Noose Incident Not an Isolated Hate Crime on UMD Campus, Records Show

Related Links: Md. Colleges Come Face to Face With Race Divisions Video: Students at the University of Maryland College Park talk about race relations on campus. (Reported and produced by Maryland Newsline's Arelis Hernandez and David Byers / Real Player file, 2 minutes 46 seconds; also on YouTube)

By Arelis Hernandez and David Byers
Maryland Newsline
Monday, Oct. 1, 2007

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Though the appearance last month of a lynch-noose outside the Nyumburu Cultural Center at the University of Maryland was shocking, police reports show the hate crime was not an isolated incident.

A survey of campus police records for the past five years show that anywhere from five to 15 hate crimes have been reported a year -- ranging from racist comments scrawled into doorways and on dry-erase boards to racially charged exchanges between students. In June 2005, police records show, anti-semitic letters were sent to several people in an office in Tydings Hall.
 
University police spokesman Paul Dillon said 10 hate crimes have been reported on campus this year. He added that the publicity surrounding the noose has put a spotlight on race relations, but does not show a systemic racism problem on campus.

The noose was discovered Sept. 6 hanging from a tree just outside the cultural center. News of the incident spread quickly, prompting responses from students and campus officials during a “speak out” rally.

University President C.D. Mote Jr. said in a Sept. 8 statement the act was “particularly abhorrent,” because it “appears intended to bring to mind the horrific crime of lynching, which is such a terrible and tragic part of our nation’s past.”

University police said they are reviewing hours of videotape, but Dillon said these types of cases rely heavily on student testimony and are difficult to solve.

Student groups like the Black Student Union have been participating in high-level discussions on how to prevent future incidents, Dillon said.

“President Mote is at the forefront of denouncing these acts,” Dillon said. “You are not going to eliminate it, but we are sending the message that we don’t tolerate it.”

Hate crimes at the University of Maryland College Park campus have seen a gradual decline since their height in 1999, when more than 40 were reported, Dillon said.

Five years ago, in 2002, 15 hate crimes were reported on the College Park campus. Last year, five were reported, records show.

Dillon attributed the decline to the inclusion of diversity issues in school curriculum. He said the university provides a number of inter-group dialogues and academic programs to teach students about other cultures.

Nationally, nearly 14 percent of reported hate crimes occur on college and school campuses, according to FBI crime statistics. Hate crimes are defined as those in which there is some evidence that the victim “was intentionally selected” because of some defining characteristic such as race, religion, sexual orientation, gender, ethnicity, or disability.

Despite the campus programs and a diverse campus population in which more than a third are of an ethnic minority, some students said latent racism is a reality.

“We all know how they advertise it,” said Kyle Carson, co-president of the inter-cultural advocacy group Community Roots. “Diversity this, diversity that.” But, he said, “if things like this are happening, we know it’s not true.”

Some minority students said they have been on the receiving end of racist sentiments for years, which they say have been perpetuated in part by a lack of cultural sensitivity.

“Many students can tell you personal stories,” said senior public and community health major Cintya Renderos.

Latino Student Union President Iris Ferrufino said students rarely venture outside racial boundaries. “I think, if anything, it brings up issues of segregation,” Ferrufino said of the September incident.

Dr. Ronald Zeigler, director of the Nyumburu Cultural Center, said there is no question racism exists, but whether the university has a problem depends on the perception of the individual.

He added the noose incident resonates with all sectors of the university community—not just black students.

“Historically, a noose is a symbol of hatred and violence,” Zeigler said. “It’s just like having a swastika placed before a Jewish synagogue.”

Roger Candelaria, campus compliance officer for the university human relations office,  said the key to ending racism is to forget race altogether.

“People have always had difficulties getting along,” Candelaria said. “Maybe we need to revisit our understanding of who we are as human beings. As we increase our understanding of what makes us human, we can see beyond superficial things.”

Arelis Hernandez can be reached at healthandtech-online@jmail.umd.edu; David Byers can be reached at webstartups-online@jmail.umd.edu.

Copyright © 2007 University of Maryland Philip Merrill College of Journalism

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