Since March 26, Albion College has been plagued with racist and anti-Semitic incidents on campus, and students have come together in the wake. The individual responsible for one of the incidents, that in Mitchell Towers, has recently been identified as a 21-year old Black male and has since been removed from campus (Photo by Savannah Waddick).
“Moving forward, I think we can try to get closer with other people and try to be more accepting of others and their differences. We’re not the same, obviously. I know it’s probably hard; people are raised differently. I would say just have an open mind. Listen to other people. When they try to talk and share their experiences, don’t dismiss it and say that it couldn’t have happened because it does. Try to be there to support one another. Be accepting,” said Brooklyn Tripp, a freshman from Detroit (Photo by Catherine Silvestri).
“I feel like, when it comes to change, a lot of us get frustrated because we believe that change should be now. I’ve realized over the last few years being here that change isn’t going to come tomorrow. We aren’t going to end racism tomorrow just by standing out here. We need to come together and show administration and professors that we are here and we need them to hear us. Change is a challenge for people to get out of their comfort zones,” said Adriana Valerio, a junior from Chicago (Photo by Catherine Silvestri).
“Start the work within. For every finger you point, four are pointed back at you. So before you try to hold someone else accountable for something you think they are doing wrong, make sure to hold yourself accountable for all your shortcomings. Make sure your boundaries are explicit. What you tolerate, what you don’t tolerate. I think that’ll help our community here on Albion. Just try to work on you and that will go a long way,” said Jayson Sawyer, a senior from Chicago (Photo by Catherine Silvestri).
“Listen to each other. Have open dialogue and don’t be afraid to ask questions. I don’t want to speak for all people of color but I know myself, I’m not one to flip out on you if you ask me a genuine question. There’s a difference between being funny and asking a genuine question. Like, I don’t know this about you or your culture. Listen to each other and answer questions that people ask them. How do you expect to get along with or coexist with a group of people on campus that you don’t even know? If we want to live together without hating each other we have to get to know each other and I feel like the only way to do that is to listen, have open dialogue, and ask questions,” said Akaiia Ridley, a junior from Albion (Photo by Catherine Silvestri).
“There is still so much that is needed to be done to make Albion a place where everyone belongs. It does hurt to see that, but at the same time we still have to fight wrongdoing no matter who is behind it. The best next step is creating that communication with the administration to drive home policies and plans that will make permanent changes to Albion’s campus that will uphold students feeling welcomed on campus,” said Domonic McDonald, a junior from Albion, via email (Photo Courtesy of Domonic McDonald).
occurred as well. It’s times like these when students, staff and faculty look toward the future and look toward change. Albion students provide advice on how to be part of the change.
5 Comments
The overwhelming majority of these incidents turn out to be hoaxes perpetrated by the “victim”. If racism was so prevalent in America, and on college campus, then why do they feel the need to create these hoaxes. There is a website that documents these false racial incidents. Look it up!
If there is a website that documents this, then please post it. Saying for someone else to “look it up” or “do your homework” is tantamount to saying that the source you are using is not reputable and won’t face scrutiny, while still expecting that your statement will be accepted at face value.
I’d like to know why this anti-Semitism is being tolerated, and why Albion College hasn’t filed charges and expelled someone for this anti-Semitic behavior like they promised. And, why hasn’t anyone on the Pleiad, or any student organization, demanded harsh punishment for the perpetrator? Also, why have there been no quotes or editorials from the Albion College Hillel?
Bill, that is a “database’ put together by Laird Wilcox, who does not do any statistical analysis of hoax versus confirmed cases. Rather it is a collection of articles of varying levels of quality. When I ask for a source I mean a neutral source like the Department of Justice. Many of the sources in the webpage you quoted are articles taken from dubious informational websites like legalinsurrection.com and reddit.com. There are some that are in reputable journals, but it is not cross-referencing against substantiated claims. If I compile such a database of sightings of Sasquatch, I am sure I can get volumes of so called reports, but it doesn’t really stand up to scrutiny. The FBI states that around 7,000 hate crimes are reported a year. Your database has 415 (though oddly starts numbering at 52, so maybe it is only 363), began in 2012, and refers to articles as far back as 1980. 40 years of reporting times 7,000 is approximately 280,000 crimes, and he has been able to document approximately 400 hoaxes. That would account for .14 percent of reports. And again, it is hard to give credence to a post on reddit.com. Those are hardly damning numbers. I would not say that if I had a .15% chance of winning the lottery that I had “overwhelming” odds.
The overwhelming majority of these incidents turn out to be hoaxes perpetrated by the “victim”. If racism was so prevalent in America, and on college campus, then why do they feel the need to create these hoaxes. There is a website that documents these false racial incidents. Look it up!
If there is a website that documents this, then please post it. Saying for someone else to “look it up” or “do your homework” is tantamount to saying that the source you are using is not reputable and won’t face scrutiny, while still expecting that your statement will be accepted at face value.
Here you go Kevin: http://www.fakehatecrimes.org
I’d like to know why this anti-Semitism is being tolerated, and why Albion College hasn’t filed charges and expelled someone for this anti-Semitic behavior like they promised. And, why hasn’t anyone on the Pleiad, or any student organization, demanded harsh punishment for the perpetrator? Also, why have there been no quotes or editorials from the Albion College Hillel?
Bill, that is a “database’ put together by Laird Wilcox, who does not do any statistical analysis of hoax versus confirmed cases. Rather it is a collection of articles of varying levels of quality. When I ask for a source I mean a neutral source like the Department of Justice. Many of the sources in the webpage you quoted are articles taken from dubious informational websites like legalinsurrection.com and reddit.com. There are some that are in reputable journals, but it is not cross-referencing against substantiated claims. If I compile such a database of sightings of Sasquatch, I am sure I can get volumes of so called reports, but it doesn’t really stand up to scrutiny. The FBI states that around 7,000 hate crimes are reported a year. Your database has 415 (though oddly starts numbering at 52, so maybe it is only 363), began in 2012, and refers to articles as far back as 1980. 40 years of reporting times 7,000 is approximately 280,000 crimes, and he has been able to document approximately 400 hoaxes. That would account for .14 percent of reports. And again, it is hard to give credence to a post on reddit.com. Those are hardly damning numbers. I would not say that if I had a .15% chance of winning the lottery that I had “overwhelming” odds.