Editor’s note: This editorial contains details about the usage of racial slurs.

It took Syracuse University officials four days to craft the vague email they used to publicly notify the student body that racial slurs against black and Asian people were written on two floors in Day Hall.

SU’s grossly inadequate response to this racist vandalism is, unfortunately, not surprising. It is just one of a number of racially-charged campus controversies university officials have withheld critical information about.

Ceiling lights in bathrooms on Day Hall’s sixth floor were pulled out and put in a toilet on Wednesday night. The N-word was written on part of the light, at least one mirror on the floor and on garbage cans. A slur against Asian people was also written on a bulletin board on the fourth floor.

Residents of Day’s fourth and sixth floors had at least two meetings since Wednesday. DPS Chief Bobby Maldonado and Chief Diversity Officer Keith Alford were at a Sunday meeting with residents of both floors.

Gov. Cuomo announced that the state police’s Hate Crimes Task Force and State Division of Human Rights will investigate the racist messages.

An email sent by SU to students Monday evening expressed “regret” for “not communicating more broadly.”

The way SU officials handle racism and hate on campus must change. They cannot continue to apologize away their administrative incompetence while students of underrepresented communities grapple with the reality that classmates who despise their existence pass them in the halls and sit next to them in class.

University officials need to provide students with details about who was responsible for the racist messages in Day Hall and, if students, what disciplinary action will follow. And SU must commit to developing standards for responding to bias and hate on campus that elicit more than an ambiguous week-overdue email and confusion on campus. The university needs a process that will make vital information readily accessible and involve students, faculty and staff in the decision-making process.

Hate incidents on college campuses are on the rise. White supremacists, in particular, have increased efforts to target campuses. Racism is not unique to Syracuse, and there’s little a single university can do to totally prevent hate from unfolding on its campus. 

But Syracuse owes students from marginalized communities the basic respect of having a plan.

SU has been on the receiving end of a number of damning public relations crises surrounding the university’s handling of racist incidents on and around campus — crises their own inaction often helped create.

February’s Ackerman Avenue assault on three students of color, which SU did not call racially-motivated despite victim and witness statements that it was, sparked criticism about DPS’s communication and transparency.

Members of the subsequently-established Student of Color Advisory Committee, a formal collaboration between students and DPS meant to encourage dialogue and feedback, met before the end of the semester last spring and talked on conference calls over the summer to discuss their plans for the year.

In September, The Daily Orange Editorial Board called upon SU administrators to listen to the concerns raised by the committee and act. But they haven’t. 

The check administrators continue to hand students — one that says SU officials “remain focused on a welcoming and inclusive campus environment, free of intolerance, bigotry and prejudice” — seems to always bounce.

And despite repeated run-ins with public outrage following mediocre responses to hate-related crimes, SU continues to make the same mistakes — mistakes with serious consequences for Syracuse students.

It’s time that SU acknowledges that public safety and security are more important than the preservation of its fragile, fabricated reputation. SU officials have to do more than talk about diversity or organize committees whose ideas administrators can easily brush aside. They need to act.

The Daily Orange Editorial Board serves as the voice of the organization and aims to contribute the perspectives of students to discussions that concern Syracuse University and the greater Syracuse community. The editorial board’s stances are determined by a majority of its members. You can read more about the editorial board here. Are you interested in pitching a topic for the editorial board to discuss? Email opinion@dailyorange.com.

 

Published on November 12, 2019 at 12:38 am

Contact: opinion@dailyorange.com