginning of last academic year.”
There are multiple ways to try to help prevent these hate crimes from arising on campuses. We could invest in camera surveillances that could be placed in appropriate areas so culprits can be caught easier, place stricter consequences against anyone committing a hateful crime, and promote social equality.
Although racism is alive and everywhere, Goucher students and faculty can still help promote social equality. Goucher is an environment that promotes love, safety, and comfortability among students and faculties. Although, as a collective, we may not agree on everything, we can all conclude that we try to do what is right for the students in the best way possible.
LeBron James quotes from: Chappell, B. (2017, June 01). Hate Is ‘Alive Every Single Day,’ LeBron James Says After Racist Graffiti Incident.
HANNAH CLAGGETT
