Racial Hatred and Higher Education

Racially-biased incidents, like the highly publicized occurrences at Oberlin College, may not be aberrational in America’s academic environments.

Campus Racist Incidents Were a Hoax But Oberlin College Reiterates Its Outrage

After police said the series of racial incidents last spring were hoaxes, the college issued a statement that read in part, "These actions were real. The fear and disruption they caused in our community were real. We will not tolerate acts of hatred and threats of violence regardless of motivation."

Alice Walker Gets the Boot and Then a Welcoming Hand From the University of...

An invitation for Alice Walker to speak at the University of Michigan was rescinded. Walker, who is an outspoken critic of the state of Israel and an advocate for Palestinian rights, has now been re-invited to speak at a public forum on the University of Michigan campus.

White Student Union Established at Georgia State University

According to the group's website, The White Student Union will be "a place for like-minded White students to come together and not only celebrate their common European/Euro-American cultures, but to discuss issues that affect White people in the world today."

Hillsdale College President Criticized for Using the Term “Dark Ones”

Larry Arnn, the president of Hillsdale College in Michigan, came under fire for a remark he made at a legislative hearing in Lansing.

University of California Agrees to Settle a Race Discrimination Lawsuit

Christian Head, an African American professor of surgery claimed that he was intentionally degraded based on his race and that UCLA officials ignored blatant acts of racial discrimination directed against him.

Racist Prank at the University of Chicago

An African American mail carrier was asked to bring 79 packaging boxes to "Reggin Toggaf" (spelled backwards it's "Faggot Nigger") at a fraternity at the University of Chicago. The carrier made six or seven trips up the stairs to the fraternity carrying the boxes.

African American Student at the UC-Irvine Finds Racist Note in Her Backpack

An African American student at the University of California at Irvine found a racist note in her backpack while she was in the science library on campus. The note read, "Go back 2 Africa, slave."

Protest Held at the University of Southern California Over Police Treatment of Black Students

Black students at the University of Southern California claim that the Los Angeles Police Department exhibited racial bias when responding to noise complaints about end-of-the-semester parties held just off campus.

Penn States Creates a Joint Diversity Awareness Task Force

The goal of the task force will be to undertake a review of issues related to cultural awareness and to make suggestions and recommendations on curricular and out-of-class climate changes that could enhance the environment for all students at the university.

Racist Comments Painted on a Bridge at the University of Virginia

The bridge, which spans railroad tracks, is routinely used by students as a kind of message board to convey sentiments to their peers. But last week someone painted racist comments on the span.

Racial Incident on the Campus of Purdue University

A placard placed in front of a building on the campus of Purdue University was defaced with a racial slur.

Sonoma State University Students Address Bias Incidents on Campus

The student government group developed a bias report protocol after several bias incidents occurred on campus. In one incident, racist graffiti was written on the poster of a Black student group.

University of California Irvine Student Appears in Blackface on YouTube Video

Some members were shown lip syncing to a Justin Timberlake song. Then another member appears in blackface, supposedly playing hip-hop mogul Jay-Z.

19 Bias Incidents Reported at Elizabethtown College Since February 1

College officials stated that most of the incidents involved the writing or hateful messages or threats on message boards on the dormitory room doors of students.

New Report Finds an Average of 250,000 Hate Crimes in the U.S. Each Year

The number of hate crimes in the United States as reported in the new study by the Bureau of Justice Statistics is 25 to 40 times higher than the number of hate crimes reported in an annual summary published by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Towson University Refutes Allegations of an Unsafe Campus for White Students

A group calling itself the White Student Union has vowed to start unarmed patrols on the campus of Towson University in Maryland to combat "black on white" crime.

Oberlin College Suspends Classes After Racial Incidents

In February, Black History Month posters in the college's Science Center were defaced with the word "Nigger." In a residence hall, the words "Whites Only" were written above a water fountain and "No Niggers" was written on a bathroom door.

Ole Miss Issues Report on Election Night Campus Protest of President Obama’s Reelection

The co-chair of the committee formed to investigate the Election Night disturbance stated, "It wasn't a riot, but it was a painful, ugly night for many Ole Miss students."

Emory Students Apologize for Racially Insensitive Television Broadcast

In the satirical segment, viewers were asked to help identify students who "shouldn't be here and are only at the school because of affirmative action."

University of North Alabama Student Tweets Racial Slur Directed Against President Obama

A member of the university's football team used a racial slur on Twitter when the NBC Television network preempted a football game to cover President Obama's speech at the memorial for victims of the Newtown, Connecticut, school shooting.

Racist Graffiti Written on a Greenhouse at Southern Illinois University Carbondale

The incident prompted a Black student leader to write a letter to the editor of the student newspaper on campus saying that African American students on campus "experienced more pure, unadulterated racism in one semester" than in several previous years combined.

Photo of Student in Blackface Appeared on Duke’s Athletics Department Official Website

A student at a lacrosse team party blackened her face as part of her Buckwheat costume. A photo of the student at the party was posted on the team's official webpage.

President Obama’s Reelection Angers Some Students at Hampden-Sydney College

A group of about 40 students threw bottles, set off fireworks, and yelled racial slurs to protest the president's reelection. The college's African American president called the offending students "knuckleheads" and "bad seeds."

Students at Ole Miss Protested Obama’s Reelection

An Obama campaign poster was burned at the rally and students reportedly shouted racial slurs. Two arrested were made on disorderly conduct charges.

White Students at the University of Florida Attend Frat Party in Blackface

It seems that each Halloween there are stories of college students dressing up in blackface to attend costume parties. This year is no exception.

Racial Incidents Occur on Two Campuses

Fliers promoting White History Month were posted at Mercer University and vandals scrawled "White Power" outside the home of a Black basketball coach at Bowling Green State University.

EEOC Says HBCU Discriminated Against White Employee

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission concluded that "race was a factor in the terms and conditions of employment and WSSU's decision to terminate her employment."

UCLA Surgery Professor Files a Race Discrimination Lawsuit

According to his lawsuit, Dr. Christian Head was depicted as a gorilla being sodomized by his White superior in a slide shown at a presentation to the medical center staff.

Racial Incident at Cornell University

According to police reports, Black students were taunted and were the targets of bottles thrown from the roof of a fraternity house.

Nooses Found on the Campus of the University of West Florida

Two nooses were found on the campus of the University of West Florida in Pensacola. One was found last Saturday and a second noose was found on Monday.

University of California San Diego Agrees to Take Steps to Prevent Racial Harassment

The federal government and the university have resolved an investigation of racial harassment directed against African Americans on campus.

Editorial Cartoon Creates an Uproar at the University of Texas

The editorial board of the student newspaper issued a strongly worded apology for publishing the cartoon relating to the Trayvon Martin case.

Racial Incident Reported at the University of Wisconsin

Two Black women report that they were subjected to racial slurs and had a glass bottle thrown at them by members of a fraternity.

“White Pride” Messages Found on Towson University Campus

The messages reportedly were written by members of the student group Youth for Western Civilization.

Racial Incident at Purdue University

Someone defaced a photograph of a late African American Purdue faculty member with a racial slur.

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